Monday, December 3, 2012

The Story of US Begins

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

Man, the tears are already starting to flow as I type. I have been dreaming of what this post would say and now to actually put my fingertips on the keys, it makes me weep with deep PRAISE to my Lord. 

The girls had just finished their nap and I had made plans with Jordan for him to meet me at Nordstroms after work so that I could buy some new makeup. He was to take the girls to the play area while I browsed the lipsticks. But before we headed to the mall, I needed to run into Publix for a few items. We went to Publix and as we were checking out,  I ran into an old Tampa aquaintence. This person has since moved so I was shocked to see her in my grocery store. We had a nice conversation and  we headed out the door into the parking lot. As we were saying our  goodbyes , I realized my phone was LIGHTING up in my purse.   I guess I had turned it on silent during nap times and never turned the ringer back on, but nonetheless I glanced down and saw that it was the  agency calling .....Realizing that this was NOT the most convenient time to take a "referral" call, I let the call go to vm.  I had no PEN to write down important facts, and no peace and quiet to truly LISTEN to what they would tell me. So,  I bolted to the car with a cart full of groceries and tried to fasten the girls as quickly as I could into their seats. I quickly gave the girls the lecture of how mommy was going to make an important phone call and that they needed to stay quiet while I was talking. BUT FIRST, I listened to the voicemail that our agency representative left. It was a very generic message...please call me back at your earliest convenience and that sort of thing.  I got Jordan on the phone and we conferenced called the agency to listen to them tell us about a precious child.  (All of this is going on while I am driving on Dale Mabry to Nordstroms ) CCAI told us as much as they could about this precious child and asked if we would want to see the entire medical file. We shouted "YES" into the phone.  And with that....the Lord started to work in ways that only HE could orchestrate. Jordan and I didn't say a word to each other when we both reached the parking lot of the mall....we just SMILED. We walked in and I immediately called my ENT and asked her to review the file for us. She is not only a fabulous doctor but has performed surgeries on both of my girls. She is a believer in the Lord Jesus and she was so excited to help us. I bought make up and then we all hurried home to get the girls in bed. Jordan and I were pretty anxious to just sit and read the entire 23 pages of information that we had received. We read and read it again and read it again...and that first night we prayed that the LORD would make it clear that this was our child. The next morning, I emailed the file to our pediatric cardiologist's office and to the international adoption doctor out in California. However, with all this joy, also came some sorrow. Tuesday morning was also the same day that I learned of my Uncle W.C.'s passing. It was an incredible emotional beginning to our week.  

It wasn't until THURSDAY that things got really exciting.  I got a call early that morning from the heart doctor's office manager saying that he would be calling us after rounds later that day and  the international adoption doctor emailed me to set up a conference with us that was literally just 30 minutes after the heart doctor's conference call. All I could think was that the Lord was in the business of TIME MANAGEMENT and that these two doctors would be able to help us make our decision. I picked up Finley at school at 12:30 and got the girls Chick Fil A and went to my parents house to wait for the two conference calls. I put them upstairs and they were happy as clams to be watching a movie and eating and plus this gave me some peace and quiet to be able to talk to these doctors. I settled in at the kitchen table with my pad of paper to take studious notes and my big ol glass of diet coke. The phone rang, I look down, and it's NOT the heart doctor. I thought "who could be calling me at this time?" I hesitated to answer, because I didn't want to miss the heart doctor's call, but I answered and guess who it was..THE ENT!!!! I quickly thanked her for her call but warned her that I may have to cut it short bc of the already planned phone appointment. She assures me that it will be quick. She proceeds to tell me that she and her audiologist looked at the file and that things looked great...and that their gut tells them that there is no unilateral hearing loss based on the tests and the results that they were given. I get off the phone with her and the heart doctor calls and says that the VSD was repaired successfully and that this precious child will have a long healthy life and will be capable of doing anything he wants. The international adoption doctor pretty much echoed everything that the two other doctors had said.  Remember we woke up on Thursday knowing NOTHING and within 2 hours, we heard from ALL THREE of our doctors.  Jordan and I talked afterwards and prayed together over the phone before I called the agency to tell them that THIS WAS OUR SON.  It was one of the most unbelievable feelings that I have ever experienced. I even love typing those words. This process has done something incredibly sweet to our family. It has grown us in our faith...made us trust GOD more, and believe HIM when he says that he has meant  everything for good.  We waited almost 4 months to see this sweet precious face and it truly is one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. He has deep almond eyes, squishy cheeks , and the perfect heart shaped lips.  That night, I wrote our LOI and the next morning we headed to Mobile, Alabama to celebrate the life of my Uncle WC. God's timing of this referral was not an accident. My uncle was THRILLED about the adoption and was always asking about our progress every time I saw him in the past year. It was not a mistake that the Lord took Uncle WC home but blessed our family with a new life all in the same week. I know that my Uncle would have been so happy to have heard the news that we had been matched.

We couldn't be more thrilled and feel more humbled that we have been given the blessing to parent this child. We stand in the shadows of God's greatness and give honor and praise to HIM who gave us this child that we have so desperately prayed for. 

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