WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!!

WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!

WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!

WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!

Did I mention...WE GOT OUR REFERRAL!!

What an exciting evening it has been around the Brown home! The news we have been (somewhat!) patiently waiting on for nearly nine months finally arrived this evening!!

Here's a summary of how it all went down...

Because Lee and I are leaving tomorrow to take the youth group skiing, we had a few last minute things to pick up at the mall. I was in a dressing room - trying on pants - when my phone rang. I saw that it was our social worker, but didn't think too much of that because I was expecting a call from her about an email I had sent earlier. After she asked me if Lee was with me, my heart dropped because I had an idea of where this conversation could be going! She then told me the amazing news, "I have your referral!"

The details of what happened next are a little fuzzy but I do know that I squealed and tried to run out of the dressing room without any pants on!! I suppose Lee heard the chaos and came running. I pulled him and the girls into the dressing room to tell them what was going on. Somehow I managed to re-dress myself and the girls and I went running out of the store. Apparently we left Lee behind to buy something because we did come home with a bag from that particular store!

The sweetest part was Lee telling strangers as we ran out of the mall, "We got our referral!" We rushed home to see the email that had been sent to us that had a picture of our baby and his medical history. I can't even begin to describe the feelings of excitement as all 4 of us hovered around the computer waiting to see the face of this sweet child that we have prayed so long and so hard for!

I can't give too many details and I can't show his beautiful picture (yet!) but I can assure you that he is absolutely perfect! He is 7 months old and is very healthy! He has a smile that will light up a room and beautiful brown eyes! I instantly fell in love with the little guy and cannot wait to get my hands on him!

What next, huh? Well...we wait some more. We wait for the next "big phone call" which is the one letting us know that he's ready for us to go get him and bring him home. We can expect the call and the travel to happen in about 3-4 months.

You can bet that the next 3 months will be busy as we prepare to (officially!) become a family of five! We have a nursery to get ready, clothes to buy (all our stuff is pretty and pink!), toys to pull out of the attic and a name to pick out! We also have to amp up our fundraising efforts as we prayerfully seek ways to pay our baby's ransom! (If you want to be a part of that, take a look at an earlier post here ).

Wanna hear something neat about this whole story??

Today at lunch Lee said to me, "I had a dream last night that we got our baby." I looked at him and said, "No way! Me too! I dreamed last night that we got our referral!" Then I said, "How crazy would it be if we got our referral the day after we both had similar dreams like that?!"

Now I admit that I'm still a little unsure of what to think of all that, but I do know it makes me go, "hmmm..."

Tonight, we are praising God for so many things. We are praising Him for revealing our child to us. Praising Him for keeping him safe and healthy. Praising Him for the 2 beautiful girls He has already given us.

Praising Him that adoption is part of His plan for us. We, too, were once orphans wandering in darkness without hope until He adopted us into His family - the family of God. We are now His heirs and fellow heirs with Christ.

As I type this, I am still overwhelmed with emotions. I feel sheer joy and excitement; I feel relieved yet anxious; I'm so super excited to see his face and still so sad because I can't hold him.

As I've heard it said many times before...This truly is just a different kind of labor pain!