WE HAVE A REFERRAL!

On the morning of July 6, the last thing I was thinking about was the adoption. OK, so maybe it was somewhere floating around in my mind, but I had resigned myself to the fact that it may take a few more weeks that previously thought. There just weren't any girls being born. Several referrals had gone out in the past few weeks, but they were all baby boys. Now, I love boys, but in my heart, I knew that God intended for us to adopt a girl. So, I waited.

The boys had been at my parents house for a couple of days so I could get some packing done for our move. My mom brought them back on Wednesday morning and was hanging out for a while waiting for lunch. I was about to sit down on the couch when the phone rang. Thinking it was Kyle, I didn't rush to answer it. When I picked up the phone and saw the 214 area code, I knew it was Traci (our agency director).

I answered and heard the soothing voice on the other end of the phone (Traci really should have been a therapist, her voice is so calm). "Rebecca, this is Traci. How are you?" My heart went to my shoes. Was this "the call", I wondered?

She went on to ask if we had moved yet, and made small chit chat, then said "the reason I'm calling is......." then there was a pause. I thought to myself something's wrong with our paperwork or she's calling to tell me that it's going to be a while to wait.

But then I heard the words "I have a baby girl for you." Now, I had waited for this moment for quite a few months, and thought I had my reaction all planned out.....tears, crying, drama. But, none of that happened. All I could say was "you do?" Then "I'm so excited." Then I think I attacked Traci with hundreds of questions she wasn't prepared to answer.

After my brain started functioning again, I heard her say "I just sent an email to your inbox." I ran to the computer to check it and it couldn't come fast enough even with high-speed internet. I didn't even read the wording in the email, but clicked on the 1st picture. There she was. Her cheeks were so chubby that I had to laugh. All our boys were 6lbs and under, so I'm used to seeing scrawny (is that a Mississippi word?) babies, not chubby ones. As I looked at the the pictures Traci had sent, all I could think was there she is, there she is. It was very surreal.

After getting off the phone with Traci, I called Kyle at work. He had pretty much the same reaction....just complete dumbfoundness I think. Not really knowing what to say. After a couple of days, it began to sink in that she was here. This was (or will be) our baby girl.

Now, I sit wondering what she's doing, if she's eating enough or too much, does she spit up a lot, is she healthy, are they taking care of her, does she sleep well, does she cry alot...and on and on and on.

But for now, I'll just wonder. On July 29, I'll get to meet this precious child and hold her. For a week, I will spend every moment with her, learning her personality, her schedule, and find out the answers to my many questions. I'll meet her foster mom and confirm that she is, indeed, being well taken care of. I'll get a few fleeting days to spend with this soon to be daughter of mine. Then I'll give her back to the foster mom and come home, left to wonder again. But, just for those days, I'll have the wonder of watching her and praising God that from the beginning of time, He planned this child to be ours.