4-04-08 Referral DAY!

I want to start this post with three pages from the journal I kept for Emma. I am hoping this journal will help her see how much we loved her even before we knew her and how hard we worked to bring her home.

March 20, 2007
Lots of developments and backlash after the Protocol of Good Practices was made public. The DOS is urging families who haven't started their adoptions--families like us waiting to be matched with you, to consider other countries and adoption programs. Guateadopt has also issued a similar warning. This news is heart sickening for us. We truly believe you are finding your way to us...you are out there either growing in your birth mom's tummy or a tiny baby waiting for things to fall into place so you will find us. Daddy and I have lots of talks. I have also talked at length with your Nan Nan. I received an e-mail from Joanna and Karen and they say our agency is marching on until they can march no more because little ones are out there that need families to find them. We are marching on too.....
***Currently we are # 8 on the waiting list for new referrals.****
Love,
Mommy


March 27, 2007
Good news EMMA! We have moved up on the lists. We are second on the waiting list for R. and S., R and R (these are three of our agencies lawyers)and FIRST on the list with Dina. I truly believe you are about to find us. Karen shared that R and S. have 8 expecting birth mothers in private foster care now. The birth moms are due April to early May. As excited we are for you to come and find us...try to stay in that warm comfy womb as long as possible. Every day that you are there you grow stronger and develop more. Take your time our sweet little girl. There is no rush....when you are ready to enter the world, we will be here to do what we need to do to keep you safe, love and cherish you.
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Jay and Drew

April 4, 2007
We got a call today that changed our lives forever! Karen called to say she had 3 pictures of a beautiful baby girl named Kimberly Yamiteth P. She had no other information about you because it is Holy Week. We will be working with Dina and traveling to see you next Wednesday! More information about you will be coming on Monday or Tuesday.
Daddy and I were home with the boys on Wednesday at 12:08 when we got the call. Honestly I could barely breathe as I was scribbling down the little info we had. Karen said she would e-mail your pictures as soon as we got off the phone. I sat down at the computer and could hardly stand the wait. I saw your beautiful face....you looked like you belong in our family.
We love you already!
Thanks for finding us,
Mommy, Daddy, Jay and Drew

Now reflecting back on that day a year ago....I still get chills. We had talked about Emma, thought about Emma, and loved Emma even before we ever saw her beautiful little face. We were not at ALL expecting any news during Holy Week. The week before, my heart would STOP almost every time the phone would ring. I knew that at any second we could get the call that would finally allow us to see Emma. When the call finally came...we were SHOCKED. Rob and I just sat there and kept pulling up the pictures and looking at this little girl again and again. It was amazing that we were all home together when we saw Emma for the first time. The boys were both on spring break from preschool and I was working from home. Rob had switched his days off that week---he was usually off on Thursday but for some reason he was off Wednesday. We just kept looking at her pictures and wondering about what would happen next. I picked up the phone and called my mom at work. I said something like "Are you close to your computer? I just send you pictures of the little girl that could be your granddaughter and she is BEAUTIFUL...and has HAIR!" (Now I had to keep a slightly removed stance on Emma at first. Those of you that know Guatemala adoptions or were around me during this process have heard me say many times that there are NO guarantees and sometimes referrals don't work out for various reasons. As much as I hoped and prayed this would be Emma...until it was DONE...it wasn't really DONE. I had also told Mom that I just knew my referral would have NO hair! I so wanted a little girl with hair. Both of my boys had NONE until they were well over 1 and I would look at referral pictures on the adoption boards and would see all these babies with lots and lots of hair. I was so hoping Emma would have beautiful dark hair...and she did!) My next call was to my dad at work right after I had sent him the pictures. Rob called his parents and sister and the news was out! We were planning a trip to Guatemala the following week.
We didn't know when Emma was born or anything about her until after we would arrive in Guatemala. All we had were these three pictures and the dream that things would work out and she was supposed to be the Emma we had been waiting and praying to join our family! (We are so thankful it all did work out and that is sitting in our living room as I type this playing with a toy and listening to a music cartoon on Noggins.)

The e-mail from Karen said:
Here she is.....she is beautiful.