Yep, for the three of you that do not already know, we received our referral about a week ago (on the 14th).
We had big plans about how we were going to open the referral...get the family around the computer, film it so she could see it later on, etc. We had already talked to my family in Idaho about Skyping and Facetiming and had talked about going to Chris' mom and dad's so everyone could be a part. What we didn't expect was that the referral would come on Saturday morning, the day of Chris' parents' 50th anniversary and while Lilly was gone to church camp.
We decided that Lilly needed to be a part of opening the referral, so we would wait to open it until Saturday night when she got home. We had a super busy but fun day with a reception honoring Chris' folks. Lots of family came in and we saw tons of friends we hadn't seen in a long time. We then went and celebrated our nephew's birthday at Jason's Deli. All of that was great because it made the day pass in a blur! Lilly met us in town at Jason's so we were all together.
However, the out of town friends and family wanted to visit back at Chris' folks' house, so instead of heading home, we headed back to their house, which was totally fine because it included a piece of "to die for" strawberry cake! By about 9:30, we were still visiting and Chris just couldn't wait any longer. As we sat visiting in the living room, he passed me his phone and asked me if I would like to meet my daughter. He had just gone ahead and read the referral and passed it to me. Our little girl is a beautiful, chunky 4 year old that we cannot wait to meet. We have been told she is a little quiet but very sweet and playful...which is good if she is going to be able to hang with Coop!
We called the other kids in and shared her pictures with them and then introduced her to EVERYONE that was at the house and to my family via texts.
So...we have no videos or special memorabilia...but I think it is precious that we got to share the moment on another momentous day (there aren't a ton of 50th anniversaries anymore) and with so many people that are special to us.
We are now awaiting our next step. We are in the process of retaining an attorney in Uganda and he will get us set up with a court date, etc. Hopefully sometime this fall, we will be traveling and bringing home our little princess!
Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support! Please keep our family in your prayers. Some specific requests:
1. Pray for Cooper as he will have a big adjustment to make as we bring home a "baby" that is just 6 months younger than he is.
2. Pray for our sweet girl as her life is about to change VERY dramatically. We are so excited to be blessed to be her forever family, but we also know that this will be a huge transition for her.
3. Pray as we get final details organized and as we try to raise the last bit of money for the adoption. We are ALMOST there but could still use a little more money in our adoption account. I know that God is a gracious provider...he has been so faithful every step of the way and He will not leave us without provision, I don't doubt Him a bit...but sometimes my human faith is weak.
Blessings to all!
