We have a daughter!!!

Last Tuesday, January 18, we were waiting again for our agency to call us, as we knew that China had released a new list of children the night before. Now this was the 4th such list to be released since our dossier was logged in, and we hadn't been called yet, so we had learned not to get our hopes up too high. On the other hand, we knew it had to be our turn soon!

That morning when I thought our agency would be open (they are on the West coast), I turned on my computer to check the web board to see if any other families had been matched. And the internet wouldn't work. I tried everything I could think of to fix it, since I knew if we got a call they would send the file to us by e-mail. Nothing worked.

At about 11:00, the phone rang. I was baking cookies, mostly just to keep me busy, and I saw our agency's name on the caller ID. It was the director of the China program, calling me with a file to review! She described to me a 14-month old girl in Hubei province whose special need was corrected cross feet and asked me if we were interested in seeing this file. Of course we were! She said she would e-mail the file, and since the little girl I babysit was napping, I figured I would just be waiting until she woke up before going to Mark's office to see the file and pictures. After I hung up with her, I called Mark right away to tell him about the call, and while we were talking, the internet started working again! By the time the e-mail arrived from the agency, Mark was on his way home for lunch. He told us to go ahead and open it, so Elizabeth, Evan and I clicked "open" and waited anxiously to see our first pictures of our sweet girl's face. She's beautiful! Elizabeth sat staring at the computer screen and said, "She's so cute I just want to sit here and look at her. I don't want to waste this picture!" Mark was soon home, and we all looked at the pictures together and read over her file. She is described as quiet, with a ready smile. She likes to play hide and seek with her caretakers and likes to eat cake!

I have been encouraged by my agency not to post pictures here, unless I make the blog private. So until I decide whether or not to do that, you'll have to see me in person or send me an e-mail, and I'd be happy to share our girl's picture with you.

We consulted with our pediatrician and with an international adoption specialist, and we submitted our letter of intent the next day. We are so thankful to be welcoming another daughter into our family, and we are praying that even now the Lord would be preparing her heart to join our family and to love Jesus!