Referral Anniversary Reflections

Tomorrow marks our second referral day anniversary. This was such a magical time in our lives for us. I am so thankful that I wrote all of this down because I have forgotten so much of it, and reading my thougths just takes me right back to that precious moment in time. I am sorry this is long, I had posted all of this on my other website and really wanted to preserve it on my blog as well.
Breathe, Breathe, Breathe!!
April 25, 2006
Ok, I was getting Dayton ready for school this morning and Linda V. called to see if I was going to water aerobics around 7:30 am. Mark beeped in and asked if I had checked the CCAA website and I told him no and he said that it had been updated overnight and that they are sending out referrals for people logged in between May 31 and June 6th!!!! We made it finally!!!! I couldn't believe it! Everyone said that around the 25th things happen and once again the rumors were right. So obviously I skipped water aerobics because I wasn't sure if I needed to be home or not today. We have since learned that the packages were mailed out on Tues in China ( they are 12 hours ahead of us). So we are expecting that maybe this week we will have our referral in our hands! Can it really be happening? It has been a year since we saw our documents last, and 4 months prior to that of preparing them. It has been a long wait but one that we are sure is worth it! Dayton's 11th birthday is Monday May 1st, what a gift it would be to have her info by then! My head is spinning today and I am really not accomplishing much, I can't complete many thoughts ( which is probably pretty evident if you are reading this!). I am so thankful and grateful to God that this is finally happening! I can't imagine what she will look like, what her birthday is, where she is etc..... ! She is ours now, even though we will just be staring at her picture for a while, she is already in our hearts and we love her. My stomach is doing flips, this is a much different type of labor than what I had with Dayton! Longer too!!! As soon as we can we will post her picture on our homepage so that you may all get your first glimpse of her too! It warms our hearts to know that we have been surrounded by so many loving people throughout these long months. Your excitement has made this experience just that much sweeter. Thank you everyone!!! There are so many more exciting moments to come and we look forward to sharing them with you!


What a day!!
April 27, 2006
I am going to have to write later, I think I am running out of steam, it is late, but I wanted to say something today! We always wondered how this day would feel, I can honestly say I never imagined that it could be so wonderful. I have been smiliing all day. She is so adorable, I can't believe her hair! I can hardly wait to accessorize! It is a good thing that the only thing I have been buying is hair bows! This day was magical and spent sharing this news with all of our loved ones. We were able to share this moment with some very special families and it is a day I will cherish for the rest of my life. The girls are just beautiful, we are so lucky. We were bummed to learn that our group was split up, unfortuately my buddies are split up, but at least we have 2 going one direction and 2 going another so we each have someone, in addition to the other great families that we will be with. And it will only be for the middle part, we start out together and end together. We laughed, cried, laughed some more! We ended the night at Kelly and Linda's, we felt that they were really our inspiration in all of this and we couldn't wait to share the picutures with them. So our early morning, late night is coming to and end. This is a day that will always be special. I put Myah's pictures in frames in her room and it just feels so complete now. It is hers. Her toys, her bed, her clothes and our daughter. Wow. This was bittersweet though, my good friend Debbie lost her mom Sharon B., yesterday, she was a wonderful woman and I had really hoped that she would have had the chance to see Myah's face. Our friends are like family and my heart is heavy. I know that Sharon will log on in heaven and sneak a peak at our little angel. Please keep her family in your prayers too! Thanks to everyone for the calls and well wishes today! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pinch me!
April 30, 2006
It is really happening! I just can't believe it! What a full circle moment for us! Tomorrow Dayton turns 11 and I always get a little emotional every year at this time. We have such a wonderful son! He makes us so happy and proud. He has been the light and joy in our lives since the day he was born. I have always called him my little tulip. He was due to arrive on Mother's Day 1995 but decided to come into this world 2 weeks early, on May Day. The day of his birth, we left for the hospital and saw that the only tulip in the yard of our new (to us) house was beginning to finally blossom. We pulled out of the driveway and the tulip looked pink, I thought it must be a sign, my baby is going to be a girl. Well, 8 hours later we learned that he definately wasn't a girl! My parents had come down to stay at our house and when they called the hospital the next morning, they informed me that the tulip wasn't pink after all, it was red. Years later, I looked at the pictures that were taken in the delivery room and realized that there was a picture with hundreds of tulips on the wall. Every year, we still plant red tulips at our house. This past week, the tulips were ready to burst, one had accidently been cut and so I put it in a bud vase. On Thursday morning, it blossomed. I really belive that it was a red thread moment. A connection from Myah to us. A sign that she knew that we were getting our call that morning. As simple as it is, I was comforted when I saw that tulip. I knew that things were going to be alright. God makes everything perfect, and he picked the perfect little girl for us. The fact that her picture was on a police car really struck us immediately. And then we saw those cheeks and that hair! What a beautiful child! We just stare at her pictures and praise God for this miracle. Even though we did not create her, she is ours and we feel a connection to her already. She is our daughter. Dayton no longer will carry around the title of an only child. We by no means ever let him feel that he wasn't "enough" for us. There is never a moment that we ever felt slighted that he is our only child, we are so grateful and blessed to have him, he is our miracle. It is different this time, I really feel like we all wanted Myah in our lives and it was a family decision that we all came to simultaneously. God put Myah in our hearts and gave us the opportunity to act on our desires. Her little face, oh her little face... it has graced our refrigerator, our dashboard, wallets, classrooms, police department, picture frames, friends and family's homes and on this website. Her face makes everyone smile (some people have cried ...... I won't mention any names, you know who you are!) I can't imagine the joy that she is going to bring to our world once she joins our family forever. I know that she is being loved by her foster family. They seem to be taking excellent care of her and are giving her a family atmosphere. I pray that I can take the place of the only mother that she has ever known. I pray that God will allow her heart to embrace me and reassure her that we are her forever family. I want her to feel safe with us.
We have been so touched and overwhelmed by everyone's well wishes. These last few days have been a whirlwind and such a happy time for our family. Our heads literally are spinning. We are so happy!! I can't quit smiling. My friend Debby K. said that I am glowing, I guess that even a paper pregnancy can create that special "glow". It is just such a relief to finally know who our little girl is and to see her face. I am so proud to be her mom already. We are just so thrilled to share her story and her pictures with everyone.. FINALLY! I know that these next 6 or so weeks are going to fly by and we will be traveling before we know it. I actually allowed myself to finally buy some clothes for her, Li Wen Ting. I am like a fish out of water in the little girl clothes dept. There is a lot to it!! Help!!
Well, I have rambled on long enough, I have so much to say, but I really can't even attempt to put into words what we are feeling. We are so happy, blessed and grateful and can't wait to share her with everyone!