We got a referral!

It has been over a week since I posted anything, and that is because we have big news that we have been dying to share!  Last Friday, Feb. 18, at 2:41 PM I got a call from our social worker.  I wasn't sure who it was when I saw the number on my phone.  I hoped it was her, but thought "No, it's probably just an appointment reminder."  I was at home, and I had just finished uploading pictures that I took at the botanical garden.   She told me that she had a referral for us.  I tried to add James to the call, but he didn't answer his cell phone.  Then I called his work number, which I never do.  He picked up, and I told him that I was on the phone with our social worker and that we had a referral.  He asked me to call him back on his cell phone, which I did.  Both of us listened to our social worker as she began to tell us about a little girl.  She is eight months old, and she weighs 21 pounds.  Our social worker told us that this little girl is the chubbiest Ethiopian baby she has ever encountered!  I carefully took notes as she told us more of her story.  She told us her birthday, which may not be exact because birthdays are not kept up with in Ethiopia.  None the less, there is something pretty interesting about the birthdate that we have been given.  Do you remember this post that I wrote about dreaming that I was in labor?  (You can read it here.)  I had that dream on Sunday, May 30th, 2010.  Now, that is not the birthdate that we have been given, but it is pretty close!  And guess what else.  Her name means "Sabbath" and I had that dream on a Sunday.  Now, I'm not saying that is divine revelation or anything like that, but I do think that is special.

We got off the phone with our social worker, and James told me that he would be leaving work in about 10 minutes.  So, I had about an hour to wait for him so we could see her pictures together for the first time.  My mom called soon after I got off the phone with James, and it was really hard not to say anything!  I decided to go ahead and get the tripod set up so we could take pictures.  The tripod was in my car, and in all the excitement, I managed to lock myself out of the house when I went outside to get it.  I managed to find a way back in.  James came home, and we opened the email with her photos.  She is beautiful!  She has dark chocolate brown skin, chubby little legs, chubby little arms, and long eyelashes.   We read through her records.  She can crawl.  She can sit up by herself.  She can babble and grasp toys in her hands.  She likes to play pee-a-boo with the nannies.

 Seeing her pictures for the first time.

 Because of what happened with our first referral we decided to wait until we had the chance to speak with a physician before sharing the news.  We wanted to have a chance to talk about this little girl's medical records with a doctor before we made our decision.  While we are still waiting to hear back from the International Pediatrician, we were able to go over her records yesterday with some friends of ours who are internal medicine physicians.  We are very thankful their willingness to do that for us, especially with the busy weekend they've had.

 I can't wait until she is chasing these two around the house!

We are incredibly thankful and excited that we have been matched with this little girl.  A big thank you to all of you who have prayed for us the past few months.  If everything goes smoothly with the adoption and we get to bring this baby home, we will change her name to Samantha Eva.  We will keep her Ethiopian name as a second middle name.  Please continue to pray for us and for the little girl that will hopefully soon be our daughter.