Our first interview….(we are “expecting”)

We are expecting!!! We are expecting God to move in BIG WAYS!! Friday Brian and I had our first agency interview and it was emotional for us (but in a good way).
First, we said hello to my wonderful parents when they came over to watch and substitute teach my babies. The kids LOVE when Nana and Pop-pop come over! They are so wonderful!!! What would we do w/o them?? The car ride was a little under 2 hours. I LOVED the uninterrupted talk time with Brian. When we first arrived at our agency I was filled with a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach that traveled to my heart as I realized that this agency, and all who worked here, were going to be the actual tools in the Lord’s hands to bring us to our daughter. It was surreal. The office was cozy and filled with loving photos of families who had adopted and walked this journey before us. I imagined our family photo hanging on their wall one day, complete with all 5 of my children. I even saw my next door neighbor’s photo of her sweet, chubby-cheeked adopted Korean girl, Aubrey! I knew we were where God had wanted us to be. We were then brought into a room that had a soft fluffy couch and felt very comfortable and non-threatening…as the social worker was to give us a small taste of the hard questioning that would be coming over the next few months. We were ok, and relaxed. We did fine, and we told her our story. We told her why we wanted to adopt. We simply explained to her that our family was not completed yet. God had written His purposes on our hearts to adopt our sweet baby girl from China. So that there would be one less orphan in the vast sea of 140million children without a mommy or daddy. I told her that we were convinced that our daughter was 1/2 way around the world, and that we would stop at nothing to rescue her (as tears welled up in my eyes). She seemed ok with that answer ;). I kinda felt like we were being quizzed. She then asked a lot of personal questions. Some of these questions made us laugh, some made us bewildered. But, it was all good! Then Tina came in, the one in charge of international adoptions. But, more importantly, the one who will be doing our official “match”. Can you imagine what I felt as I met her in person, the one whose hands, eyes and ears would be directed by our Sovereign Lord to find our baby girl for us. Yeah, I about lost it with her too! LOL. She filled us in with the ins and outs of the whole process from the wait time, to the referral, to the travel arrangements. I had butterflies in my stomach as she told me that in about 4- 5 months or so we will have a photo in our hand of our precious daughter!!! I wanted to jump up and hug her…but, I knew she may conclude that I am an emotionally unstable person. LOL….She then said that in about 6 months after that referral we will be boarding our plane to get her!! Oh the tears were hard to hold back!!! Yeah, I “am” emotionally unstable! :-p
Now, I am not ignorant or naive. I know that the adoption process is very unpredictable and many unexpected things can happen to slow things down. But, it was so exciting for her to assure us of the predictability (for the most part) and the stability of the China Special Needs program. And, that clients before us had received their china SN babies in a year or less!
We then met with Tammy. She walked in to our “comfy-couch room” holding a HUGE stack of papers. She is going to be our “go to” person who will handle ALL the paper work. She explained in GREAT DETAIL each papered item that will be needed for our homestudy. Well, if you know me well enough, then you can imagine what my insides were feeling like. I was a cannon ready to shoot!! I wanted to start on that big ol’ pile of paper work and I wanted to start like yesterday!! I felt like I was back in high school or college getting all the details of the BIG project that was due at the end of the semester. And if you knew me in high school and college then you remember me as the one with her arm up and always asking “clarifying questions”! I am a detail-oriented girl, and I need to know EXACTLY how to complete each item to get the “best grade”. Bless her heart, she was so patient and thorough as she answered my gazillion questions. We didn’t leave there till we had a specific 3 papers (that could be filled out, but didn’t have to be filled out right then and there) handed in! Felt good to officially have our file started with our homestudy paperwork!
We then shook hands ( I wanted to hug and hug tightly…but, thought it too early….next time, for sure), and we left. I just about skipped with excitement to Brian’s truck. Oh, and that cannon inside was now in full shooting mode!! Before we hit 1-95 I had already called the doctors and scheduled every one’s medicals, and I called the police station to schedule finger-printing. Whatever I could do with my cell phone in the car, I did!!
Oh the excitement, the real-ness of it all. I compare it to that first initial consultation that you have with your doctor upon first learning that you are pregnant. And, when we get that wonderful photo of our baby girl, in about 5 months, it will be like our first sonogram. What a day that will be!
So, I guess you can say that We ARE EXPECTING! We are expecting God to do the impossible to get us to our daughter who He has chosen for us. Thank you for being a part of our journey, we need your prayers!