I AM A MOMMY!!!!!!

I can't believe that I finally get to type that I am a mommy. That's right for those of you that don't know, Scott and I got a referral for a baby girl Friday. It was a total surprise. She is 14 months old, she is 13 pounds and 2 ft tall. She is itty bitty. But that is O.K. with me. She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. WE ARE SO IN LOVE!!! We hope to travel in 2-5 months to get her.

So here is the story of how we found out:

I was in my classroom teaching when my principal came to my door. He had a very serious face and said "I need to see you in my office, immediately" I was scared to death. I thought I was in serious trouble or getting fired or something. Well when I walked down to the office, everyone was looking at me very serious. My principal was standing outside his office with the door closed. He then opened the door and ushered me in. I saw a man sitting in his office and it took me about five seconds to realize it was Scott. I thought at first it was a parent wanting a conference. I looked at him and said, "What are you doing here?" Scott was crying and I could tell he had been really crying. My first thought was that someone had died and then he starts reaching for some papers. My second thought was that Scott had been fired for some reason. And then I thought, "Oh no, we didn't make it through review. So I repeated, "What are you doing here?" He then said, "Would you like to meet your daughter?" I said, "Are you kidding me?, Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?". He then showed me his picture and then I started jumping up and down, screaming and crying. It was an outer body experience. So surreal. After about five minutes of crying and praying we left my principal's office. All the office was standing outside the office and they said "Well?" I started jumping up and down and said, "I am a mommy." I then saw my principal and told him. I then told him I had to go to our social worker's office, but that I needed to tell some teachers who had been praying for us first before I left. They all cried and were so excited.

SO we went to our social worker's office and she cried, we cried and we officially accepted Anna as our child. When we first got to her office I asked, "Is this my baby, is this my baby?" and she said, "She is if you want her." Of course I shouted "YES". We then flew (well quickly drove) to Florida and surprised our family. They had no clue and were very surprised. We showed up at Mother's office right as she was closing and showed her Anna's picture and told her about her new grandbaby. We then went to the apartment, where I walked in first carrying her picture to show daddy. We then called Christy and told her. She and Jeff were thrilled. Oh on the way down we called Lorrie to make sure Mother and Daddy weren't going to Birmingham. She kept asking why so I told her. She is convinced we are going before Thanksgiving more than ever. (Another story) We went over to Scott's parents and surprised them too. It was dark by the time we got there and Scott pounded on the door. His dad answered the door like what is going on? They were like "What are y'all doing here?" We showed them and told them about Anna and they were thrilled. We then called his sister on speaker phone and told her. Finally Saturday we skyped Katie and Mikey and told them. IT WAS A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

Now we start the paperchase to get her. We hope to have her by Christmas but if we don't that is ok. China has got to review our dossier and get us a court date so that is why we have to wait. Please continue to pray that the rest of this adoption will go smoothly and quickly. She needs her mommy and daddy and Nana and Grenny and Papa and Papaw and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins and Memaw and everyone else. We are so excited.

We are having her file reviewed by the International Adoption Clinic and are awaiting the call from the doctor. We got our Hep A and Hep B shots today. Once we hear from the doctor we can then move to the next step. Please pray that as China reviews our dossier that comes smoothly and they send their formal approval soon and travel dates soon. So this has gotten long and if your still reading--thanks. We are so excited.

We love you and you just don't know how much you all mean to us. Your prayers have truly gotten us through and we can't thank you enough. But the person we owe all of our thanks, praise and love to is OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. He has sustained us and seen us through one of the most difficult journeys of our life. He has been our strength and our guide. He is faithful and GOOD and kind and generous. We have seen His miracles this weekend and How Good He Really IS!!!

Love
Happy Mommy and Happy Daddy