One year ago today, we finally got THE CALL for our referral.  The this-is-who-your-daughter-will-be call.

The call only came about a year later than we were expecting.  It was a miserable wait.  At the time it was the longest anyone had ever waited for a referral with our agency.  


Typically with a referral they call one parent and then conference call in the other parent and to tell them the news together.  When we were waiting we would hear exciting stories of other people referrals-  Couples who happened to be in the car together when the call came, one family was in Disney World when their call came!  Sometimes families had prefect timing for their big day, but with our luck that didn't seem likely.  We just wanted a CALL, whenever, wherever!


We had gotten our travel vaccines earlier in the week and on that Thursday, January 19th, Logan wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home from work.  I was also home that day and Logan's mom had called to see if she could pick up River on her way home from school.  So about 3:30 River left with Meme.  


This was literally the first and only time in our seventeen months of waiting that Logan and I were home together, during business hours, and without River.


I sat down at the computer to talk to a friend who was also waiting for a referral.  She was upset, because AWAA had just called her for a reason other than a referral.  Let me tell you... when you are waiting for that referral call and AWAAs phone number (which you've either programmed into your phone or memorized months ago) shows up on  your phone, you get real excited real fast.  And to have that phone ring and not get a referral is... well, I can't imagine anything more disappointing.


So I stood up from the computer and walked into the living room and I said to Logan, "Christina just got a call from AWAA and it wasn't a referral.  If that phone rings and it's them and it isn't a referral... I am going to kill someone."


And the phone rang.


And yes my dear sweet daughter, those are the last words that mommy said before she heard your name.  


Caitlin, our family coordinator, told us that her name was Teemar and she was three months old.  And she emailed us these pictures.  
And we almost died we were so happy.


We had a previously prepared list of people to call in case of referral and we started making our calls.  First though, we brought River home and showed him his baby sister for the first time.  He was a little bit miffed that he had to leave Meme's early, but otherwise he was pretty excited.  He hung her picture over his bed that night.


Then our immediate family came over and then more family and friends.  And pizza was ordered.  And we all sat around staring at her picture.  And talking about her like we knew her.  A friend and adoptive momma named Kim who had just returned from Ethiopia called me that night to say that she'd met and held Teemar!  Kim said, "She's just a little peanut." And I yelled to everyone in the room, "Kim says she's a little peanut!"  


By the end of the night we knew she was beautiful, from her pictures, but also from the pictures we had decided that she was smart, and so happy, she probably never even cried, and just surely the greatest baby ever.


Mercifully, that night we did not know that it would be another six long months before she would be home with us.  We were able to enjoy every blessed second to our referral day.  It was amazing.  I wouldn't change a thing.  We had our prefect timing after all.  And we had our perfect girl.  


Families waiting for referrals for a healthy young child with our agency have now been waiting more than two years.  And although we fully understand that the wait is necessary for an ethical adoption of an infant or toddler, the wait is hard.  So please keep those families in your prayers.  


On the flip side, our agency currently has twenty-two children on their waiting list who are just waiting for a family.  These children are 1 - 8 years old with special needs and healthy children and sibling sets over 8 years old.  They are ready to be adopted immediately.  As hard as it is to be a family waiting for a child, I can't imagine how many times harder it is to be a child waiting for a family.  The Mowen Family recently shared their son Jacob's story about waiting for a family and you can read his story here

Please keep those children waiting for families in your prayers.
 
 
It's too soon to put into words how we feel.  
The campaign not only met, but exceeded, the goal by $3,000.  
When David told us that God would take care of him... he was right.  
He did.  
 
In forty hours, the campaign for a van for David will be over.  Tomorrow, we'll finally see.


Right now, the total stands at $10,575.  111 people have already contributed.   If you read through the comments on the site, you'll get a feeling for the kind of man David is.  We cared enough about him to create the campaign, but 111 other people are making the dream a reality.  


The campaign is featured on the main page of the Indiegogo site today.  Of hundreds of campaigns David's is currently one of the ten most popular on the entire site.


I know that however this ends, David's life will be better for it.  In July he told us that God would take care of him... and He has.  In the form of one hundred and eleven people so far.  


To join us visit... 
www.indiegogo.com/dawitfasil