The First Time Ever We Saw Her Face

Still walking on air... Here's the video of us receiving and celebrating our referral call. (Please scroll down to the bottom of this page and pause (II) the background music before playing). Enjoy!

All About THE CALL!

Based on the official numbers given out in September, there were two "mystery families" between the Andersens (officially #1, and who recived their referral on the 10th) and our family (officially #4). Since those two families do not report to our agency's listserv or (to our knowledge) have a family blog, we had no idea whether they had received a referral or when we would be up next. From the time we found out the Andersen's received their call, my phone was never out of arm's reach between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Portland business hours).

Last weekend, Hus-B and I both had a hunch that this would be the week. We went ahead and put some bottles of champagne and sparkling grape juice in the fridge to chill. We picked up some chips and party foods at the grocery store. We charged our camera battery and camcorder. We moved our computer to the living room where there would be room for a crowd to gather around to see the pictures we were hoping would be emailed to us (I'm glad we got the call because as you can tell, I was setting myself up for a HUGE disappointment if my hunch was not correct--I am notorious for doing such things).

My work days on Monday and Tuesday went something like this: respond to a few emails, check agency listserv and Blogger dashboard, draft documents, check agency listserv and Blogger dashboard, make a few phone calls, check agency listserv and Blogger dashboard, meet with client, check agency listserv and Blogger dashboard. You get the idea. It was so distracting! I kept feeling like one of the two families ahead of us might decide to start a blog or join our agency's listserv that day, or that someone might post some "inside scoop" as to whether any referrals had gone out or were planned. I didn't want to miss anything! Thankfully, it was only two days and my billable hour deficit won't be impossible to make up. I just couldn't focus!

Then it happened. On Tuesday afternoon, at 4:50 p.m. EST, my phone starts playing Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl", the ringtone I'd set for our case worker, Christy. I'd waited so long to hear that ring. But all I could do was just stare at my phone in disbelief. At some point, I realized that I needed to pick it up before it rolled over to voice mail. Sure enough, after we exchanged greetings, Christy said "I have a little girl I'd like to tell you about. . . "

My hands started shaking, my heart started beating faster and my eyes started tearing up. Hus-B and I had discussed "the call" and agreed that, if possible, we would try to participate in the referral call and see/hear everything for the first time together. I told Christy I could hardly wait to hear about the little girl and asked if it would be okay for Hus-B and me to meet at home and call her right back. She said that would be fine. I called Hus-B. "We got the call! You're a Daddy again! Meet me at home and tell your folks (who were watching our daughters) to come over with the girls in a little while."

I popped my head into my assistant's office. She was on the phone so I mouthed to her "I'm leaving, I've got a baby!" As I was hopping on the elevator, she ran out exclaiming "Did you just tell me what I think you just told me?!?!" I told her yes and that I didn't know anything yet but that I would fill her on everything in the next day. I reached the parking garage and my head spun as I walked to my car. I felt like it was my first time to get behind the wheel. I had to remind myself how to put my key in the ignition and put the car in drive. I remembered how, when I was pregnant, I had my sister "on call" to drive me to the hospital if I went into labor at work. Why didn't I have someone on call to drive me home for my referral? Somehow I made it home but my mind was definitely a million miles away. I do remember that the traffic was heavy, that it was drizzling and that I saw a rainbow in the sky. On the way home I called Daddy, Mama, Lisa and Bo to share the news and invite them over to party that evening.

I got home and Hus-B was adjusting the camcorder on the tripod. We hugged, smooched and sat down next to each other on the sofa, amazed that it was actually, finally happening. We took a moment to try to compose ourselves before we dialed the number. Deep breaths.

We dialed Christy's number and put her on speaker phone. She told us what information they have about our baby's history (very, very little, unfortunately), the results of her medical exams, and what we need to do to formally accept the referral. Then she told us she would email us all of the paperwork, plus some pictures.

We hung up and immediately tried to log into our email account. It took several attempts because my hands were so shaky I couldn't type. We got in. No email from Christy. We pushed the "get mail" button. Still no e-mail. After about 5-10 minutes (which seemed like forever!) her emails popped up. Two of them with a total of about 45 pictures attached! We started clicking on the pictures. I don't think our computer's ever been slower at opening attachments! We clicked, waited anxiously, then her face appeared! Her big, brown eyes were staring right at the camera! So adorable!
The pictures were all sideways! One by one we would click on a picture, wait for it to download, turn our head to the side, and just gasp at her beauty. I have no idea how or why God selected Hus-B and me to parent the three most beautiful children in the history of the universe. But he did. We are so blessed. Each picture seemed sweeter than the one before. I thought my heart was just going to burst!

We heard the back door open and soon Miss M and Miss A ran into the room, followed closely by Mom and Dad B and Honey (Hus-B's grandmother). More oohing and ahhhing! The party was starting and I was floating on a cloud.

I went to the kitchen to quickly wash our dusty champagne flutes (need to use more often!), put chips, dip and guacamole in bowls, put taquitos in the oven, order pizzas to be delivered, and arrange cream puffs on a platter to thaw. Hus-B worked on rotating the pictures and saving them into a slide show.

Daddy and Bo arrived with more drinks. Mama and Ken arrived with more food. Everyone gathered around the computer to admire our baby girl. She's so alert! She's got chubby cheeks! What a doll! She's gorgeous! She's definitely been loved! She's so photogenic! Look at those dark eyes! Look at those lips! Just like the Gerber baby--only chocolate! Look at those precious toes! What a pretty hairline! How cute! How beautiful!

Hus-B popped the cork and poured the champagne. Toasts were made. Glasses clinked. We laughed. We danced around the living room. We exchanged kisses and hugs. We praised God.
We're parents again!

REFERRAL!!!!!

Greetings from Cloud 9! Our case worker called us this afternoon to tell us about a precious little 5 month old baby girl who arrived at Hannah's Hope (transferred from a government-run orphanage) on September 7. After the call, they emailed us all of her paperwork and a bunch of PICTURES! She's beautiful! Big brown alert eyes, chubby cheeks, kissable lips! We're already crazy about her--head over heels in love! We are not permitted to share her name or a picture of her face until she's actually in our arms (which we hope will be before Christmas). But here's a tiny glimpse of her sweetness: Isn't that just the loveliest little hand you've ever seen?!?!

Toppling Rocky Top

Yesterday, our Gators beat rival Tennessee, 23 to 13. A great win against another great SEC team. Don't look for any Coach K bashing on the B Family Blog--he's married to a dear childhood friend of mine (who also happened to be in the group of mutual friends that introduced me to Hus-B and used to courier our love notes back and forth (and who also happens to be a former GATOR!)). His off-season tough talkin' certainly increased the intensity of the game, though--especially in the stands! Wow, what fun! We hope Coach K's career at Tennessee is long, distinguished and record-setting, but we also hope our beloved Gators continue to find a way stomp those Vols!

(my cute bead necklace was handmade by my Miss M) The pride of the Sunshine!

Heeerrreee come the Gators!

I've never seen so much blue in the stands! Coach Meyer requested all of the Gator fans to wear blue since Tennessee shares our orange.

Timmy:

Coach K hard at work:

Once again, it's GREAT to be a FLORIDA GATOR!

Happy New Year!

Although it is with sadness that we reflect upon the tragic events in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, we are finding some joy in celebrating the Ethiopian New Year today.

According to the Ethiopian calendar, today is the first day of 2002!

Nope, that's not a typo. The Ethiopian calendar, also called the Ge'ez calendar, is based on the Coptic calendar, which originated from the Egyptian calendar. The seven to eight year gap between the Ethiopian and Gregorian (the universal civil calendar--the one used by most Western countries) calendars results from alternate calculations of the Egyptians and the Roman Catholic Church in determining the date of the Annunciation of Jesus. The Ethiopian calendar is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days (6 days in leap year). Each Ethiopian year is dedicated to one of four Evangelists: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. The year of St. Luke is Leap Year, and therefore always has the extra sixth day in the thirteenth month. (If you find all of this as fascinating as we do, click (here) for more great information).

New Year's Day in Ethiopia is known as Enkutatash (meaning the "gift of jewels"). Historically, it marks the return of the Queen of Sheba from her expensive jaunt to visit and thoroughly impress King Solomon in Jerusalem. When she returned to Ethiopia, her chiefs welcomed of her by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. Enkutatash also traditionally marks the end of the "rainy season".

We celebrated with dinner at our favorite Ethiopian Restaurant, the Queen of Sheba. We had our "usual"--lentil sambusas, doro wot and beef tibs (extra berbere, please!) and plenty of injera--finished off with some Ethiopian coffee, of course. YUM!

In true Times Square fashion, Miss M insisted on making her New Year's entrance in a tiara and sunglasses.

We were also thinking this would be a really cool day to get THE CALL! As of last week we were officially number 4 on the waiting list. We've moved up at least one spot since the Andersen family received their referral yesterday for precious 6-week old twin girls. I also heard through the grapevine that there may have been another baby girl referred to a family who doesn't have a blog or report to the listserv. Even though it turned out that today was not our day, we're hopeful that we will see our Diamond in September. Stay tuned...

Toddlers in Tutus!

I can't think of anything more precious!

Miss A has stood on the sidelines at Miss M's ballet classes for the past three years, anxiously awaiting the day that she would don a leotard and tights and get her turn at the barre. Yesterday, the day finally came!

Their ballet instructor is a legend in our small town--she's been teaching dance here for over 50 years! It is truly where her heart is. She is such a special woman and we feel blessed that she is a part of our girls' lives.