After over 3 years of waiting, we finally have our referral for our precious Kate. We are still in total shock, and are beyond excited. "How did this happen?" ,you ask, "I thought you had several more years to wait!" Well, we did- and then God sent us a HUGE surprise.
Several months ago our adoption agency went to China to look for children to include in their "Hope Project". When they returned we got an email saying that they met over 50 children who they were going to put on a list for us to look at if we were interested in adopting any of them. They said that the orphanage they went to was the nicest orphanage they had ever been in. That the nannies genuinely loved the children and that there was a much higher nanny to babies ratio than normal. On Thursday, April 30th the list was up and I sat and cried as I looked at all of their faces. We asked for additional information on three little girls but really did not expect to hear back on any of them because there were 100's of people looking at the list. On Saturday morning, May 9th I came down stairs and Brian told me to check my email. I said, "OK" and proceeded to fix breakfast. He said, "No, I mean NOW!" When I opened my email and saw that we had an email from our agency I started shaking all over. We had been chosen to review the file of the most beautiful little girl! She had a congenital heart disease but had a surgery in March to correct the problem. The next few days were a blur as I contacted 5 different doctors with her medical information. All five doctors gave us two thumbs up- we couldn't believe it. They all said it would be highly unlikely for her to have any long term effects from her heart condition. After a ton of prayer Brian and I had a peace that this little girl was indeed our Kate! It is still so unbelievable. We went from thinking we had another 3 years to wait until we got our referral, to finding out that our sweet little girl was already alive and waiting for us to come get her. We will travel to get her in 3 to 6 months (praying for 3- not 6). So by Thanksgiving, we will have her home!
In order to share any pictures or information about her, we have to make our blog private. If you would like to continue reading about our journey to Kate- and see her adorable picture- please send me an email to amybethskinner@gmail.com and put "blog invite" in the subject. The blog will go private in the next few weeks. Also, make sure to leave messages on the blog- I will print them for her to read one day.
Thank you for continuing to encourage us as we have walked this long journey. Only a few more steps now and she will be in our arms!!!!!!!
