Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Our Referal Update....a Twist of Fate!

This is the post I've been waiting so long to write...

Here is what has happened in the last 48 hours. We received the medical for "T", which is how I'll refer to her as I talk about "our pending daughter" to be (must say it that way as she is not ours yet). Her medical looks really good and we have accepted her as our referral. At this time we were told that we have to either accept her alone as one and move forward or wait for 2 more referrals to come along, which has been harder than we thought. Our agency has been keeping an eye out for 2 girls between the ages of 2 and 4 for us since January.

We had been waiting for 2 weeks for her medical just to confirm her health status all the while falling in love with her every day. So yesterday, when we were told that we accept her and move forward with one girl, or wait for 2 girls (who knows when that will come) and let "T" go, David and I talked for hours and then spoke with our boys about our new situation. We've always known that things could become complicated and that adoption can be unpredictable. It was SERIOUSLY discussed and we decided hands down that we have fallen in love with this little girl and want to bring her home. This has been a difficult decision to decide on one child rather than two. But we are at peace with this decision and are actually very excited about this phase of the adoption. As of tomorrow, our paperwork will be back in process in Ethiopia and move forward. It has been on hold for a few weeks while we were waiting for this referral so it is nice to have that moving along.

"T" is adorable, is about 2 1/2 yrs. old, has little to no hair, has a really fantastic "pout" in her picture and big beautiful eyes. We love her name and plan to keep it as her first name. If this is the name her mother gave her, we can't imagine taking that from her when that will be all that she has...literally ALL that she has to call her own. Can you imagine? We will be able to post her picture when we pass court in Ethiopia and she is legally our daughter. We wait anxiously for more pictures from another family that is there at her orphanage now. "T" was left in a safe place and found by police I think about a month or 2 ago. I have no details, only a picture. We can't wait to get more info on her.

26 comments:

Mitchell Mischief said...

How wonderful! Can you say about how old she is? I'm sure she will be loved so much.
So will you have a chance to get another child at a later time or will T be it? That was a huge decision to make. I will pray for a peaceful heart family. I can't wait to hear her name and see her face. How long intil she becomes yours legally?
I'm so glad that I'll get to see you in May. Big hugs to all of you! ;-)

Justin said...

Congrats!! Shawn and I are very happy for you guys and we can't wait to meet her. Maybe Lidya and your daughter will be friends some day! I know that it was a hard decision for you guys but I'm sure it was the right one. Can't wait to hear more details.

Carpenters said...

Congratulations on your daughter! I'm very happy for you. We faced the same decision last July. We had requested two children and were referred one boy. We prayed and felt like God said to decline the referral and wait. One month later, our daughter was born and in October we were referred the same little boy and that little girl, now our son and daughter who have been home with us since January. It's a hard decision to make.

~Penelope
http://carpenterschildren.blogspot.com

Lisa said...

Mitchell,
Yes, I can't wait to see you too in May. Let's talk on the phone. The medical report says "T" is 2++, which means that they think she is older than 2. With her weight at 22 lbs and height at 2'9", she seems very petite, what do you think? I'm just calling her 2 1/2 and when we get her home, we'll have a ped. & dentist determine her age better. She could be legally ours I'm guessing between 4 to 6 weeks. She could be home between 60 to 90 days. But again, all unpredictable. Thank you for your prayers...we've been praying too.
Hugs to you!
Your cuz.

Lisa said...

Hey Justin,
Great to hear from you. I love keeping up with your blog...it's fun to know what we're all up to. Yes, our girls should stay connected as they have a unique bond, don't they. What orphanage is Lidya in? Same as "T"?

Lisa said...

Carpenters,
Thank you for your encouragement. So you too were faced with this? Wow! Your children are gorgeous...must be good to have them home. We are so thrilled about her coming home. She will be one "reasonably" spoiled little girl.

darci said...

wow, so exciting to read! what a hard time of decision, but I really believe God knows just what child is for each family, so how thrilling to be thinking of 'T' now as your daughter, and sister to your boys! :)

LISA said...

Wow Lisa! I have goosebumps!Sounds like you already have the answer in your hearts.So happy for you!Anxious to hear her name.

~Laura~ said...

OH MY GOSH!!!! i'm soooo excited for you guys. I can't wait to see T. I'm like jumping up and down excited for you. Congrats girlie! Can't wait to hear what the boys think of their baby sister.

Lisa said...

Laura,
You are so sweet! It is REALLY nice to be on this side of the adoption. My mind is more peaceful and restful. My friend dropped off some teeny tiny little girlie clothes for us and going thru them after we'd made the decision was SO MUCH FUN! They are so cute and so tiny...the little knitted dress with matching hat, the little jeans with pink embroidery...this is going to be fun!

Debbie said...

Congratulations on the referral of your daughter!! Are you working on your dossier to update it to get another daughter?? Or will you wait? How long did you wait on this referral?

Debbie

Shawn said...

YEAH!!! You're on your way.

Anonymous said...

Wills Family- Congratulations to all of you! We have been beside you in prayer and will continue to do so as you move forward with T becoming "T Wills".

Blessings to all of you!
James, Nancy and the gang

Lisa said...

Debbie,
As far as a second child, we will not go forward with that. The Dossier gets processed one time and it would be considered another adoption to do this again. So one child it is and we bask in the knowledge that because of this new direction and our faith, that this is how this story is suppose to go. The referral too a few months. I know our agency had their eye out for 2 girls since mid-January and we received our referral first part of April.

Lisa said...

Nancy,
Thank you so much. It means a lot coming from you and your gorgeous family. Hugs to you all.

Leah Reeves said...

I am so happy for your family! Was there a picture of her in the waiting child section of the IAN web site?(the IAN family password section) Last week there was a little girl in that age range and now she is no longer there. If that is your girl, she is adorable....We should be traveling soon and I can visit her. We can take something to her from her new family if you would like. We will also take video and email it to you. We will have to talk by phone before we leave.

Amber said...

Lisa,

I'm over the moon excited for you! Wow, this is so awesome! Sorry I missed your call. I will try to call this week. I'm praying that the process will go smoothly. Congrats to your family. That is one lucky girl!

Fliss and Mike Adventures said...

That is great news... I guess you were meant to have one girl and who knows... maybe one girl is just for now... who knows what fate lays in front of you... take care

Leah Reeves said...

We have travel dates, we leave on May 3rd. Please email me if there is anything you would like us to take for your little girl.

leah697@yahoo.com

Lisa said...

Leah,
I will email you right now. ABSOLUTELY I would love for our daughter to receive something from her family. You're an angel...
Lisa

{B} said...

Yay! Congrats on the referral! I can't wait to see pictures! I would still love to meet you in person sometime soon!

Lisa said...

B,
I'd like to meet you too. It was a pleasure meeting your Mom when she delivered my necklace...I'm wearing it every day until "T" comes home. Email me and let's work out a time to perhaps meet for lunch at Mimi's Cafe at Park Meadows? I love that place..."T" and I will be frequenting that place often.

Thankfulmom said...

Lisa,

I am so happy to hear your good news. I can imagine what a difficult decision it was for you to let go of adopting two girls at once. The Lord knows exactly who your children are and maybe He'll lead you back in a year or so for another little girl. We would never have dreamed that we would add four children to our family in a span of 14 months!
Lisa

Lisa said...

ThankfulMom,
You amaze me. Four children in such a short span is quite incredible. Thank you for the encouragement. We're so excited about our new little one and know that the decision has bee right.

Ellie said...

Aww! Congratulations!! Is your little girl at kebebtsehay or kechene? If she is, i think i might now who she is.. Could you email me? I might have pictures from november. my email address is elliemestas@gmail.com

Lisa said...

Hi Ellie,
Yes, I totally know who you are and what you guys have been thru. I'm also aware of your current situation with your 11 year old pending adoption and have prayed that she would be brought safely back.

Our daughter (still waiting a court date) "T" is not at those mentioned orphanages, but that would have been fantastic to get pictures of her. I can't really say where she is at yet...per my agency.

I'll also email you, but thank you for visiting and I love following your stories with your family and how God continues to bless you all.