Introducing Our Daughter Meilí

Meilí

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;  The Lord gives grace and glory;

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Ps. 84:11-12

Monday, December 17 started out like an ordinary, insanely busy, crazy day.  We survived breakfast, school drop off, frantic Christmas candy making, school pickup, snack, homework, a panicked search for everyone's karate gee, and the scurrying rush of boys racing to the car to head to karate with Daddy.

Ah, quiet at last.  Just me, Granny Lou, and a mountain of laundry.

Then my cell phone rang, but I didn't make a rush to answer, afraid it might be another Christmas Candy Creations order!  After a few minutes, I found my phone, saw I had a voice mail, and called to check it.  

What I heard made my heart stop and my palms sweat.
It was the call we thought would never come.

It was our adoption family coordinator calling to say she had a potential referral for us and requesting that I call as soon as possible. With trembling hands, I returned her call. She began telling me a little more about a little girl that they thought would be a good match for our family.  I could hardly breathe.  When she had given me more details, she asked if I would like to review the file.  "Yes, yes, yes!" I said.  "Okay," she said, "I am sending the file right now."   I hit the refresh button a thousand times before the e-mail came through.

And then...there she was.  This beautiful, tiny precious baby.

My heart was captured.   I knew there was still so many steps we had to take, combing through her file, requesting medical updates from China, reviewing her file with a doctor, but I was in love with her.  I could hardly wait for Tollie to get home!

We immediately requested updates from China on Tuesday morning but were skeptical that we would hear anything before Christmas.  But God is merciful, and, Thursday morning, December 20th, I woke up to updated pictures of the most beautiful baby I could imagine. I could not hold back the tears.  There was still no medical update yet, and I knew we couldn't make anything official until we received that, but she was ours.  I couldn't quit staring at her picture.  Thank the Lord it was Pajama Day at school because I doubt I would have had sense enough to find clothes for the boys!   

We finally received her updated medical report yesterday, and so, today, we officially accepted the referral for our daughter Meilí   Her name means beautiful, and it fits her perfectly.  She is 13 months old, and her orphanage is located in central China.  We hope to travel in April or May to get her. 

Now that we have accepted her referral, our adoption agency has about three weeks to find a second referral for us.  Please pray that the Lord works out every detail, and that if it is His will, we are matched quickly and will be able to add two babies to our family.

Thank you for celebrating with our family at this wonderful thing that God has done. He does truly accomplish more than we can ask or imagine.  Praise His wonderful name!

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.  

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."

Ps. 37:4-5,7