Rewind 2 weeks and 2 days: REFERRAL!!!

October 13, 2011 1:15 PM

I am hard at work when my phone rings, I check the caller id and dismiss the call from AGCI as a monthly update which I expected that week. HOWEVER....the voicemail proclaimed great news and my heart almost stopped for a moment. I was white as ghost and could hardly breathe. I managed to dial of our agency and get the news that we were matched with a 2 year old Bulgarian girl!!!!!!!!!!!! I was thrilled, scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time.

Many long time followers know this was not our first referral. We were matched in June 2010 if you want to go through archives and read if you are new. With our new referral in hand all the fear and sadness from the first referral came flooding back. Along with the fear and sadness we were caught totally off guard and honestly put the adoption on the back burner with the 3 year mark quickly approaching. I suppose it was a defense mechanism after month after month of nothing but delays. Combine the walls we built with the fear and it was not a pretty 2 weeks. It took days before we even spoke about it. I will honestly admit it was not the cake and roses (thanks Step) you see in agency promotional material.

In the end, we took the leap and accepted our referral. We are so excited about the sweet girl waiting for us in Bulgaria!!! We think she is perfect for our family and we can't wait to see her in a month. I look at her pictures and video ALL the time and count the days until we meet her. I also feel blessed that her home is lucky to be a part of the granny program in Bulgaria. I am somewhat comforted knowing she is getting a little extra attention!!!

We are still working on referral paperwork and a third USCIS update (ours expires before we travel). We are also starting to plan for our first trip, we leave for Bulgaria Dec 2!!! I have been searching the archives for travel tips and info and have decided to make something with all the handy travel tips and make it available somewhere on this blog with everything in 1 place (not sure how yet). If you have any advice please send a comment, I want to hear from as many people as possible!!!

I wanted to thank all the special people, you all know who you are, that stood beside us over the past 2 weeks!!! We could not have mad it through without all the love and support of our family and friends!!