I don't know if we have done a good job of describing all the different pieces of the adoption process to our loyal readers, but one critical point is the referral. The reason it is on my mind today is that our good friend's the Albertsons just got their referral yesterday after months of waiting. We are so happy for them and it has caused us to really reflect on what we are about to undertake.
The referral is at least the second biggest moment in international adoption, second only to holding your new child for the first time I think. As far as content, the referral is a letter that introduces you to your child. Our assumption is that it will contain a description of our little boy - regarding his life before he made it to the orphanage - and what his emerging personality is like , some medical data, and finally photos of the child that will be ours only a few weeks after we receive the referral.
I simply can't imagine what it will be like to open that letter together and peer into the eyes of a little boy half way across the world that will soon bear our name and be our son. I have to think that it will be very similar to seeing ultrasound pictures of Ellie & Ansley Mills for the first time, but I also think it will be different than any other feeling we have yet known.
How wonderful it will be to finally have a face and expressions that we can match our prayers with. How exciting to literally begin counting down the days until we are able to hold this precious child in our arms. And how cool it will be to introduce Ellie and Ansley Mills to their new baby brother.
Thinking about this today has gotten me so excited and ready to go get our little boy. Unfortunately, we still have quite a bit of process before our referral letter arrives, but it is cool to be reminded of what the end of this journey will actually mean.
If you have time, the Albertson's few posts right before their referral and then about the actual referral are well worth the read http://expandingalbertsons.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Referral
Posted by Carpenter Family at 3:38 PM
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2 comments:
Yall are the best! Thanks for your kind words. And thanks to you and your readers for continued prayers for this sweet baby... for a speedy and successful court date, so that we can bring him home. These months will fly by for you, and you'll be seeing your son's face soon. We continue to pray for your little one, too.
love,
becca
Your comment was very very sweet. I'm really happy to know that what we write is an encouragement to you as that's the reason I started the blog in the first place. I'd been so inspired by other peoples' blogs that I wanted to be the same voice for others. I never thought starting out though that our particular path to adopting would one with so many twists and turns, but I'm being reminded lately that all good stories have loads of conflict and boy do we fit that bill.
I enjoyed this post, but I do have to say in retrospect that, while referral day is exciting, court-day is probably bigger (at least for us). So I would put the three in this order: 1. referral day, 2. court day, 3. meeting-in-person day. If, by God's grace, we pass our appeal and Abe becomes legally our child, I think I will spend even more time on the phone than I did on referral day, *after* Ted shakes me back awake from passing out from the shock.
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