One Year Ago Today

One year ago today we were matched with Chloe!  What an amazingly exciting day.  I was at work when I received the email from our adoption agency.  The subject line of the email said in capital letters CALL A HELPING HAND ADOPTION AGENCY ASAP!  My heart rate soared and the excitement built as I clicked on the email that told us we were matched with a child and to call the office as soon as possible.  I think that may be the best email I have ever received.  I was in such disbelief as I listened to our case worker tell me about Chloe.  Here we had waited for almost 4 years and within a few minutes my life was drastically changed forever.  I had tried to call Kevin at that moment and kept getting voicemail.  I just kept calling and calling hoping eventually he would pick up so I could share the news.  He called back a few minutes after my call with the agency.  He told me that he had been on a business call and when he saw that I kept calling over and over, he had to tell the person that there must be something important because his wife had called repeatedly that he was going to have to call him back.  Little did he know what I was about to spring on him!  Caleb was equally excited.  He was finally going to be a big brother.  The emotions of that day were overwhelming.  It was hard to believe that there was a beautiful little girl with big brown eyes on the other side of the world that would be ours forever.  I wonder what they told her if anything on April 26th last year.  Did she know she was going to have a forever family?  Did she know she would have a Mom and Dad and big brother who would love her?  I hope so.  Now fast forward to today.  So many things have happened in her little life. She met us.  She moved half way around the world.  She has had surgery (now twice since she just had another set of ear tubes placed).  She has adjusted to a new way of life.  And she is flourishing.  April 26, 2011 changed our hearts and our lives forever.   Praise God!

The first picture we got of Chloe with our referral on April 26, 2011

Chloe now