Three years ago today...

(this post is two days early...I meant to save it as a draft after getting it ready, but hit "publish" instead. I have NO idea how to remove the post without deleting it completely!! LOL enjoy!!)

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It was about 1:15 on Monday afternoon. We were on our way home from a staff meeting with the Children's Home. I had been waiting for the call all during the meeting, but it never rang. Well, it did, but it wasn't "the call." Referral calls had been trickling in all morning and friends would call to give me the update or see if I had been called yet. ( Everyone else at the staff meeting was on the verge of a nervous breakdown from my phone ringing every five minutes...they would all jump as I looked at the phone only to say, "No...it's just Valerie")

As we drove down that road, heading for Johnson City my heart was racing faster with each second. So many of the families in our group had gotten their calls already...why hadn't we??? Okay...I wasn't going to let myself go there yet!!

I kept checking my phone to see how many "bars" I had. We were in an area known for "bad reception". I went over the plan with David, "Okay...when they call, you need to pull over as fast as you can so we don't loose the signal"...then just to make sure he understood, I went over it again! I'm sure David's eyes rolled when talking to me MANY times that day...but he never let on that I was acting like starke raving lunatic!!

Finally!!!! IT RANG!!!!! My heart stopped when I saw that it said "AWAA" on the screen. I think I may have let out a screech or a screem or something...I immediately starting hollering for David to pull over somewhere...cause he didn't know that is what I wanted him to do! He did and I heard my friend Kim say to me "Hi Shelley! You have a daughter!" Oh my God in heaven...my heart is going to stop just remembering that day!!!!

I started writing down everything she said (I saved that paper, but it is not very legible) and tried like crazy to keep my heart in my chest as it kept trying to leap out of my body and run around the van. David was kind of in shock...he wasn't nearly as excited as I was at that point. (He made up for it the next day when the package came!) Kim described Aly to us. She, like everyone who meets Aly, said that her eyes "sparkled." Everyone always comments on her eyes and how there is just "something about them."

I don't remember anything else about that drive home...or about the rest of that day come to think of it. It is a total blur...

I remember the next day!! We were expecting a package from DHL that contained all of the information about Aly and most importantly...HER PICTURE. We had our friend Marla lined up to be there early so she could take pictures/video and share the morning we would meet our daughter with us. So, while David was in the living room working on the website...very calm...very quiet...Marla and I were in the office losing our minds. Every vehicle that even looked like it was coming down the driveway and we would start bouncing off the walls.

We used Aly's measurments and created this ...

We started holding up clothes to it to see what might fit her. It was hilarious! Finally we saw that truck coming down the driveway and just as we were about to run outside and accost the poor DHL guy...we realized that it was just the Sears delivery truck! He was delivering something...who knows what...who cares...I have no idea what it was. Anyway, the DHL guy finally arrived...Marla grabbed the cameras...David and I ran to the door...flung it open and waited for him to bring us our daughter! check out the pics....

Our stork...the DHL man. I forgot to get his name!!

the moment we had been waiting for...

Looking at the Beautiful Baby God had given to us!!

What did we ever do to deserve this child!! And who even had a clue that her sister was just two years down the road behind her!!

I can truly say that I went weak in the knees. When I first laid eyes on her, I literally fell back against the wall almost unable to stand. I felt like I had either been using a jackhammer for 30 minutes or had polished off a bottle of wine...go figure! David and I were beside ourselves with joy...he finally was able to believe that this was really going to happen and let out the emotion that he had been holding in for months on end. It was an amazing 24 hours to say the least!!

Before the Foundation of the World...God had planned this to be our child. What an amazing God we serve!!!! Our Alyson Ming-Lian at 5 months old.

Aly at 10 months ...we had this picture blown up to Poster size!! David threatened to take it on the plane with us, but I talked him out of it.



Aly at 5 months...what a cutie pie!!!!!

To all of you who are caught up in this never-ending wait. I know that it sounds trite to tell you that it will be worth the wait...but it really will. I know that you don't believe me when I say that all the waiting and paperchasing and red-tape and craziness and waiting and waiting will fade when you see your childs face...but it really does. I promise!!! Just keep hanging in there and trust that God himself is holding your precious baby safe in his arms until HE can safely deliver him or her into your arms. He will make it all good...He will make it all beautiful...He will make it all perfect in HIS perfect and unmistakable timing!!!!! He started us all on this journey to our children...and he will see us all safely to each other!!!!

In HIS Mighty Mighty Grip!