Has it really been two years?

An ordinary Tuesday afternoon became extraordinary on this day in 2010. I was putting away dishes and Stephen was playing a video game in the next room. “Amy,” Stephen said, “I think your phone is ringing.” I reached for it on the desk in our office and noticed the 303 area code, which meant it had to be someone from CCAI. They hadn’t been calling much as we’d been in waiting mode for well over three years, so I was intrigued. Deniece was calling to see whether our immigration paperwork was current, blah, blah, blah. And she had a “cutie” for us to take a look at. Hold the phone. What!? I’d planned for this call. THE CALL. I had a list of questions prepared. Stephen and I were going to hear the news together. I was blindsided, in the best possible way. Heart pounding, hands shaking, I listened intently and took copious notes about little Dang Xue Er (completely unnecessary since all the info was about to be emailed to me, but I needed to do it). Did I run and get Stephen to come listen in? No! I was so busy trying to process what was happening (it was really happening!) that I neglected to bring him into the experience. After finishing the phone call, I tearfully told Stephen that we had a daughter. We were ecstatic that she was only 12 months old and couldn’t wait to see her face. But the files were large and we had trouble getting the email! C’mon, c’mon. . . . Finally, after some back and forth with Deniece, and nearly 40 minutes after we first learned about Xue Er, we saw this face.

And we knew.  

She was our daughter. The one we had been waiting for. All the years of struggle, heartbreak, and disappointment in an instant were exchanged for tears of joy, relief, and sheer bliss.

Then we realized we had to leave in under 30 minutes to go to our foster care training, which we were right in the middle of. (Who cares about completing that right now, I thought. But we followed through and finished our training. I digress.) We quickly went next door to tell Stephen’s parents our news and headed to our class, separately as Stephen actually thought he was going to play in his softball game afterward. I remember that drive to class—I’ve heard people say they were so happy they thought their heart was going to burst, and I experienced it myself for the first time that day. I had no idea how I was going to be able to contain myself during the upcoming two-hours-plus session. How wonderful it was to surprise my family with the news after our class (which we left early, of course). You can plan all you like for how you think events in your life will play out, but as I reflect on my memories of our Match Day, I realize that simply embracing the magic of the moment is the best way to go.

We later discovered a song that captured how we felt:

And I know someday that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, that I'll give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

I might have to wait; I'll never give up
I guess it's half timing and the other half's luck
Wherever you are, whenever it's right
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life

And I know that we can be so amazing
And baby your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every possibility

Natalie is our dream come true, and we can only hope that she’s as proud to be our daughter as we are to be her parents.

Lorna, where are you?

Lorna is the name of our cook at our villa in Jamaica.  It is quite a difficult transition from having three meals a day prepared and laid out for you to cereal and what appears to be a ham and cheese day.  Of course, it is also difficult to return to temperatures roughly the same in KY with no beach view or crystal clear waters to cool you off.

See what I mean?  I love KY and I don't disparage our view, but seriously.  We had an awesome time.  I was going to go with great there, but Amy made me change it.  It really was everything we had hoped for.  Lots of fun on the beach, good food (you can't imagine how fresh Jamaican fruit varies from what we call "fresh" fruit here), very nice locals, fun snorkeling and boogie boarding, very relaxing accommodations, and most of all, great company.  We absolutely want to thank Jamie, Christine, and Olivia for sharing this with us.  We will never forget it.

Try to enjoy the pictures about 1/4 as much as we enjoyed the trip. ;)

Natalie accomplishing her #1 goal

Sandball fighting.

I think both are thinking, "You sure are a messy eater."

Missed her soccer game, but didn't stop playing.

Taking a break

Hollywood

Yeah, Mon.

For those who don't know, we made it here safely.  For those who know even less, here is Jamaica.  We are on a 7-day trip with our friends Jamie and Christine and their little girl, Olivia.  We are at a villa named Cannon Cottage in the Silver Sands community.  It is absolutely amazing.  We have great views of the sea, a wonderful staff (cook, maid, and handyman), and a one-minute walk to a very private beach.  You will, of course, see photographic evidence below.

Natalie is having a really good time.  She gets a little timid in the water.  She really likes it when we hold her and take her out.  She is starting to warm up to going out on her own a little too.  She spends most of the time filling one bucket with sand, pouring water from another bucket (that any adult around her paying attention has to fill up periodically), and mixing it together.  She is usually making a cake.

Let me talk a little bit about the food.  It really is great.  Lorna, the cook, is fantastic.  She makes local dishes for us at every meal.  I have not had anything yet that wasn't fantastic.  Tonight we are scheduled to have curried chicken and shrimp.  Sounds horrible, right?  We are waiting for the local fishermen to bring a good catch to have some fresh fish.  They aren't having much luck out there right now as the water is pretty choppy, though not so on the beach in the morning at least.  The fruit is so flavorful.  Everything comes fresh from the trees.  It doesn't have to spend a week on a boat or truck to get to the market like it does at home.

Anyway, I hope you are all jealous.  For those of you thinking we are rich, we aren't.  This is a VERY GOOD deal and I recommend it to anyone interested.  Finally, Amy is concerned that I am telling everyone that we are on vacation and not at home.  I say, anyone reading the blog is either a close relative or friend or doesn't know where we live.  Just in case, though, we have very nosy neighbors (love you, Mom) and a ferocious guard cat.

Sadly, though, the pictures will not appear today. We don't have the cable to transfer from camera to laptop.

Much better the second time around

We had a party for Natalie's 3rd birthday on May 12th since we will be gone on her actual birthday.  Where will we be gone you ask?  Jamaica.  Yeah, that's right.  We might put some pictures up of that also for those interested.  But I digress (which I have been doing a lot lately as the idea of going on a vacation is very distracting).  So, we had a birthday party.  Outside.  Again.  It rained.  Again.  This time Amy had the foresight to move it up earlier in the afternoon to avoid the storms which usually come during the evening here.  It worked for the most part.  Rain came at the end, but we were able to eat, open presents, and have cake all outside.  The party was really winding down when the drops started to fall.

Overall it was a raging success compared to last year.  Thanks for all who came and for all the gifts.  She loves them all as I don't think there is a single toy that she hasn't played with for at least an hour.

In year three of Natalie's life we will hope for improved listening, less pouting, more picking up after herself, and lots of love.  I think we will get one of those things.  That is more than we could ever ask for.

Lily was a great helper.

Natalie really wanting to blow out the candles.

PS  I will make sure Amy makes an appearance in the Jamaica photos.  I have a feeling there will be plenty.