Thursday, May 13, 2010

REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was the day!!! God has blessed us tremendously today! Our hearts are overjoyed and we are absolutely grateful for God's timing for our baby Easton. 1 James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." This is surely our scripture to cling to as we praise the Lord for Easton!!!

So, here's what happened: As I was driving home from work, around 4:00pm my phone rang. It was a (703) area code and I just stared at my phone. Suddenly, I took a deep breath and calmly answered. It was our sweet family coordinator Caitlin. Obviously, I wanted to scream, "IS THIS OUR REFERRAL CALL???", but somehow I composed myself and waited for her words. Then she said it, "Ashlie, this is your referral call!" Tears automatically streamed down my face and I tried to catch my breath. I cut across 2 lanes of traffic to pull into a gas station parking lot. She then attempted to call Ryan's cell phone to conference him in. She tried 3 times with no success!! (Come to find out, Ryan was downstairs at his office, getting a soda!!!!) In a panic, I accidentally hung up on Caitlin. Ugggh, this was NOT going as I had imagined. In a last minute effort I quickly texted Ryan "REFERRAL". Finally, we were able to get him on the conference call!!! Caitlin then informed us that our referral was for a baby boy, and I mean a baby, baby, baby boy!!!!! He is 7 weeks and 2 days old today!!!! He is one of the tiniest referrals we have seen!!!!! She couldn't stop telling us how precious his pictures were and how excited she was for us!!! Again, tears were uncontrollably coming down my cheeks! Luckily, I turned on my Flip video recorder and captured the whole thing to show Easton one day! (It's a little to emotional and raw for the blog, maybe one day....)

Ryan and I raced home, where my dear friend Nikki met us. She was the videographer of the moment we have been longing for (video below) As we opened the email we both nervously shook and held on to each other. Then, just like that, there he was, our baby Easton!!!!!!! He has beautiful, big, brown eyes and a toothless smile that will melt your heart!!! I wish I could accurately describe the smile he is giving us in one of the pictures. He looks so happy and alert, like he knows we are meeting him for the first time!

We have more details about Easton but cannot share them or his picture until we pass court and he is legally our son!!!! We will keep you updated on the next step in the process. Right now we are preparing to travel to Ethiopia in the next 4-6 weeks for his court date. Stay tuned!!!!
Here are pictures of Ryan and I signing our Referral Acceptance! Tomorrow I will be happily Fedexing it to American World Adoption Agency in Washington, DC!!!



We thank each of you for your prayers and support of our adoption process. It has been a long journey but today made it all worth it. Now we are preparing our hearts for meeting our son for the first time and bringing him home!!!!!!!!!
Love, Ashlie and Ryan

17 comments:

The Thomas Family, Artesia, NM said...

So excited for you and Ryan! I have been waiting for this post b/c I wanted to know how it happened!!!! Praying for court now!!!

Hugs,

LeighAnn Thomas

Ryan and Ashlie said...

Ahh, thanks LeighAnn!! Since I can't imagine sleeping right now, I thought I better update our blog!!!! Wow, today has been an amazing day!!!!!! I love that I can share every step with friends and family!!! Everyones support means the world!! =)

Jon, Lindsay, and the pups!!! said...

Congratulations! I've been following your blog because we're just in the beginning stages of our adoption and I love seeing what we have to look forward to! :) You must be over the moon!!!

Jess said...

this deserves a HUGE

WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Praise the Lord!

Mark and Wendy said...

Ashlie, I have tears streaming down my face reading your story! I've been checking back all day to get the whole scoop! I'm off to watch your video...so much rejoicing in heaven and on earth today!!!

Nina & Wes said...

Holy Canoli! I am so excited for you guys!!!! WOOT! WOOT! Even though we don't know each other, so many of us are on the same path, and the joy we share is awesome! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Amy said...

So excited for you guys!!!!!!! Congrats!!

Maybe just MAYBE we will be in Ethiopia at the same time, though it sounds like you will be there before us. :)

Doug and Danielle said...

Ryan and Ashlie,
We are so excited for your family! Have a blast nesting and preparing!
Danielle

melissa said...

I could not be any more excited for you guys. So happy you've finally seen your son's face - what a lucky boy he is! Can't wait for you to have him in your arms. So soon!!!!

I saw this blog post and of course thought of you guys. I thought you might want to add your blog to the list and share in the help & prayers. Love you!

http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2010/05/i-dont-know-if-we-will-adopt.html

Bex said...

Congrats, Ryan and Ashlie! Now, that is a good day. We are celebrating with you! I am excited for you to get to travel to Ethiopia soon to meet your baby boy!

The Bobo Family said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Bobo Family said...

You made me cry! What a fun story-even accidently hanging up on Caitlin! I have a feeling our referral call will be nothing like I'm picturing it to be! Congrats again-we'll be praying for you!

Stacy said...

Many congratulations to you both! What wonderful news!

Real Simple said...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...they are flowing at your house!!! Precious in His sight, your SON Easton...delivered by God's SON, Jesus! He is beautifully and wonderfully made!
hugs, hugs, hugs....love you guys!

Brandon and Jill Nicol said...

AMAZING!!!!! Through tears I am thanking the Lord for this amazing gift from Him. Please let me know if you have any questions about travel. : ) YEAH!!!

lisa said...

We are so happy for the both of you! We can't wait to meet Easton! You are both in our hearts and our prayers! Lots of Love!

Shelley Lullo said...

Ashlie and Ryan,

I have been following you both throughout the whole process and updated everyone at the Bank! We could not be more excited for you guys! Good Luck and keep us posted!!

Congratulations.

--Shelley