Tuesday, July 20, 2010

A Referral to Remember

I need to start from last week to tell this story, it's long, but, I hope, worth the read.

As most of you know, referrals began again just over a week ago after a long two month drought – so everyone has been on high alter, including me. From my post last Friday, you would also know that we received an update from Imagine that said that a family could not receive a referral until their updated homestudy had been submitted to Imagine, which ours was not. That same day, we were informed by our local agency that they received our approval letter and would be sending it to Imagine first thing on Monday, and that it would arrive at Imagine by Wednesday at the latest. PHEW…

I emailed Imagine this past Thursday to confirm they received everything and to my surprise I was informed that they had not yet received the package with our approval letter and homestudy documents. AAHHH, where were they??? The thought of THIS being the delay was killing me – even though I had no idea if it would make any difference. I guess just the thought of the possibility of a referral and not knowing was enough to drive me crazy.

I immediately emailed our local agency to enquire where our documents were. They were as surprised as I was that they had not arrived and said they would find out where they were with the tracking number. So, about an hour later our local agency informed us, very apologetically, that they had accidentally sent our documents to the old Imagine address and were looking into how to resolve. WHAT????

On Friday morning they informed me that the package was currently be rerouted back to Winnipeg and we could not do anything but wait for it to arrive back at their office. It would likely take a couple days for it to be returned and they would overnight it as soon as possible, which meant likely Monday or Tuesday. AAAHHH…

Later Friday morning, I received a glimmer of hope. My local agency said they would ask Imagine if they could scan and email our copied documents to them immediately and Imagine said YES. So I’m thinking, why would Imagine want the scanned documents if it didn’t matter whether they had them or not…BUT, our local agency quickly reminded me to “keep my feet on the ground” and that Imagine simply wanted to ensure everything was in order so we had no more delays. Up down up down up down. At that moment, I was sure this week was another write off – and continued about my day. BOOOOO to another week with no news…

Little did I know that behind the scenes…Once Imagine received our scanned documents and saw that they were in order, they immediately forwarded our referral (which I now know was ready on Thursday for us) to our provincial government (this was at about 11:30 am). Our provincial government quickly approved our referral (YIPPEE for them being so speedy) and sent it off to our local agency on late Friday afternoon.

I don’t know if anyone else is like me in this way, but often times when it hits 4:30pm (in MB or even in ON), I know that offices are closed and I am able to let down my guard, at least until the next morning.

Meanwhile, back at home after work, it was just another Friday evening, with no big plans – making dinner, playing in the backyard, getting things ready to go to our friends cabin on Saturday morning, etc...

A bit after 6:00pm, Chad and I were both standing in the kitchen and the phone rang. Chad said “OMG, it’s XXXX (our case worker from our local agency, she was calling from her home, so he could see her name on the call display), YOU GET IT!!” And he backed away from the phone, motioning for me to answer it.

Cautious, but hopeful (a feeling I know all too well), I picked up the phone…and it went something like this…

Laura: “Hello?”

Caseworker: “Hi Laura, how are you?”

Laura: “Fiiiiinnnneee? How are you?”

Caseworker: “Well, I am just looking at a picture of the most beautiful little boy.”

Laura: “WHAT??? OH OH OH!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!”…not sure what I said after that.

Chad: “What? What? WHAT????? Is it good or bad???” While signaling with thumbs up and down.

Laura: Thumps up.

Caseworker: “I am going to let you go and send the emails, go look at your son...”

I hung up the phone and screamed “WE HAVE A BABY!!!” And picked up Sara for a big hug.

THIS WAS IT!!! THE moment. The moment we would see the face we have been waiting for so very long. The face I once dreamed of seeing. The face that one day I would touch and hold and kiss and love.

I went running to the laptop and grabbed it; with Chad saying “Is it a boy? Is it? Laura?” I couldn’t even hear him talking.

We three, Chad, Sara, and I cozied together on the couch and frantically opened up the email. Refresh…refresh…refresh…it seemed like an eternity, but the message finally pop up in the inbox…

Chad: “LAURA, WHAT IS IT? IS IT A BOY?”

Laura: “I’m not telling you, you have to wait and see.” Yes I know, torture.

With Chad and Sara on each side of me, we opened the file…

The first thing I saw were his lips – his big, beautiful, kissable lips. Then his eyes - his big, beautiful, sparkling eyes. Then his skin - his soft, smooth, beautiful, almond skin.

Chad: “A BOY! MY BOY!” Tears

Sara: “Is that my brother? We have our picture Mommy!!”

Laura: “Yes, Sara that will be your brother.”

Then we opened the second picture – A BIG beautiful open-mouthed smiling face, with his top teeth just poking through, and the hint of a dimple on his left cheek. And his eyes looked right at us…

And we have been flying ever since and don’t want to land anytime soon.

I will finish with one of my favorite moments. It was late Sunday night and before I went to bed I went to Sara’s room to give her a late night kiss. She had placed his picture next to her, on her pillow...side by side my babies slept.

34 comments:

Dancin' Momma said...

Oh now I am crying and my boys think I am being all crazy! Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful and so happy for you!!!! I can not wait to see pictures of your little man! Enjoy the referral high!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, so, wonderful! I am ecstatically happy for you all, Laura. pat

Sarah said...

Oh, man. Way to make me all teary AGAIN!

:)
Love it. Thanks for sharing. :)

Dianne said...

Awesome. Because not enough of my co-workers have seen me cry. :P

Love, love love it. What a beautiful moment! I'm still just so happy for all of you!

Hi from Ruth! said...

Love, love, LOVE it.

Ruth

Jenny said...

shit, now I have tears all over my homework....thanks Laura.
I LOVE that you were all together when you got the phone call on a perfect Friday night so you could soak up the excitement with no stress! Amazing, and wonderful. And I love Chad's reaction. Awesome. Congrats again especially to big sister Sara!

Jenny

alicia said...

Love that post! I have to read it again! So happy for you!

Derrick, Alysia, and Levi said...

Wow, what a BEAUTIFUL referral story. Thanks so much for sharing. I LOVED it!!!

Ashleigh said...

It happened perfectly, Laura

Dana said...

I'm crying. It is a magical moment that instantly changes your life. Congratulations again

Sharla said...

I was so NOT going to cry but when it came to "a boy, MY boy", I just lost it! And then the part about both your kids lying side by side...you sure do know how to get the tears flowing!

Just so, so happy for you! What a beautiful family - one girl, one boy, like a country music song! Perfect!

I love how you knew, you just knew! I could tell when you wrote that post about your paperwork being delayed that you knew that referral was ready. As moms, we just know these things!

lyndsey said...

yay!! So happy for your family of four!!!!!!!

Lyndsey

Maria said...

Beautiful referral story! Thank you so much for sharing!!

So happy for you guys!!!

I hope you will have a court date soon

Maria

Tammy said...

Tear fest! Lovin' it! So awesome, congratulations again!

darci said...

oh my goodness! I started with goosebumps up to the top of my head adn ended with tears! CONGRATULATIONS!!! thank you for sharing that fantastic story! I am so so happy and excited for yoU! darci

emily said...

That is SO awesome that you got the call on a Friday night when you are totally not expecting it at all!

I could barely read this post as the tears were just pouring down my face. Now to find some kleenex....


I"m just so so happy for you. He is so beautiful!
Congrats to your whole family.sl

Rebecca said...

Congrats! Thanks for sharing! So wonderful!

Historica said...

Thanks you so much to share your wonderful referral story. I am so happy for you.

Ramona said...

I can't even blame these tears on all the onions I'm cooking (doing 2 different wats tonight). Such a special moment for a special family and a special little boy. I am so happy for you guys.
Tracy and I did a little happy dance for you in church on Sunday- a very little dance- it's a Mennonite church... but one with great joy for you!

Ramona

Ranavan said...

Oh I love your referral story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Unknown said...

What an absolute great story. You will never forget this day. I am so happy for you.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful story!! And yeah, my spidey senses would have been going off too as soon as they said they'd take a scanned copy.

(I also love that your husband made you answer the phone!)

Janice said...

Ahhhh, you've got me all choked up again. I love how beautifully you describe him every time.

TheButterfly2 said...

You made me cry! I don't even know you and I am just weeping! My husband tried to distract me with a question while I was reading this and I hardly even blinked. I was just so rivetted to this! Maybe it's because when I was six years old I got MY long waited for baby brother...a beautiful miracle...also through adoption. And once of my favorite pictures is him right after we brought him home, snuggled in my bed beside me. I am SO happy for Sarah and just ecstatic for you all! Congratulations once again!

By the way it sounds like our sons are about the same age and i think we live in the same area and I didn't realize that until this post! Very cool!

Melissa said...

I'm laughing and crying all at once! Finally FINALLY your day has come. I am so happy for you all. Your baby boy. Wow. A daughter and a son. You've got it all. Heartfelt congratulations to you. I've been following your journey for a couple of years now and feel the joy for you that I would for any friend I've actually met. I'm so happy for you.

Sarah Rodgerson said...

Jamie and Linc are out for a bikeride while I give Freddie his morning feeding today. I was so excited to sit with my coffee in quiet and read your referral story ( and cry of course)! I had checked last night and knew it was there, but just did not have the time to read it. Beautiful story, so glad you were all togethor. Congrats again!

Stephanie said...

Hi,

Congratulations! Wonderful! I was so happy for both you and your family to hear the news!

I also got a chance to see a picture of your son. (Leah is friends with Cori-Lee). He is absolutely adorable and delicious! Too cute!

All the best,

Stephanie Claude

The Better Good said...

This is just the best story. I love that you were caught off guard and that it was just so perfect with you 3 being all together! Thrilled for you!

Laura

The Better Good said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
La Belle Vie said...

I am so happy for you!!!!!!! Crying right along with you!xx

Connie said...

What a beautiful and amazing referral story! I love how people always remember every moment of that day! I especially love the ending how your two babies slept side by side. Too precious!

Enjoy staring at those precious photos! Those photos will always have a significance like no other photos can have. I STILL have K's referral photos up. I just can't take them down. And I STILL stare at them remembering all the emotions from that day!

Jess said...

So happy for you! Congratulations!! :)

Kendra said...

What a great story! I cant wait for you to pass court so we can see a picture of your little guy too!

Natalie and Chris said...

wow, did that every bring tears to my eyes. I'm so happy for you all. I remember when we met how we felt it would happen soon and here we are over 1 1/2 later and the moment has finally come. Congratulations to you all.
Nat