And we got the call!!!!!!

Helllo All! 

It has been such a great week the Esden's!  We officially went off hold on June 20th.  For those that didn't know, with Elena's arrival we had to go on temporary hold for our adoption until Elena was officially 3 months old.  That of course happened on the 20th which just so happened to also be the day we got our referral!  Literally hours after Jana wrote an e mail to our agency reminding them that we wanted back on the waiting list they called with the great news.

Now, for those that don't know, a "referral" is the part of the adoption process where you are matched with your child.  We of course set "parameters" early on the process for what we felt was the best fit for our family (gender, age range, HIV positive or negative and so on).  Our request was for a healthy 0-12 month old boy or girl)  So Jana picks up the phone and see's that it is our agency calling.  We both think it is to confirm we are off hold but low and behold they have a referral for us!

So what did she say?  Well first we hung up the phone and called her back once we got Callie and Elena settled in.  We wanted to be able to listen intently to all she had to tell us......

........we were told there was a baby boy, 9 months old, healthy, and happy waiting to join our family!  She told us the little they know about his life then the best part, she told us she was going to send a picture for us to see, along with the rest of his information.  I of course couldn't wait to lay some eye on this little guy!  We hung up the phone after a few more minutes of talking with our agency and quickly opened up our e mails to await the information and picture.  We refreshed our inbox a couple hundred times and then it was there!  For the few seconds it took to open the picture (which felt like forever) neither Jana or I took a breath.  Then there he was.  Cute as all get out really!  Curly hair, happy face, healthy looking.  It was really a weird moment to finally lay eyes on something/someone you have been waiting so long for.  Below, although blurry, is the photo I made us take just after we looked at the picture.  Had to take at least one to document the moment right?  We really just looked at the picture for awhile and pointed out how awesome he looked.  Callie came in at some point and asked who it was.  When we told her it was her brother from Africa she clapped her hands with excitment and asked when he was coming!

After that the day was shot.  Jana of course was supposed to be working but we both walked around like in a daze, unable to put focus on any important task and somewhat in shock as to what just happened.  We called our parents and siblings then spent the rest of the evening talking about how cool the day was!

So what now?  Courts in Ethiopia close sometime in July or August for the rainy season, so we will not be making our first trip for court probably until October when they reopen.  After passing court, this little boy will official be considered our son in Ethiopia.  Then we come home and have to do a little more waiting until the US Embassy clears our case.  Then we go back and bring him home!  We still aren't done waiting but so glad to start this next chapter!

Jana and Eric