THE CALL!

We were up bright and early this morning getting ready for our first family camping adventure. The kids were beside themselves with excitement. The parents----well, let’s just say we were cautiously optimistic. I had everything (and the RV kitchen sink) along with my trusty red referral folder (just in case we got the call). We packed the RV and headed out right before lunch…or so we thought…

We made it half way down our street and my cell phone rang. I saw the number and immediately started screaming. “IT’S PAM! IT’S PAM! IT’S PAM!” There was only ONE reason our agency director would be calling me. I was screaming “THIS IS IT! WHERE IS MY RED FOLDER? WHERE IS MY RED FOLDER?”

M: Hello!
P: M, It’s Pam. Stop where you are! Today is the day!
M: Ahhhhh! We’re just pulling out of our street. We haven’t left yet! I TOLD YOU YOU NEEDED TO KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING! [The Chief is looping the neighborhood to take us back home while I’m talking}]
P: I know! I know! Do you want to call me back?
M: NO! NO! TELL ME ABOUT HER!
P: Oh Misty! I think this is a great referral for you. I have a very young baby girl.................

We went through the file line by line. What is her medical need? Where is she from? How old is she? Today is her first birthday! Developmentally on target. Foster care. She’s beautiful–just a little button—a baldy. We talked through her file for about 20 minutes over the phone. Then she said...

P: What do you think? Do you want to review her file?
M: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those few minutes waiting for the file to arrive felt like hours. Thank goodness for email—I never would have made it waiting for Mr. Fedex Overnight. In the mean time I paged my friend Anna 9-1-1! She knew that was the code for a referral review and called back right away. Thank goodness for friends who happen to be Pediatricians. Then it came--the file popped up in my Inbox. OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS IT! We opened and printed the file, emailed it to Anna, and scoured each document for more information. After we felt like we had enough information to feel confident we were going to accept, we opened the photos. We didn’t tell Wild Man or Little Miss who we were looking at but we wanted to be together as a family when we “met” her for the first time. We opened the pictures............

Hello beautiful girl with the beautiful eyes. Have I known you all my life?

Within 35 minutes of the call we were back on the road for our camping adventure. We didn’t tell the kids anything about what was going on. We wanted to guard their hearts just in case. At 1:15 pm Anna called us back with her recommendation. We talked it through for a few minutes and then spoke the words I will never forget… "I think this is it. I think you say YES"! And that is exactly what we did…On the rainy afternoon of March 27, 2009 at 1:21 pm we said YES to the daughter and sister chosen to be part of our family. I was so fearful of making this decision in less than 48 hours. By the grace of God we made it in 1 hr 58 minutes. Unbelievable! Shortly after the YES call to our agency I showed the photos to Wild Man while Little Miss was sleeping. “Look Wild Man---do you know who this is?” With a big smile on his face he said “It’s MH!” Minutes later when Little Miss awoke I asked her the same question. “Look Little Miss---do you know who this is?” Her reply… “It’s MH!” I'm sure the looks on our faces after their replies would have been priceless. It was a beautiful moment of confirmation for the Chief and I. After all these years of knowing we would someday walk this path it is, indeed, MH! Praise God!