Overwhelmed by God's goodness

Well.  Where to begin?

During the 'ice days' in December, we received a very special phone call from our adoption agency.  Our sweet social worker left us a voicemail, and we looked at each other with wide eyes and excitement, because we knew what was supposed to be next in the process - a referral!

We called back, and had her on speaker phone.  She said, "I have a referral for you.  It's a little girl.  She's 16 months old."  Kyle and I kept just looking at each other while listening, and our hearts were melting!  I remember my whole body shaking!

Of course, there is so much that goes into the adoption process, so they recommended that we 'hold her lightly' while reviewing the file and acquiring information about her medical situation.  That is next to impossible, FYI.  :)

We took a home video of ourselves opening up the attachment and learning about her for the first time.  Outside the world was shut down as it was frozen solid.  And we were 'stuck' inside discovering a joy we had never before known!  It was such a beautiful time in our lives.

The rest of that evening was so joyful.  We couldn't stop grinning.  We watched a movie called Facing the Giants and sat by the fire.  For the next few days we were cut off from the rest of our world due to the ice, and it was such incredibly sweet timing.  We treasured her in our hearts from the minute we heard, "It's a little girl."

Also, I read in my Piper app that very night a Christmas devotional that reminded me of how she might have been found and gave me peace for wanting God to gives us signs.  The scripture was Luke 2:12-14.  It says...

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

Here we are that day...

Over the course of the next two weeks, we waited for a full medical evaluation (or as much as you can understand through translated paperwork).  We prayed every day, and we asked for guidance.  In my heart I knew I loved her and so desperately wanted undeniable signs.  It was a difficult two weeks because of the feeling of being in limbo and also because we knew she had some heart defects.

When we spoke to the doctors, we felt more like parents than ever before.  I felt a 'mommy love' that was undeniable, and Kyle talked about how she has been fighting alone and how he wanted us to fight with her.  We were reminded by a card from a student in our youth at church that God would be our guide.  With happy hearts and great excitement, we informed our agency that she was our girl and we wanted to pursue adoption!  Immediately, the fears and the worries dissipated as we took that step of trusting God.  

We planned a fun time of telling our families at our Christmas celebrations!  I could not believe we got to do this!  It had been a desire of my heart that we would have a face and information to celebrate before Christmas time.  I never thought we would get to, though, because it took forever for our paperwork to get logged in.  We were only logged in for two days when we got this referral call!  We wrapped pink tissue paper and a balloon in a big box, and we had both of our families open it as a 'Christmas Eve gift'.  Her framed referral picture was wrapped at the bottom of the box.  What incredible memories we made as all of her grandparents teared up and her aunts and uncles celebrated with joy!  

My mom recently texted me and said, "Amber, did you realize that the day you had that big garage sale as a fundraiser for your baby was her birthday?!"  I looked on my calendar, and, sure enough, while we were experiencing love and support in celebrating bringing our baby home, she was turning 1!  

Our little girl was born August 3rd, 2012, and we are naming her Willow Mei Robinson.  Her Chinese name was Mei Fen, and we adore it.  (I had even added Chinese names to my baby name app, and Mei was one of the five names that I put on there for a girl.)

(I've loved this name for about four years, but surprisingly it was Kyle who became convinced she was Willow after seeing her!  She's named in honor of Kyle's brother, his granddad, my dad, and my grandfather.  They are all named Will, William, or Willard!)

I wish I could post a picture, but that isn't allowed at this time, and I know you understand.  Adoption is a very purposeful and cautious adventure.  Just know that she's absolutely precious, she's a miracle, and she has stolen our hearts!

There is already so much more to the story.  Kyle is going to make his blogging debut in a couple of days to explain how we have seen God's power and His hand in every detail since saying, "She's ours!  Send them the letter of intent!"