Without hesitation, I can say that December 8 was one of the happiest days of our life. My husband, Jeff, and I had been trying to start a family for many, many years. We lost several pregnancies and had twins who lived for just a few days. To say that we were eager for our referral is quite an understatement. I have always wanted to adopt a baby girl from China for so many reasons.
In early December, we attended a Gladney NYC China Program meeting and spoke with Andrea. She told us that we might receive some great news on Friday, December 9. We kept this amazing bit of information to ourselves just in case we were disappointed. Like so many other families, this process was an incredibly long and hard journey. It was almost impossible to believe that it was finally our turn to get "the call" .
On December 8, I met my parents for lunch at our favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant. I didn't hear my cell phone ringing for most of the meal. However, once I moved my purse closer, I finally heard it. When I opened my cell, I saw that I had missed several calls from Jeff. Andrea had been trying to reach me at home and finally called Jeff. Jeff's first words were "Andrea has been trying to reach you" and I knew what he was about to say. Jeff excitedly exclaimed "we have our baby girl and she has the same birthday as your father and my mother." On the paper placemat, I frantically wrote the important details that Andrea had given Jeff: she is from Chongqing and is living in the Dianjiang SWI, her name is Mei Lu Jiang, her weight, height and head circumference.
Once I was at Gladney (Jeff wasn't able to join me) and Andrea pulled out the photos, I was speechless. We finally had our daughter! I asked all sorts of questions and Gongzhan translated some of the referral for me. I couldn't wait to get back home and show Jeff and my parents the photographs of our daughter . We then celebrated this incredible day with dinner in another Chinese restaurant.
Even though we have now been home for five months, I still carry our referral photos with me!
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