Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Celebrating The Day We Got "The Call!"
One year later looking at her referral picture!(You may have to hit the play button twice)
*You may want to pause the music below on the playlist at the very bottom of these pages!
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Excerpts from my journal on March 7th, 2007:
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Excerpts from my journal on March 7th, 2007:
Dear Ru,
It has been 48 hours now since I heard your name for the very first time. I am going to do my best to describe how we learned about you, and what has taken place since the week began.
March 5th began very early for me. Caymus (our dog) actually woke me up at 4:30. Since I was up, I decided to turn on my computer to see if there were any updates on RQ from the European groups. The very first subject line said, "October 24th is the cutoff!" I stared at the screen barely able to breathe. When I opened the message there it was! "The internal CCAA website says referral cutoff is 10/24/05!" I can't tell you how long I sat at my desk crying tears of joy. It was like being frozen in time. I grabbed my Bible and it opened to 1Samuel 1:27, "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." Oh, how I had been waiting to shout those words!
Next I walked upstairs to tell your Daddy. Somehow I was able to blurt out, "You are going to know who your new daughter is today!" That clearly got his attention! Your precious Dad just held me while 17 months of tears landed on his chest.
Your Dad was scheduled to leave for a business trip to AZ that morning. Since we didn't know for sure if we would get our referral that day we called our FC at AWAA and asked her if he should stay home. As we were driving to the airport, Amy called my cell phone and said, "I can't tell you anything, but tell Jeff not to get on that plane this morning. I will call you back!" Enough said, we turned the car around and quickly re-arranged Dad's trip. After some quick errands, we went home and waited for the phone to ring..
At 12:10pm, on March 5th we saw AWAA on the caller ID! We ran into Mom's office and answered on speaker phone. "The Call" that we had waited so long for started like this, "Congratulations Jeff & Diana, you have a healthy and beautiful baby girl and her name is Yue Meng Ru. She is waiting for you in the Jiangxi Province of China! She was born July 31, 2006 and she is living in Foster Care." She told us you were registered with the Yugan SWI, but you had never lived there. At this point, I started to cry. I had specifically prayed for months that you were safely with a caregiver that could tenderly care for you. To me, that was your Foster Mother. The other thing was that you were a July baby, just like your Daddy. Amy spent more time describing you to us. She said you were absolutely beautiful. That you had big brown eyes, beautiful skin coloring, and tons of hair!!!
The fact that you were only seven months old meant that you had been conceived around the time we began our adoption process, in May 2005. And, you were born on a Monday which was the day that Mommy had her weekly Prayer calls. All red threads that have connected us to you!
On March 6th we saw your face for the first time. For as long as I live I will never forget this moment. AWAA had told us to expect an email early in the morning followed by a fed-ex package by 10:00. I took your big sister to school and rushed home. By now your Daddy was in Phoenix so our plan was to open our emails together. And, that is how it happened. As you filled up my computer screen you took my breath away. You were more beautiful than Amy had even described you. There you were staring at me, your mommy! Amy told us you were a love at first site baby, and she was right. Your eyes, your beautiful lips, and adorable nose... Perfect! It was clear to me that you were loved and being taken care of. Answered prayer!
What followed was a flurry of emails, phone calls, visitors and wonderful guest book messeges. I don't think I slept until Thursday when your Dad returned. We celebrated you at a special dinner with your big sister that night. Six days later we finalized your beautiful name.....
I tell you all this because I so desperately want you to know how much you were loved before you came home. God was so faithful when he answered our prayers. You were so worth the wait! God picked you to be my daughter. What a privilege! I promise to do my very best raising you to be the child God intended you to be. Don't ever doubt for one single minute that you are special, wanted, and loved!
I love you,
Mama
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Now we fast forward one year, and we celebrate our first "referral-versary" (thanks Leeanne for the word) and we pause to give thanks. You have been such a gift to your Daddy, sister and me. We have been blessed to watch you bloom before our eyes. We have all grown as a family this year! So, Ruby Mei thank you for being so brave. Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for making us laugh everyday. Your joyful spirit is contagious! Our lives are all richer because you are in it.
"The Flower that Blooms in Adversity
is the most rare and beautiful of all."
~Mulan
Blessings to you, our precious beautiful gem, Ruby Mei!
Love,
Mama, Daddy & Ainsley
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46 comments:
Ok, thanks for my first cry of the morning! You have captured Ruby's referral that day beautifully...thank you so much for sharing with all of us~
Di,
As always you share your words, thoughts, and emotions with such beauty and elegance. I remember those couple of days so well. I truly felt just as excited, nervous, relieved, and happy as when we learned about Lindy.
It has been a gift to watch that somber child in the referral picture blossom into that vivacious Ruby Mei.
I continue to rejoice with your family and give glory to God for bringing you this far!!!
Enjoy recalling these special days and look forward to the future with great anticipation!
Love to all,
Lisa
Ok, I am not pretty in the morning before my shower and now I have the ugly cry going on to match! Your post is just beautiful and meaningful. I love how you captured every single moment, it will mean so much to Ruby Mei when she is old enough to understand. Referral day is so special, like a birthday, the first time you see your baby's face, and fall in love! Thanks for sharing this moment in time with all of us! Give her hugs from us today! (Glad you got the music to work!)
So Beautiful! You have such an elegant way of sharing your thoughts. What an amazing unforgettable day! I will always remember you as part of that day for us. Congratulations Miss Ruby & Family on your 1 Yr Refferal-versary!
Love,
Shauna, Joel & Kylee
Happy "referral-versary"! What a treasure Ruby is to all of us! We are so thankful that your dreams came true, and all of your prayers were answered. Isn't it just amazing how God chose the perfect little girl for your sweet family? His hand upon your journey with Ruby is just incredible. God has used this story to inspire and encourage so many, as a testament of His faithfulness! This is only the beginning! I can't wait to see how He will use her story throughout her life. What a blessing she is to us all! Thank you for letting us feel like such a part of the journey, it has been such an incredible experience! We love you guys so much!!
Jon, Liz, Jake and Luke
Diana,
You have done a beautiful job of recording all of the emotion, faithfulness and sweet details of this time. This will be such a special gift to Ruby someday. I remember that day so clearly too. I remember crying when I finally saw who God had chosen to join your beautiful and faithful family.
I love how you captured the beauty of that time and how you are sharing it with us today!
Happy happy referralversary. Ruby is such a blessing to celebrate.
Blessings to you my dear friend.
Love,
Kim
This was absolutely beautiful to read. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!!! What a tremendous blessing you all are to each other and to us. Happy Referral-versary to your family!
Fondly,
AnnaB (MAW mama with a new blog at ourpartyofeight.blogspot.com)
Beautiful post, Diana - making me cry at work and all!! ;) I had chills as it brings back so much of our referral day - and the way you wrote it makes me feel like I was there. When Ruby is finally able to understand those words, they will mean so much to her.
Tracy
Dear Ruby,
Last year at this time you were in Southern China enjoying most likely lovely weather! This morning you were pretty in pink shoveling the driveway with me!!!! Oh my, what a wonderful year it has been. Having you wake up today calling "Mama" was the perfect way to start you "referral-versary!!"
I love you!
Mommy!
Weeping, weeping, weeping...
Such a beautiful post! You have captured the moment perfectly.
I have been following your journey (through Joe & Jen's site) for so long. I can hardly believe it has been a year since Ruby's referral.
Thank you for sharing your story.
Blessings,
Tracy in MN
I'm sitting at my desk with tears in my eyes, reading your lovely words. Seems unreal sometimes, doesn't it? But thank God it IS real, right?!
Enjoy your celebration and big hugs from me to Ainsley and Ruby Mei!
Diana~
What a beautiful post of such a special day. Ruby will look back at this someday, and feel all the love and joy you felt on that day.
She is just precious!
Congratulations, and many blessings to your family.
Dawn
okay...the Dixie Chicks song is one of the ones on our video for Piper and we hope to use it for Paisley too! Dont you love it!
So sweet, watching your video of Ruby's referral was priceless...I'm verklempt! I'm already emotional!
oh...and on your blogroll, it's Paisley's day on 3/16...you put Piper! funny!
hayley
going to China baybee
Oh that made me cry thinking of our same special day! What an awesome God we serve!
Ohhh thank you so much for sharing with us. Your beautiful words and video brought me to tears. Your story imspires me as I am sure it does so many other people. I am so thankful that God so perfectly chose to place Ruby Mei into your beautiful and loving family.
Congrats on the first year!! I so enjoyed following you to China and it seems like it was just yesterday! You have 2 beautiful daughters and can't wait to see what God has in store for all of you in '08! Blessings from another myadoptionwebsite.com family!
Hi Diana!
Here's to the best cry I have had in a while...thanks so much for your beautiful words, for capturing so well the moments and joy that go into referral.
Thank you God, for beautiful Ruby Mei and for the loving family He knew was meant to be hers.
I feel so blessed to share this remembrance with you and rejoice right beside you! You approach everything with such grace, and inspire others of us to do the same. Our very best to Jeff, Ainsley and sweet Ruby.
Love & Hugs,
Heather
Thanks for sharing this! What a wonderful family you have! Such a special day of memories for you all! Hugs
Congratulations on celebrating one year of 'knowing' your precious Ruby Mei! What a blessing she is to your family, she even puts a smile on my face just from seeing that contagious grin in the pictures on your blog :)
Thank you for sharing your story, you have a beautiful, blessed family! Praise God for the way He creates families: perfectly!!
Congrats on 1 year! I can't believe its been that long already. Love the video...its sooo cute! Thank you for the hair bow info :)
I am bawling over my keyboard. What a beautiful video, heartfelt thoughts and loving memories for your Ruby Mei. Although she was a beautiful baby, she has truly blossomed in the love of her forever family.
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your journey with the rest of us.
Diana,
You are such a gifted writer! What a nice post...but most importantly, family! I have been blessed with your friendship through our adoption experiences~what a blessing, a true gift from above.
Blessings as you celebrate your first referral-versary! :-)
Diana Labady
Congratulations! What a sweet post! You are indeed blessed to have two such wonderful daughters!
Janet
I needed a good cry...and you have provided it! I have followed your family for over a year and loved every moment of it (except when Jeff was sick)! Your family has been such a blessing to me during this long wait for our baby girl!
Many thanks,
Michelle
What a beautiful and heartfelt post. I followed your journey on myadoptionwebsite.com and I'm so thrilled to see how your family has blossomed. Thank you for sharing your story as this gives us hope that in God's perfect timing we will receive our daughter.
Karen
What a beautiful post. What a special way to remember this very special moment in your life.
I could feel your emotions jumping out from your beautifully scripted words and the video that you put together. The part that touched me the most was when Ainsley grabs the picture and you both just hug. What a lovely family for Ruby Mei and what a fortunate family to have such a gift as precious as Ruby. Truly a match made in heaven.
Kate
Oh!! How wonderful!!! Thank you for sharing!! That you loved this beautiful little blessing from the very beginning is quite evident! You are a blessed mom of two beautiful girls. Happy Celebration!! :o)
You have an incredible way with words. Thank you so very much for sharing such intimate details of your story. How precious to capture those feelings and experiences as keepsakes for your family. Congratulations as you celebrate this milestone. Blessings - Beth
Diana,
What an amazing day that was...and what an amazing year it has been.
Thank you for sharing your feelings so beautifully!
I love checking in on you and your beautiful family!
TJ
Oh my goodness. Absolutely beautiful! What an incredible tribute to Ruby's referral and anniversary. I am still crying - happy tears. Simply beautiful. no other words come to mind to describe those moments that you captured - especially with Ainsley hugging you...Wow! Powerful!
Happy anniversary!
~Lynn/PA
Hi!
I read your blog ALL the time and love it! I have followed you journey right from the begining and followed you onto this website. Todays blog was absolutly beautiful. Like many other it brought tears streaming down my face. Adoption is something I want to do one day and reading this makes me want it even more. I want to experience that special call! Reading this made me feel as if i was there feeling the same emotions as you. I got goosebumps all over! Ruby is very lucky to have such an amazing family who clearly loves her so very much. Congratulations and this is to many more happy moments together! *Cheers!!!*
make me cry -- oh my goodness. thank you for this most precious post. it has been such a joy to share your journey through your blog. i have followed since your wait and truly you give me so much as we wait for God's perfect one for us from China.
all God's best --
Debbie :-)
What a wonderful celebration. I saw you had updated your blog with the referral anniversary when I was at work. But, I knew I had to wait until I was at home to read because I knew I would cry. Thanks for allowing me to follow along on your journey and life with two beautiful happy girls.
I believe we were in China about the same time. Amazing how long ago that feels and how right life feels!
Joan.
Mom to Elizabeth and Ella.
Di, Thanks for the comment on my blog. My referral for Ella was in January of 2007. She was a waiting child. I also used my adoption website while traveling. I loved the ease of updating family with that website.
http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/IsabellaRose/index.html
Joan.
This post and video made me cry! Thank you for sharing such a life changing moment with us. Your little Ruby Mei was worth the wait!
Diane - Hi - I think I commented once that I have been reading your blog (my friend just returned home in Feb with Grace) Anyway, I wanted to tell you what a beautiful post. I cried just reading your journel entry. What wonderful memories.
Keri
I loved your video. What a wonderful tribute to a beautiful day. Thanks for sharing.
Keri
That video was absolutely beautiful! You did a wonderful job.
Congratulations on reaching this wonderful milestone. May you always be blessed!
Danielle
You sure know how to make us cry! Beautiful post!
Beautiful post and video!
To read your post and the sentiments, emotion and joy that transcends your words ring so true to my heart. We have been reminiscing with sentiment since Jan. 3, which was our one year referral anniversary for our daughter Ava Lu. We just celebrated our one year anniversary of "Ava Lu day" - the day she was placed into our arms. I share your joy and sentiment!
Blessings to you,
Michelle
What a beautiful post! Congrats on your referral-versary. Ruby Mei is so beautiful!
Becky -- a fellow Yugan mommy
Oh, that was beautiful!! I just sat here and cried the whole time, for your joy and for my own when I experienced the most wonderful phone call of my life. God bless!
Laurie
What a wonderful, sweet post. The tears are flowing. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Happy Anniversary!!
What a beautiful post!! I was tearing up watching the video :)