So last week, we were talking about how we needed to write a blog post. We really didn't have anything to say, but at least wanted to say "yep, still waiting." And we procrastinated. And then Friday happened. Friday, May 27th. Suddenly, we did have something to say - a little something(s) that will change our lives forever.
You know how sometimes you get something in your mind and you just latch onto it like it's written in stone? Well, for us, it was that THE call would come on a Tuesday. Our friends received their call on a Tuesday. We had other communications that had come from our agency on a Tuesday. Tuesday it was. Tuesday it would be. Note that the basis for this thought is shaky at best, but you know, you hang on to what you can during the wait. So Tuesday came, and Tuesday went, week after week. We always have our phones with us, but we held them extra close on Tuesdays. After another disappointing Tuesday last week, we decided to just look forward to Scott's last day of school/beginning of summer break on Thursday, then Memorial Day Weekend to enjoy time with family. And then, as noted above, Friday happened. Beautiful, glorious, wonderful FRIDAY.
I was spending my Friday running an interview day at work (which was quite successful, by the way), and Scott was enjoying his first full day of summer break building Adirondack chairs with his besties (they love when I call them that). I was daydreaming as my last interview was happening in the room next door and my FitBit vibrated signaling a call. I looked down to see a number I didn't recognize... ugh... telemarketer. Begrudgingly, I answered.
L: "Mary? This is Lydia" (Program Director for our agency)
Oh my gosh. It's LYDIA??? Lydia only calls for one reason. LYDIA ONLY CALLS UNANNOUNCED FOR ONE REASON.
Me: "Yeah?!????? OH MY GOSH!!!! LYDIA! OH MY GOSH!!!"
L: "Are you by a computer and are you with Scott?"
Me: "*sob* No ... to... both.... can *sniff* we call Scott??"
L: "Give me his number and we'll conference call"
Next thing I know, I hear Scott join the call and Lydia shares the most wonderful news with us. She said she hoped we had thought of some boy names as we had been matched with three little guys across the ocean. The call was brief as I was crying, she was crying... it was a whole mess. So she said she'd email the referral to us, we should take the weekend to read, discuss, celebrate, etc., and then we'd touch base on Tuesday. And just like that, our lives were changed. With one 7-minute phone call.
SO! Now that I've painted the scene, let's get down to business!
Our boys are beautiful. We are reading and re-reading the information we have about them just to soak up every last drop. We're so anxious to get more information on them as the process moves forward. We hope to travel to meet them as soon as possible. We anticipate getting those dates in the next week!
You might be wondering a few things - what country they're from, what they look like, ages, etc. We appreciate, so much, your interest in our sons and we excitedly share all we can - but there is a lot of information that we're just not permitted to post on any electronic media. It's for the protection of the kids and the adoption process, so we will have to wait on a lot of those details for now. Don't worry, when they come home, we'll bombard your news feed :). You may see us share a thing or two from our agency that gives more information through that avenue rather than directly linking us to the details.
So now what? Now we wait for dates to travel to meet the boys. We fill out some paperwork to get the process started and enjoy the time celebrating with our family and friends. We will travel to meet them and be with them for about a week. After that, we'll come home and return 4-6 months later to bring them home forever.
We truly couldn't be more thrilled. We're nervous, anxious, overwhelmed, and excited in every way you could possibly think of. It's been an incredible 6 days sharing this news with our family and friends and we are so excited to have everyone along for the rest of this journey. It's been an adventure so far and we know it is just beginning.
Here are some fun pictures we took over the weekend as we celebrated with our families! One of the things we've been most excited about is making our parents Grandparents again, making our siblings Aunts/Uncles, and adding cousins to the crew... what a joyful weekend full of screams, tears of joy, and lots and lots of love! It was a weekend we will never forget - we've waited a long time to share news like this with our families and it was so exciting to get to finally surprise them!!
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| Ready to surprise everyone!! |
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| We had boxes filled with goodies from our sons' home country and a balloon ready to pop out with the news! |
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| So excited to share the news!!!! |
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| With Grandma and Grandpa DeArmond |
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| Aunt Stef, Uncle Jeff, Cousins Leah, Trevor, and Mya! |
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| Ready for the Eckert reveal - "pool toys for the kids" haha :) |
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| With Grandma and Grandpa Eckert |
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| Aunt Sarah, Uncle Larry, and cousin David toasting the newest family members! |
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| Such a fun night!!! |
We cannot thank everyone enough for the incredible love and support you've shown us through this journey. As we type this, we're receiving messages and comments on Facebook, emails, texts, and calls. We truly feel like you all have prayed and loved our family home. Our prayer request now is that our sons' hearts and ours are prepared to become a family of 5. We pray for a seamless process over the next 6ish months to bring them home, and that the transition is smooth. We are so thankful for our amazing village and cannot wait for the rest of this adventure to unfold.
Love,
Mary, Scott, and the three newest DeArmonds
