Seven short days ago we received a referral.  In the world of adoption, a referral means everything: you see the child’s face, learn their name, see their smile…fall in love.

It was last Sunday, we were moving items out of my Grandma and Grandpa Decker’s condo and the whole family was there.  It was a bitter sweet time for all of us. The realization of their move to Pennsylvania to be with our Aunt and Uncle and live in an assisted living facility would mean a shift in the family dynamic back here in Kentucky.  We had each had our moments of tears and laughter as we sifted through pictures, trinkets and love letters from when Grandpa was a marine in WWII.

We had packed the last box, loaded the last chair and headed out to get some lunch at a Mexican restaruant when my phone started blowing up.  I flippantly made the remark, “Whoever you are you can wait.  I just can’t deal with you right now!”  I just wanted to be with my family…little did I know that the person on the other line was trying to add to our family.

It wasn’t until I decided to look at the text message that said, “CALL ME.  I have a referral for you!” that I understood.  My mouth dropped open.  I began to cry.  My husband kept saying, “What?  What happened?  What’s wrong?”  I couldn’t speak…I just held up the phone for him to see.  We had a referral.  We had our little girl.

I couldn’t dial the phone fast enough.  When Amy True, our facilitator with DRC Adoption Services, answered the phone laughing and said, “I thought that might get your attention!”  She told us of a little girl in an orphanage, Center Emmanuel, in Kinshasa, DRC.  They weren’t sure of her age, but guessed around three or four years old.  Everyone was crying, trying to hear and wondering if this was really happening.  “What about our home study?”, I asked, “We haven’t even completed that yet.”  Amy said she had relayed that information to the Sarah with Wren’s Song, who was providing the referral, and Sarah wasn’t concerned.  Sarah felt we were the right family.  She would work on getting things set up on her end while we finished up our home study.  We had to work quickly, but it wasn’t an obstacle.

“I’ll text you a picture of her.  Talk it over, pray about it and let me know if you want her.” Amy said.

“We want her!”  I blurted out.  Looking at John he was shaking his head and saying, “We want her!”

We hadn’t seen her face and didn’t even know her name at that moment, but we KNEW we wanted her, she was our little girl…our African Princess.  Amy laughed and said, “I thought that might be the case.  I’ll send the picture right now.  Talk it over and let me know.”

“Okay”, I replied, “What…What’s her name?  Do you know her name?”  I asked.

“Diana.  The orphanage calls her, Diana.”

“Diana!”  I shouted, “Her name is, Diana!  My baby’s name is, Diana!”

Within seconds we saw her beautiful face for the first time.  Surrounded by our kids, father, step-mom, sister, brother, nieces, and nephews we met her for the first time.  Words simply can not explain how blessed, overjoyed and excited we were.  It was just like seeing our daughter, Payton, and son, Henry, the moment they were born…

It was miraculous and beautiful.

It was seeing a part of us we always knew, yet had never met before.

It was putting skin on the love we had carried in our hearts for the last few years.

It was surreal and amazing.

It was seeing our dream come to life…

It was love being born.