The email that started it all.

On August 21, we were in San Angelo for a baby shower for my friend, Sarah, and her new baby girl.  Over the years Sarah and I have had lots of adoption talks.  I mean, LOTS.  Throughout the course of the weekend several friends asked me about whether or not we had started the adoption process and I would immediately think about that stack of paperwork sitting in the dining room, and then mutter a quick, non-committal reply like, "Oh, yeah, kind of. We'll really get started on it pretty quickly, I'm sure."

On August 23, I received an email from Sarah. The subject line simply said
"for your adoption heart."
As I read the quick description of the video I could feel my heart start pounding. Tears welled up in my eyes. I clicked "play" and proceeded to bawl throughout the entire 7 minutes and 35 seconds of the video.

The Video

(I'm sure they don't mind me sharing it…)

ETHIOPIA, Lord?!  How terrifyingly daunting.  I didn't even know where to begin, but I knew it was right.  THIS was the reason that paperwork had been sitting there for 6 months. THIS was God's plan.  It had to be His plan, because there's no way we could pull it off on our own.

My family was already in bed for the night, so I spent the next few hours researching.  I think I looked up every possible adoption agency that works with Ethiopian adoptions.  Finally, I found the perfect one for us.  As I scrolled through the pictures of all of the case managers, directors, coordinators, etc., I felt like I knew them.  It seemed like they were already rooting for us!  I was overwhelmed with excitement…and peace.  Both at the same time! Crazy, I tell you.

I filled out the pre-application at 11:35 p.m. on August 23rd.
At 11:45 a.m. on August, 24th, I received a phone call from the agency. We were approved to begin the process of bringing our baby home from Ethiopia.