The Wee Small Hours of the Morning.

It's 2:45am and I can't sleep. My mind won't stop spinning and I can't keep the girls out of my head. I thought I would share what has gone on in our little world over the last few days.
Friday morning I got home from a long night of work and after talking briefly with Garrett, I headed to bed to get some rest. Garrett left to visit family for the afternoon and I was thankful for the quiet, hoping sleep would come quickly. I was in that perfect state of zen right before you fall asleep when my phone rang. Usually I don't pick the phone up if I don't recognize the number, but for some reason I picked up.
When Kristina (our social worker at CHSFS) identified herself, my ears perked up and I was suddenly wide awake. When we started this process we were told the wait would be six to nine months and likely longer if we wanted siblings. We have watched couples wait over a year for siblings, so we were prepared for the six month minimum and left our referral open to either a sibling pair or a single infant. We decided from the beginning to trust that the children we were supposed to have would come to us at the right time and we were prepared for the wait.
That said, four and a half months into the wait, when the phone rang, I was caught completely by surprise. In a daze, I asked Kristina if I could get ahold of Garrett and call her back. Between giggles at my stuttering, she made sure I had her contact information and hung up the phone. I called Garrett and with rushed excitement told him Kristina had called and we had two girls that she wanted to talk to us about. Thinking I was joking (I wasn't sure it wasn't a joke at this point) he double and triple checked what I had said and with a few "really's!?!?" between us, Garrett got in the car to head home and I called Kristina back.
She was good enough to put Garrett and I on the phone together as he headed home to view the referral via email. She shared a bit about them, stayed on the line long enough to make sure the email went through and then let us know she was there if we had questions and contact her when everything had sunk in.
The next 5 minutes spent waiting for Garrett to get home was an ETERNITY!!!!! He pulled up and got into the house in record time, hugging me on the way in the door. We sat for a minute staring at one another and the email trying to take in the moment. We turned the camera on, clicked on the email and saw our daughters for the first time.
We sat there for hours reading, staring, crying and staring some more. They were so small! The twinkle in their eyes brought a smile to my face but it also served as a reminder of the heartache those little lives had gone through and the longing they have for a family. They were truly BEAUTIFUL and in that moment, I was a mom.
It was hard to take it all in. One day you think you have a few months before you MIGHT be parents of a single infant and the next day, you are suddenly the parents of two toddlers! Wow!
It has taken a few days for things to sink in a little better. Telling family and friends has been so much fun and we have thoroughly enjoyed putting together a care package for the girls to keep until we can get to them.
Immigration will be tricky with the move, but Kristina has already notified the Ethiopian courts and we are waiting for a court date. Once the court date is issued (probably a few weeks from now), we wait for them to process paperwork and once the birth certificate is issued we are given a travel date and can be on our way. This sounds fairly simple, but it takes a while between each step and we have been encouraged to hold off on getting our hopes up about travel before September (at the earliest). It is also possible that we may be caught in court closures, which would extend travel as far out as November.
We have received more love and encouragement from people throughout this process than we can begin to say. Needs that we thought would never get met, have been met and we have found support in places we never expected it. Thank you for the shoulders to cry on, the ears to listen, the kind encouragement and advice. We will continue to need it and are counting on you all to give it!
As for me, I'm going to attempt to count those fat sheep that are sick of stumbling around the field in my head. Here's to hoping that sleep comes quickly. Before long, it won't be the thoughts in my head keeping me up! :)