We got our referral!!

Finally, after 8 and a half months we received our referral. Here's the story:

Last Thursday I came home to a message from our local agency requesting translated paperwork for the child. I called them back stating that we didn't use them for Owen and that we had not yet received a referral, so I didn't know what they were needing. The woman put me on hold and then came back stating that someone would call me back to talk about it. About ten minutes later, she called back apologizing that she was new and that she meant to call our agency. I called Dave immediately and related the story. We both came to the conclusion that they must have a referral, but were missing some sort of document. So, the rest of the day and into the evening we anxiously waited for our call. By 9:00 pm we hadn't heard anything, so we went to bed sad and confused.

Dave decided to call our local agency the next morning to find out what was going on. He didn't get much information so he emailed our agency that deals with Ethiopia stating what had happened the day before and asked if we had a referral. The woman at that agency emailed us back saying how sorry she was that we went through that, that they did hand out a lot of referrals that week but we didn't have one. She also stated that we were number one on the list and that she hoped that she would receive more referrals by the end of the month.

Dave emailed me saying that he was taking a half day. So, Owen and I came home at our usual time and had lunch. Owen laid down for his nap while Dave watched TV and I worked on a blanket. We sat there very bitterly. At 2:15 the phone rang and I expected it to be our realtor to set up a showing for our house. To my surprise the caller ID said it was our agency in Minnesota. I answered it quickly and our representative said "You're not going to believe it, but we received a handful of referrals today". I quickly got Dave on the phone and we listened while she told us about her.

We are naming her Aliya Agegnehush Zitek and she was born February 5, 2008 in Morsito, Ethiopia.

When Owen woke up, we showed him her picture and the first thing he said was "She needs socks" and then he said "She needs a hat".

We are so thrilled and we hope to travel late May/early June.