One Year Ago ...

One year ago tonight, I was preparing for my next day of work at Wal-Mart in Wallace. I had no idea what God had planned for me that day. I left Laney with my parents and made the 1 hour commute up I-40. I saw old friends and co-workers and had to answer the inevitable question, "Have you heard anything about your adoption", with the sad but true answer, "No, not yet" We had been waiting to adopt a child from Vietnam for almost a year and things were turning bad fast. The international adoption agreement between the US and Vietnam was set to expire on September 1st, and anyone who did not have a specific child assigned to them at that time would not receive a child -- no exceptions. Perry and I were anxious, mad, scared, and every other emotion you can imagine. But, we were confident that God had led us to the Vietnam program for a reason, and we were determined to ride it out, no matter what. So, a little after 3pm on July 24, 2008, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out of my pharmacist's jacket, and immediately recognized the number as coming from our adoption agency. I think my heart stopped beating for a second. I tried to calmly answer, "Hello?" and then heard the happy voice of Mary Beth (from our agency) telling me she had good news --- WE WERE MATCHED WITH A LITTLE BOY!!! I tried writing down all the info she gave me -- his name, birthdate, where he was, etc. It is all a blur. I cannot explain how surreal it is to find out all this information about the child who is about to join your family forever while being surrounded by ringing phones, beeping scanners, overhead announcements and customers trying to find out what OTC pill is going to help then lose 20 lbs without changing their eating habits or exercising. But, I got as much as I could from her and then had to explain to all my co-workers what had just happened. They were thrilled and so excited to be a part of the moment. I don't think I got much done the rest of the day. I called Perry (who hadn't answered his cell phone when Mary Beth called him first because he "didn't recognize the number(!)") and told him the news. Mary Beth said she would send the pictures of our son to us via email. The drive home was possibly the longest drive of my life. I got home before Perry (who had picked up Laney and was out and about with her). I couldn't wait and immediately opened the email. That is when I saw these pictures of Kiah for the very first time. It amazes me now how much like "him" he looks. The first viewing of your child who is literally half-a-world away is a little distanced, to say the least. You don't know them and you can't recognize what their expressions mean. But, looking back at them now, I can see Kiah in all of them. He has some of the exact same expressions today, but now, I know what they mean! What a blessing this child has been to us. I had no idea what God had in store for us, but HE did and we are humbled beyond words to be the offical and forever parents of Kiah Thanh Allen.