A year (and a day) ago, a month ago

March 19, 2009.  I'll never forget that day.  It was a Thursday. 

The previous Friday I was researching some adoption agencies and their waiting children programs for when we were "ready" to start the process again.  By accident I found myself on one agency's list of children and was very drawn to a little girl listed as Payton.  But her "special need" was daunting, she was so close in age to my kiddos at home, and besides we weren't ready yet.  So life as I knew it continued, busy chasing after my newly turned three year old and my two and a half year old.

And then Thursday happened.  I find that I forget a lot of things these days.  But I will never in all my life forget the conviction in Kylie's voice as she told me that day that her two year old sister was waiting for us in China and that we had to hurry and get there soon.  (Entire conversation recorded here).  

So the next day, Friday, March 20, 2009 I got curious and sent an email letting them know who I was and requesting a "little more" information on Payton from the agency.  I think I expected their understanding of her diagnosis and maybe a birth date.  Imagine my surprise when I checked my email that night and saw that I had an email from the agency's International Adoption Specialist that contained her entire file.  I was standing in the kitchen as Ian put the dishes in the dishwasher when I saw her pictures clearly (they were blurred on the website) for the first time. 

I think that I knew right then that she was our Darcy.   I suppose that thought was reflected in the email I sent to Ian later that night as we sat side by side on the couch, he engrossed in a very complex problem with a rapidly approaching deadline at work.  It said,

"All I ask is that you look at her referral information and pray.  She is two, just like Kylie said...

I love you!"

And I didn't bring her up again for fear of "pushing Ian" into beginning the process before he believed we were ready.  It was SO HARD, but I knew that if Payton was indeed our Darcy that God would have Ian on board.  Almost two weeks later we were going on a treasured date night and I knew our future when we sat down at the restaurant and Ian said, "So lets talk about Payton..."

Before I knew it we were requesting a waiver to begin the process "early."  And while many parts of it went MUCH SLOWER than I wanted, it was pretty cool that we met Darcy on a Saturday (usually meeting day is on a Monday) exactly 11 months after I asked about her and then later read her file. 

Since that day we've been figuring out our groove as a family of five.  There have been some really ugly moments, but there have been many more beautiful ones.

And then today we reached the one month mark.  One month ago today our worlds merged.  And it also marks one year and one day since Kylie made her proclamation that her sister was out there.  I think having a little sister looks good on her...

Amazing how God sometimes speaks though the little ones, isn't it?