On Wednesday, July 22, 2009 I woke up thinking it would just another day in the wait.  We were having a summer picnic at work, so that would be something fun to look forward to.  I had made a rhubard cake the night before and needed to stop at the grocery store to pick up the whipped cream.  Work moved along as usual that morning. I had a meeting with 5 or 6 of my coworkers at 9:00.  As usual, I kept my cell phone in my pocket, which also had my home phone number forwarded to it.  When it rang, everyone stopped talking and looked expectantly at me...was this the call?  The caller ID registered an 877 area code.  Nope--just a marketing call.  After the meeting, my coworker and I went to the gym for a workout.  After all, it was picnic day and I was ready to eat a lot of great summer food!  After the gym it was back to work. Around 11:45 I heard people start preparing for the picnic so I headed to the kitchen area to help out.  I was soooo hungry looking at all that wonderful food, especially after working out an hour before. 

 

At 11:50, I heard my phone ring again. I pulled it out of my pocket, almost annoyed, thinking it was another marketing call. And then I saw the 703 area code and my heart leapt into my throat..."Hello, this is Sue." I answered.  The sweet voice on the other end said, "Hello Sue, this is Terra!"  I think I said something rude like "Just a minute!", and I clutched the phone to my chest and screamed to my coworkers standing in the kitchen, "This is my call!!!!" I ran back to my office.  One person said I jumped about a foot off the ground.  I closed my office door and then had a moment of panic--what if Terra was calling for some other reason??  So I said, "Terra, this is my call isn't it?"  She laughed and said yes, it was.  You see, getting that magical referral call puts you in a completely different place, where all logical reasoning flies out the window.   I immediately started crying and told her I was going to try not to cry through the entire phone call.  I don't remember her exact words after this point, but I did get "2 month-old baby girl," "absolutely beautiful," "healthy," and "e-mailing you pictures and forms to your home e-mail address."  My words were incoherent at that point.  Weeks before, I had created a list of question to ask Terra when I did get the call.  The list was somewhere near my phone and it never crossed my mind to look for it while she was on the phone with me.  We hung up and I tried to type in my home e-mail address to access that very precious e-mail that contained my daughter's face...my hands were shaking so bad I could barely type.  Ah, finally...there it was.  There were about 8 attachments and I pulled up two forms before I had the presence of mind to pick out only the JPEG files.  And there she was...my daughter's face staring back at me.  She was grinning from ear-to-ear.  I just melted.  Thank you, God, thank you, God, thank you, God.  She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen in my life. 

 

I heard tapping at my door and realized there was a group of people wanting to hear the results of my commotion.  The group filed in and I have never felt more proud in my life than that moment.  I presented my daughter to them--my daughter!!  I started calling my family and was only able to reach my sister.  I remembered that there was a picnic going on and I had been very hungry just moments before the call.  I went out and filled a plate with food...and I couldn't eat!  After a few minutes, I excused myself, saying I had to keep trying my parents.  I didn't eat again until 7:30 that night.  I did reach everyone in my family, and some close friends.  Nothing else mattered that day. I was flying high--Cloud 9 and then some!!  My world has changed--I have a daughter, and she is a precious gift from God.  I believe she was chosen especially for me, and I accept that tremendous responsibility with humility and honor. 

 

I cannot post her pictures or other identifiable information until after I pass court.  I have no idea when that will be, but I will hopefully receive notification of my court date in Ethiopia in the next 2-4 weeks.  I will not be present for that court date, but if I pass, I will travel about 2-3 weeks after that.  I will travel to Ethiopia to get my daughter.  I am a mom at last :)