Letter of Approval!

Dylan allowed us to sleep nearly the full night with only one visit to our bed. He didn't ask for Tylenol, so back to bed he went and Daddy tucked him in. I almost got to sleep in until the phone rang at 7:30am. Nobody calls at 7:30am and whoever it is, better have a good reason for interrupting my first good night's sleep since Dylan's surgery....

It was our agency-- a brief surge of panic shot through me thinking something has happened to Nevin, or our application....my brained cramped trying to shake myself from sleep and the scary thoughts going through my head.

By that time, David had already answered the phone from downstairs and I missed the beginning of the conversation by the time I sneaked in on the conference call. Our application to adopt Nevin had been approved by the CCAA in China! Didn't they just wire it on Monday? WOW! Talk about expedient!

That leaves me stunned by the new time lines with the online system. We were logged in the week of May 3, received our referral for Nevin on May 18th, and approved yesterday.....so much for the notion that we could have been flying to China around Christmas-- we could very well get our date to travel in September, possibly the end of August!

All of this has sparked the "nesting instinct", the same instinct I experienced while pregnant with Dylan and Heather. I mean crazy stuff like washing baseboards, pulling out the extra pots and pans I never use and dusting the drawers, washing the toothbrush holder and dusting the toilet roll dispenser. And now I am making the garage sale pile....Oh, and started packing some of Nevin's things-- like the Tylenol, Benadryl, Gravol, diapers, nail clippers....etc. You just never know when you'll get the call....kind of like getting that hospital bag ready and waiting at the door for my water to break. So much to do!

The Call

Over seven years ago, David and I met with friends who adopted a daughter from China. From that moment on, I had always known in my heart we would adopt at some point in our lives. After being blessed with two beautiful birth children, Dylan and Heather, we decided it was time to pursue adoption. We discovered the Special Needs program in China, and knew it was the program for our family. Both David and I are from medical backgrounds, and we were very comfortable adopting a child with special needs. I might add that Special Needs in China can vary from a heart murmur to needs that are far more extensive.

Now fast forward to Tuesday night when I was headed off to bed, dreading that the next morning.  I would be packing my children in the car at 6am to drop my daughter off at Grandad's, and whisking my four year old son to the hospital for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for 6:45. Having a difficult time sleeping, I was ready to try one more time to will myself to sleep when the phone rang. I squinted to see the call display and there it was! My agency's name!  I must've flown from the mattress and glided midair to grab the phone. There could be only one reason that our agency would call this late at night.

And so today, we honoured the first birthday of our new son, born May 23, 2009. Our entire family came to enjoy a nice luncheon, and I baked a panda bear cake, and we all sang Happy Birthday to Nevin Yumeng Campbell. My children, Dylan and Heather blew out his candle. Although half a world away, we celebrated Nevin's first birthday. The only birthday he will have without us.

Our son is waiting in Baotou, Inner Mongolia in the People's Republic of China.