THE EMAIL!!!!! THE REFERRAL!!!

THE EMAIL has finally arrived!!!!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!! I knew God was preparing us... SO... we definitely need travel money now! 

THE EMAIL... that we have been waiting for since February!! The email that I have stared at the computer for... refreshing the Gmail page every few minutes for... praying for... crying for... being angry for... THE EMAIL!!! THE REFERRAL IS HERE!!! 

I have referred to it as the FREAKIN' email if you have been around me for a time... either way... the FREAKIN' EMAIL IS HERE!!!! YAHOO!!! 

Today has been a whirlwind (more on the other stuff later), but I received the call that it was coming while I was scarfing down some yummy chips and spinach dip (thanks mom!).  I answered the phone... and I KNEW! Our social worker said, "Your referral is ready!" And I just screamed back "WHAT?! WHAT?! YES!" She told me she would be sending me THE EMAIL within minutes!! AHH! 

I hung up with her and all I could say was... "BOOM SATAN!" Haha! Why was that the first thing out of my mouth? I don't know... maybe it's because I was studying with Beth this morning (Beth Moore that is) about Satan being a lion waiting to devour us and our plans God has for us.  So...  BOOM SATAN! 

I hung up with her and called Jacob. He answered and before he could get words out, I screamed "OUR REFERRAL IS HERE... GET HOME NOW!!! IT'S REALLY HERE. I NEED YOU TO BE HOME NOW." He was frazzled and super pumped... but on his way. Andrew, the pastor, was driving so I knew they'd be there QUICK! haha! 

I just danced around the house... wanting to puke... and pass out... and shout... and scream... and cry... and laugh. And just saying "THANK YOU GOD! YOU ARE AWESOME! YOU ARE FAITHFUL! YOU ARE CRAZY! YOU ARE GOOD!" and then shouting some more and dancing and saying "I don't know what to do...!" I'm soooo glad there are no hidden cameras in our house... 

Jacob finally got home... and we opened THE EMAIL!!! AHH!!! 

Bad news first... there are no pictures yet! :( But we have his story. Yes, his story. I'm not going to share all of it with you. That will be his story to share - his past, his journey, and his life. I do want to share with you some of the most amazing sentences I've ever read.  Eric, OUR SON, was interviewed about being adopted.  This is what he had to say: 

"Eric appears to understand the concept of adoption.  He expressed that he knows and remembers the Morgan's from when they came to Belize to visit the institution.  Eric explained that he would like to be adopted by the couple. Eric is overly excited with the information of being adopted."

"Eric stated that he would love to be adopted and live in the United States with his new family." 

"Eric expressed interest in communicating with his new parents." 

O my heart!!! O my heart!!! I have no words... just JOY! To know he knows. To know he is excited. To know he is ours!!! 

We called our parents and family (Mrs. Christina had the best reaction... hands down!)! We texted our friends! We celebrated! 

So... answers to questions that are in your brains right now:

WHEN do we get him?
We have to do a few things more for paperwork - accept the referral (DUH!), one more form to clear Eric to come to the U.S., and then we'll get a document from Belize with the travel dates. PRAY that this paperwork goes through quickly and smoothly.

I thought the travel dates came with the referral... but as is with everything else... there's a few more steps in between.

Our social worker said he will be HOME before the end of the year! What a very merry Christmas we will have! We are hoping to travel in November to bring our boy home! 

What about Ziggy? Weren't there 2? 
We never really explained this very clearly.  We were APPROVED for two through our homestudy, but it has always been a decision of Belize to give us a referral for just Eric or for Eric plus another child.  So, our referral is for Eric, no "Ziggy." We are ECSTATIC to get Eric... that's been our heart the entire time.  If we were "given" two, we were going to jump on that opportunity.  So, we are a family of 3 - Jacob, Anna, and Eric Morgan (plus 2 dogs)! Oh... the joy!!! 

What do we do now? 
We pray that paperwork goes through quickly.
We pray for Eric.
We pray that money comes in (Donate button is in the top right if you heart desires to help)
We pray for all orphans and orphanage workers and people touching our paperwork... pray they are blessed and move quickly. 
We pray that God is glorified!!!