11:03 ..... YIPEEEEEEEE!!!

I stayed home today because my head, chest, and ears are congested; I'm coughing from my toes and I'm freeeeeeezing! Well, even with all that, there is GREAT NEWS!! (If I hadn't been feeling so miserable I would have missed the call!)

At 11:03 the phone rang and woke me up. It was our adoption coordinator. She was telling me that WE HAVE RECEIVED REFERRAL ACCEPTANCE FROM THE CCAA! YEAAAAAAAAHHHH! And, that means...

LITTLE ONE IS OURS!!!

For those of you who I've been waiting to tell, but haven't been able to because of the referral acceptance, We're getting a little boy from China!!! Here are his pictures! Isn't he the cutest???!!!!







Also, here is the email that I sent to our parents and siblings back in January when we first learned about our little guy. I'm so pleased to say that those "Shhh" clauses are no longer in effect! I can tell the world!!!

"Hey Everybody! January 7, 2009

Meet the newest Gonzalez!! OK, so he's not "official" yet so this email is NOT TO BE PASSED ON YET, but we couldn't stand waiting any longer!! (PASS IT ON, PASS IT ON!! He's ours!)

I know, we were all expecting a little girl, but sometimes God has a plan that is different than ours. When we signed on for adoption the agency we signed up with did not have a "waiting children program" and we pretty much thought that "special needs" meant someone who would need care very long term. We found out later that it might just be a little person with a "defect" in some people's eyes. So when our agency merged with a larger agency that does have a waiting children program, we prayed about signing up for that (since it looks like waiting for a healthy little girl could mean waiting until late 2012!) When we got back from Florida we filled out the application. We expected to be contacted by mid-January to let us know if we were accepted into that program.

Yesterday afternoon (January 6) at 2:53 we got a phone call from our adoption coordinator. I thought it was basically to talk about our case. Well, that it was!! She said they had reviewed our application for the waiting children program and immediately had a match for us, IF we were interested. So, we accepted the information, talked to Jim about his cleft lip and cleft palate, called her back for more information. We prayed a lot about this last night and did a bit of research. We both were instantly attached.

So, the process that is to come: We continue filling out paperwork, the agency electronically sends it to China, they review it (which should be fairly quick since they already have our dossier), and then China sends us a Referral Acceptance, then we apply for our travel visa, and wait some more. Our little guy could be home with us in anywhere from 1 - 4 months!!

(These details were as of September 2008)
OK: Details: Current name: San Wenlian
DOB: April 26, 2007
Height (at birth) 46 cm Now 73 cm
Weight (at birth) 2.5 kg Now 8.3 kg (about 18 lbs)
6 teeth (not at birth!)

Of course, we aren't going to call him Gennai. We're in the process of picking names. Now that we have his picture we can see what name goes with him. We are definitely excited and wish we could send this out to everyone on our contact lists. BUT, there is always a slight chance that China might not give the referral acceptance, so it's not 100% certain that this is the newest Gonzalez, but it looks like it probably is!!! :)

OK, I'll let you go now. We'll talk to you all sometime soon.

Love, Joan, Guillermo, & Little G"

Now we wait for Travel Approval, our visas, etc. We are hoping to travel in April. Hopefully we'll have Little G home for his birthday! Wouldn't that be great?!!