Referral, referral, referral!!

We are now the proud parents of a beautiful 10-month-old baby boy!!

What? You mean you want the complete story chock full of details? Well, if you insist...

So for those of you who are Holt families on the list to adopt from Thailand you will remember that when June referrals were finally announced (in early July) Marissa emailed all of us and said, "The first 4 families on the list received a baby and a 5th child was also placed." We were blessed to be matched with the fifth child!! It could not possibly have come at a crazier time for us either. It was the week we moved into our new house and we were surrounded by boxes, painting rooms and trying to get Brian ready to start a new job. We were still number 13 on the list and had been told to expect March 2010 but hope for December 2009. So yes, this was the best, most unexpected, overwhelming surprise EVER!!

If you are a PAP or if you follow adoption this may seem confusing or frustrating but we were the first people on the waiting list whose paperwork stated they were open to receiving a child from a case like this. Button has a bit of an unusual social history and some unknowns which we are not going to discuss because that is his private life history and his to share when he wants with whom he wants. We are so very blessed to have this little guy in our life and we thank God for bringing him to us! We hope we can be the parents he deserves in every way.

Button is the most beautiful little boy in the history of the world and we are completely in love with him. We received 5 pictures from his 3 month checkup and 5 from his 6 month. He is gorgeous, healthy and his update said his fine and gross motor skills were developing on track and that he is a happy and responsive baby. What more could a mother want?

What? You're wondering why we didn't tell everyone on planet earth right away? Oh yes, well that's because both our families live very far away and we really wanted to share it with them beforehand. So we told Brian's mom and grandparents first. Finally, my Mom's 60th birthday party was this past Saturday so we framed and wrapped a picture of Button as one of her presents. Both she and my dad started crying!! It was worth it for the surprise factor but, I'll tell you, I nearly died trying to keep this a secret for 3 weeks. I have been avoidng everyone's phone calls because I was so afraid I would give it away! So now that the cats out of the bag for all the family we can tell everyone else our best news ever: We have a son.

Miracles do happen,
--Rosemary