Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Smiles Anyone?


Our Pune Princess - November 2010

Five years ago today, my mom left this earth headed heavenward. Relieved that she was finally rid of illness and pain, I was still filled with selfish thoughts of how I would miss seeing her tomorrow or have that kind of mother/daughter relationship we once shared. Over time, this feeling has waned, but she is never far from my thoughts. This year, I guess because it is a milestone year, I found myself especially blue when I woke up this morning. Perhaps due to the previous evening; preparing the wreath for her place of rest, attaching one additional red rose to mark the passing of another year, or writing the annual letter of thanks to accompany the plate of baked goodies for the staff of the Hospice House, once again acknowledging their compassionate care provided to those living out their final days, just as both my mom and Pat's dad did. They passed away nearly two years apart to the day.


Paged to the phone at work, I noticed the time was 8:45 am, the typical time I receive my daily Devi update from Pat after he drops her off at preschool. To my surprise it was not his voice I heard, but rather the slightly high pitched soft familiar woman's voice of Lisa, our adoption representative. This recognition began an explosion of adrenaline through my veins; the kind that evokes that queasy feeling in your stomach, causes an immediate lump in our throat, rendering you incapable of uttering anything but a waver in your voice. We exchanged pleasantries, but honestly, I was unable to comprehend much, certain that I did not care to hear what she had to say. Pat and I had just discussed how we would tell Devi if this adoption did not go through and I was certain that the news she had called to deliver would be this sad reality. With the delays and turmoil surrounding the reorganization of the adoption process in India, we had been preparing ourselves for this very possibility.


My heartbeat pulsing like a bass drum in my ear drums, the pounding soon became a melody in the making. Much to my surprise Lisa said, " I have good news. Your case has just moved through the court in Pune and it was approved. You have guardianship!" I think I had her repeat this a couple of times before I could believe it. Our NOC was approved on November 8th and guardianship was granted on December 8th. This step was expected to take 3-4 months. Two months would have been optimistic, but guardianship in one month is nothing short of astounding. What a way to change this day of difficult memories to pure joyous ones! Thanks mom. There is no doubt, that you had some hand in bringing this happiness.


Pros at waiting, we've grown used to making our way to the front of one line only to step to the back of the next. Imagine my surprise when Lisa then said, "You can apply for your VISA's and should expect to travel around the second week of January!" Trying to swallow this information I swear I went into shock. Tingling form head to toe, my mind became an instant swirl of lists, thoughts and panic. Flat footed to react, we went from endless waiting to drastically behind in preparation in an instant.


Receiver still in hand, I dialed Pat and asked him if we had plans in mid-January? Naturally, he stepped right into my trap and answered, "No, why?" That's when I screamed into the phone, "Because we are going to India!" I could hear Pat begin to cry on the other end of the phone, trying to compose himself enough to respond, but all I could hear were squeaks of acknowledgment. (I secretly love that he is such a softy).


Within the hour, Pat had left his obligations at work and found himself in my office for much needed celebratory hug. With this embrace, faces buried in each others arms, the Hercules sized boulder of stress that we had been shouldering for the past two years immediately left us and simply floated away.


As you can see - she smiles! To add the icing on this decadent cake, we just received this photo from an Internet acquaintance who visited SOFOSH recently. She was taking her adopted 9 year old daughter there to see where she lived as a youngster. After our random connection, she offered to look for our Pune Princess while there and this was her report.


We did visit SOFOSH and got to meet Sonalika. She is a pretty girl, looks healthy, very friendly, and smiled a lot. She did not appear shy. Sonalika is a favorite of the ayahs there and they all like her a lot.

We got to tour the entire orphanage and see children from 2 days old thru toddlers. It is very clean and organized and the ayahs give good care to the children. We saw the toddlers eating lunch, feeding themselves, taking their plates to the sink to be washed and cleaning their hands. They were very happy and self-sufficient. All of the children that we saw looked healthy. We also got to meet the director and she took the time to talk with us and was very pleasant.


They gave my daughter a couple of gifts and a welcome home ceremony.
Tags from our thanksgiving Mexico trip are crumpled and still attached to the handles of our luggage that will NOT be finding their way back into the closet just yet. Look out Treya. Here we come!

32 comments:

collin said...

So sweet. Loved it.

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Kristy Hall said...

AWESOME NEWS!!! I've been thinking of you guys the past few weeks, hoping for a speedy court process. (We're still waiting for NOC but your quick court process gives us hope!)

Mid-January is right around the corner. I'm so excited for you!

Lisa said...

Tears of joy are streaming down my face! COngratulations!! I'm so happy for your family. Have fun getting ready!

Anonymous said...

I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!YAY! YAY! YAY! We serve a wonderful Lord who hears our prayers.Praying now that you get all your travel arangements made without a problem AND that Treya falls immediately in love with her family.I know why she is smiling in that picture.It is because she knew her forever family was coming soon!
Leveta

angie tucker said...

Woo-hoo! I'm so excited for you guys! January is just a blink away.

Congrats!

Angie

P.S. I love the smile! She's precious!

Cindy said...

Yay!!! happy dancing in NC for you!!!

Heart and Hands said...

YEAH!!!!! What thrilling news. I'm trying not to cry at work!!!

Emily said...

Hallelujah!!! Just pure joy!! Finally, Julie, finally! I wish I could call you so we could hoot and holler over the phone :) What a relief. I want to hear all the details as you prepare to travel. You're going to India Julie, Treya will be in your arms soon!! Emily

Rosell Crockett said...

Great news! What joy for the new year to bring your daughters together and home. Your Mom lives on through you as a Mom. Treya will be in you arms soon. So happy for you both! ~ Rosell and Jim

The Pfeiffer Family said...

Oh, my goodness! I had chills reading this post and eyes welling up with tears. I am SO excited for you guys! What wonderful news to receive on such a difficult day. God is SO faithful. The new pic of Treya is beautiful. Look at that precious smile, she must know that her mommy, daddy, and sister are coming soon to bring her home. Congratulations. I can't wait to follow your trip to India.

April :-)

Amy said...

Woohoo!! So happy for you Julie! Can't wait to hear news of the day when you meet Treya!

She is such a pretty princess!

Yay!!!!!

Eric and Cheryl said...

I played hookie from school today and am so glad I did. Crying, Crying and more Crying tears of joy and relief for your sweet family. What a beautiful girl with a perfect smile just like her sister.

I can't wait to see her in your arms.

Love you friend! Cheryl

Traci said...

Tears here too! So, so, so happy for all 4 of you!!!!!

SarahinOK said...

woot! woot! AWESOME~!!! So excited for you- praying for all of your preparation to be ordered and smooth!

Fenwick 5 said...

Merry Christmas!!! God had a wonderful gift in store for you all!! Congrats!! Gidget

The Labontes said...

WOW! Shouldn't have read this one at work - I'm all teary-eyed! This is amazing, and I'm so glad that the wondering, anxiety, and waiting for something terrible to happen can end. I'm sure, as well, that your Mom had her hand in this. She is absolutely beautiful, and I cannot wait to follow your blog while you're over there. (You WILL be blogging, right?) :)

Kristy

Karen said...

AMAZING!!! I'm so thrilled for you! Hip hip hooray!!

And for the first time, Roger is offering a blog comment as well: "Yay and whoooo!!!" Hahahaha, that's a good indication it's BIG NEWS.

We are happy dancing right along with you, friend. What joy!!

xoxo Karen

SLP said...

Congratulations! We received our NOC at the end of October and are waiting for guardianship! So, this really encourages us to see things moving along. I can't wait to see the pictures of the homecoming!!!!! I read your blog often and your daughters are beautiful! Sally

Not By Chance said...

Praise God... rock on!

:)
Susie

Peter and Nancy said...

What a great surprise -- something so wonderful happening on such a sad anniversary! Your mom must be jumping for joy along with you. I am so, so thrilled for you . . . what a sweet Christmas you will have, knowing that you're taking off in a few short weeks! And I'll add to the bloggy peer pressure . . . you are blogging during your trip, right??!
With love,
Nancy

jasonliberty said...

What a wonderful Christmas Present :) WOO HOO!!! Go get that little cutie!!!

Cliff and Tami said...

SO happy for you!!!!
Tami

Melanie said...

Julie - what AWESOME news!! I am thrilled for you and your family! Soon, so very soon you will get to hold your precious Treya. I look forward to hearing all about it.
-Melanie

Beth Shepherd said...

What awesome news! Good things come to those who wait (if only we didn't have to wait so long).

Looks like I'm gonna be a first-time adoptive mama too...early 2011!

Teresa said...

I'm so happy for all of you!! I had tears in my eyes as I read your blog. Thinking that sometime soon that will be happening to us and wondering how I'm going to react. Can't wait to hear about your trip to India and your wonderful first meeting with your sweet daughter.

Teresa

Kristi W. said...

WOW!!!!!!!!! I just hopped on to do some blog hopping after a long absence and what a wonderful announcement!!! I'm thrilled for the four of you!!! What a miracle! Can't wait to hear that tickets are booked and itin is set. Yay!!!!!!!!

:)Kristi

Emily said...

I've been reading quietly for the past couple of years but this one deserved a loud "yahoooo"!! My heart sank when you suggested the adoption falling through but then I got tingles to hear the awesome news. I cannot wait to hear about your preparations and Devi's reaction to this major change.

Alarie and Todd said...

Best news!! congrats and we will anticipate following along with your journey to your daughter! yay! God is Good!

Tara said...

Through tears of joy I write this: Congratulations on your wonderful news!! So happy for your entire family!

Shad and Maggie Alsworth said...

Yah!!! Such happy happy news!!

Candice said...

I'm so, so excited for you all! Can't wait to follow your journey to pick up your new little one! She is adorable!

Candice

Jennifer said...

Oh my!!! I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes! I can't believe you received guardianship so quickly (in a good way!), and I feel bad that I've been so focused on other stuff that I didn't know! Oh Julie, I am so happy for you! What a marvelous pre-Christmas gift this is to all of you. I am just thrilled for you- truly!