We Have Our Referral 27 Months of Waiting

As most everyone knows now, we have received our referral! What does that mean? It means we have been matched with a child in China. Her name is En Xiao Mei. We have named her Rachel XiaoMei. Prounounced 'shao-may'; this translates to little beauty. She is located in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong (near Hong Kong). She was born 25-Feb-2007 and is now one year old! At 10-months she weighed 14.1 pounds and was 25 inches long. She is reported to be healthy and easy to laugh! Her medical report looks wonderfully perfect. We are saying YES to our daughter.

By saying "YES" that means our acceptance letter will be sent back to China this week. The next step is making an appointment with the US Consulate's office in Guangzhou. This takes about 2-4 weeks. After that we will know when to travel. In all, we should travel to China within next 6-8 weeks. Meanwhile, Rachel Xiao Mei will be readied for her adoption into the Duncan Family! And we will be getting packed and readied ourselves to welcome Rachel.

There is much to write, but for now we are just thrilled to know this little girl. By no strength or will of our own is she ours. She is a gift from God; a true miracle. When I received our call telling us about our daughter, I couldn't help feeling such implausible joy and sadness all at once. That was unexpected. But the sadness stems from the realization that a mother in China is grieving. This daughter was loved but was forced to be abandoned. We accept and love this daughter.