The Mama's Perspective

First of all...please read the post below! Tony posted all about what a special day yesterday was for us. After you read that and comment, come back and read this!

OK, so yesterday marked the one year anniversary since we got our first ultrasound picture (ok, actual pictures) of our amazing daughters. Since this is our first (of many) anniversaries of this special day, I HAD to give my perspective of how that day went. You all already know Tony got the news while driving home from Indy (HOW he managed to keep the car on the road, I'll never know!) So now it's my turn to tell you about how my day went the day I found out about our sweeties!
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Tony and I knew that we might be getting a call from Maury, our coordinator, regarding a kiddo. We also knew that there might be a possibility we would not be able to accept that child's referral (medical condition, etc.). So needless to say, we were a bundle of nerves for about two weeks before we got, "The Call".

We had just gotten back from a wonderful vacation, and I had started school. If I'm going to be honest, then I must tell you, I was suffering some all-time lows about the wait for our child. I knew the end result would be worth it, and I had given the entire situation to God...um, about a hundred times, because I kept taking it back. So, when school started, I was just glad to be doing something to take my mind off of the empty nursery.

So I am in my classroom just teaching away. Thankfully, I left my cell phone on (heheh, actually, I forgot to turn it off). When it rung, I dove toward my desk to shut if off. The sixth graders in class thought it was funny though. So I looked, first, to see who it was. When I saw Tony's name and number show up, I asked one of my co-teachers to watch the class while I stepped out into the hall. (THANKS Lauren!)

When I answered, my heart jumped because I KNEW this had to be it. Here's how it went...
(As close to the real convo as I can get)

Tony: Hey...
Me: Hi!
Tony: How are you (or something to this equivalent)
Me: Um, ok...where are you? Did Maury call?
Tony: On my way home from Indy, and yes
Me: And? Tony, you're killing me here...
Tony: She said there's a unique situation.
Me: Unique? Huh? How?
Tony: They have twins.
Me: Oh my gosh...oh my gosh...

Blah blah blah...here we both got a little choked up...I asked a few q's about the girls and he gave me the basics of what he knew (age, medicals, etc.)

Then...

Me: Have you seen their information? (Mind you, I'm trying SO hard not to freak, faint, or cry)
Tony: No, she's emailing it to you.
Me: OH MY GOSH...to my school account? This is for real...
Tony: I have a Dr.'s appointment at 2:20 anyway, so I can take their paperwork with me for him to look at. Can you print it off and I'll swing by and get it?
Me: Um, yeah...OH MY GOSH...twins...
Tony: Yeah....twins! I'll be by shortly.
Me: Ok, I love you.
Tony: I love you too.

(How about that Dr.'s appointment? Tony was feeling sick so he had scheduled it before we ever got the call! Can we say "God orchestrated"!?!?!?

I stumbled back into my classroom in a daze. My students were still there. What in the world? I just whispered to Lauren (co-teacher) that Tony got the call from our agency. I told her I needed to check my email. She kept right on teaching like a champ.

My knees were literally knocking as I sat at my desk to pull up my email. When I saw our coordinator's name appear with her email, my heart literally was in my throat. I opened her email and read the text. Then I did what I was most nervous about. I started opening the attached pictures. I did NOT want to fall in love with these kiddos. I wanted to be objective. I wanted to be fair.

When Zhuang LuLa's picture first appeared, I think I gasped. I know I cried. One of my students caught my eye and said, "Mrs. Foster, did you just see your daughter's picture for the first time?" She's a great little girl. I winked, and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Well, it was too late. Zhuang LuLa, and then Zhuang LuMei had stolen my heart. Here were two little girls on the other side of the planet that had NO idea that a Mama was just born.

Tony got to school and I met him in the hall downstairs. I took a deep breath and asked him if he wanted to see the pics. He said yes and when I revealed them, he grinned. His guarded, but loving heart melted too. "Cuties..." he whispered. From there, he was off to the doctor.

Although we weren't supposed to share the news (good grief, I had only had their information 10 minutes) I just HAD to call my mom! She cried! I cried! What a mess!

I immediately called my principal who was very understanding and let me leave early. (Thanks again Lauren, for covering my class!) I was able to buzz across town to go to Tony's appointment. They let me go right back to the office where Tony was sitting alone. I breathlessly asked him if he had shown the files to the doctor and he he said yes. He said the doctor said they looked good. It didn't matter...by this time we knew those girls were meant to be ours.

We stood in the parking lot and hugged and cried. We shared the news with a few immediate family members (China didn't even know us at this point). We immediately got working on our LOI (Letter of Intent) saying we wanted to adopt these beautiful girls. And then, we set about the business of naming our second daughter.

So much more happened that Friday, and the days that followed, but it's best saved for our family memories. I let you in on a lotof my emotions, actions, and thoughts from that day. What an amazing day. One of the best memories was sharing the news with my MIL, Kyna. We showed her Abby (she cried) and then when we got to Laney, she said, "We get both? Both little girls are ours?" Yes, Kyna. They're ours. Forever.

Those sad-faced little girls so many miles from us would soon become Abrielle LuLa and Delaney LuMei. We would work our hardest to get them smiling and loving life and God.

So, my friends. Where were you, what were YOU doing when you found out we had twins?