One of the first things I noticed about Emily's file is that she was born the very day we submitted our application to our adoption agency. (She was left with a note indicating that she had been born Jan. 3, 2013)
Shortly after we submitted our Letter of Intent for her, I posted about her on a "closed/secret" Facebook group of other parents who are in the midst of the adoption process. One of the comments I received about her picture directed me to check my personal messages. I checked and this story then unfolded: Another family had received Emily's file in October - when she was only 10 months old - and had submitted a Letter of Intent for her and had begun to complete their paperwork to adopt her. They had also intended for her middle name to be "Jean." A few months into their "paperchase," their son - who had been involved in a terrible car accident several years before - had to undergo additional surgeries, a multi-week hospitalization, a fight against a serious infection in his leg, and severe pain. The mom wrote to me that she felt that God was giving them a sign that they needed to focus on their son. They made the very tough decision to release Emily's file and then began praying that they would somehow find the family who would adopt her so that they could share some pictures and updated information that they had received during their time "holding" Emily's file. The mom said that she had prayed that God would give her peace about her decision to release the file. When she saw my post announcing our excitement about adopting Emily, she said it was her sign of peace. She then sent us an update on Emily from October 2013 and pictures from her first birthday party in January 2014 (they had sent a cake to her to help her celebrate), and pictures from another update along the way. Thanks to this generous family, we'll have pictures of her at every single birthday and even more baby pictures of her. The mom told me that she believes that God had her family hold Emily's file and pray for her until we were ready to receive the file and say yes. What an incredible story! I hate that our joy is connected to this other family's struggle. We are so grateful to them for sharing their story and Emily's pictures and for their prayers for her all along the way. And the very fact that we connected with them in this way is just further proof to us that Emily's journey to us was meant to happen exactly the way it did.
Here are some of the pictures that this family shared with us:
