REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You all  have NO IDEA how long I've ached to write the word "Referral" with a bunch of exclamation points behind it!!!! And this week I finally can!!!!
I just need to do it one more time! Just humor me!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, three times! LOL! Ok, it's out of my system for now! LOL!
So without further delay... We would like for you all to meet the newest-soon to be- members of the Trautman family!

Luisa is our 7 year old beauty!

Jhonatan (Jonathan) is our handsome 5 year old little man!

Cindy is our cutie-pie 3 year old princess!

So here's the story... the abbreviated version....
Last time I wrote, we had just found out that for some reason our referral was being delayed for a month.  Without going into a lot of details, let me just say that this past month has been the absolute most difficult month of our lives.
About two weeks into our month long wait, we were confronted with some difficult information about our kiddos' medical information. It was absolutely gut-wrenching as we received good news, bad news, confusing news, doubtful news, and more confusing news. For the rest of the month we were 99% sure that we were not going to be able to adopt the chicos.
It was an incredibly intense time of praying, researching, educating ourselves, searching Scripture for insight, pleading with God for clarity and wisdom and talking, talking, talking. We truly feel it was God taking us through the refining fire. For a few days we would feel peace and comfort and then the whole world seemed upside down again.
We learned so much about our hearts and learning to surrender our dreams and future to Him. Even though it was extremely painful, as the pruning process usually is, it was absolutely beautiful to see how God chose to reveal Himself to us.

On Tuesday morning we received the most wonderful news from our doctor that we could have heard. All the drama and confusion was for naught! There were NO medical concerns after all! God couldn't have made Himself more clear to us! Praise HIM!

Sooooo, as soon as we heard the news, we got the ball rolling! We signed the Referral Acceptance Letter and sent it off to ICBF! They will be ours! We will be theirs! FOREVER!

We are so excited! I think that because of this crazy past month, we love these kids more fiercely and passionately right now than we would have otherwise! I can't wait to hug and kiss those little cheeks, and tuck them in bed, sing songs with them, dance crazy in the kitchen with them, and love on them forever! Cait, Grant, Jake and Quinn are already bursting at the seams with excitement and their own "I can't wait to..." list! When we told them that we had accepted the referral, they all screamed at the top of their lungs and were jumping all over the sofa for 5 straight minutes!

Today, our agency mailed off our I800 to get Immigration approval! They are saying that we should be in Colombia by either the end of April or the beginning of May!

We are still giddy with excitement, but now the crazy busyness starts! Paperwork, care packages, finalizing bedroom arrangements, shopping, packing, making housing arrangements, and a thousand other things are now on my 6 page long TO DO list! LOL!  I am going to cherish and love every minute of it, though, because each one is bringing us one step closer to our little ones!

Rejoice with us! Today these children have a family!!!