How we found our Pearl

Some of you have asked how we found Pearl and so I thought I'd share with you that path with all of it's tender mercies.

I really feel like this journey began in the summer of 2010 when the spirit whispered to both Michael and I that we were not going to be staying in Utah.  That may not sound like a big deal to you but at that time we were living in a cute house in a cul-de-sac NEXT DOOR to one of my best friends.  We loved it there and were happy to be staying put for a while.  I still love Utah, by the way.  Well, anyhow, one afternoon I was reading my scriptures and all of a sudden I just felt, "You are not going to live in Utah forever."  And it was such a strange experience because it wasn't something I was told - in that moment I knew it.  My whole heart shifted and suddenly I knew our home was somewhere else.  And around the same time Mike was on a business trip and he had the same thing come to him so when I called him and told him that he said he was thinking the same thing.

So we moved.  And in so doing I felt like the gates of hell were kicked open a little bit more because it was a REALLY hard move.  But a couple months after I moved here and things were so hard that same best friend, Callie, said, "There must be something really big coming up for you that Satan doesn't like."  And when she said it a huge weight was lifted from me because I suddenly realized why I had been so weighed down.  And so I waited and watched and wondered what the Lord had in store for us.

The McComas Family

The McComas's littlest ones on the first day of school.

The next big step, really HUGE step, was meeting and becoming friends with the McComas family.  We love them.  This past summer we had them over one evening for treats and as we talked they started telling us a little more about their experiences adopting two little girls from China.  And since Mike and I had already decided that some day we would do that we were ALL ears.  At least, I was!  Jessica directed me to some of the sites where I could begin looking through postings of waiting children from all over the world.  (Waiting children refers to children who are waiting to be adopted - opposed to newborns who have a waiting list to adopt them.)   And so I began looking.

Interestingly, I felt nothing.  Of course I felt compassion and sadness over these children but Jessica had said that when she found her daughters she knew they were hers when she saw them.  But I didn't feel anything.  So, I signed up for the email alerts to hear about new children and moved on.

Months passed and I almost started to wonder if adoption was some fanciful, romantic idea that was would never really happen for me.  And then in October during conference weekend something happened.  Suddenly I knew we were going to adopt and that we needed to start the process soon.  So the next Sunday Mike and I fasted and prayed about it.  We had no idea where we were supposed to adopt from or from whom.  There were so many options - LDS family services, international, foster care and we didn't know which one would lead us to our future child.  At the end of that fast Sunday I still didn't know so Mike and I started looking at the different web sites.  We knew LDSFS was the best fit because of the price - only 10% on your yearly income not to exceed $10,000.  So we started with their website.  And we didn't feel anything.  In fact, we kind of felt bothered as we looked at it - like it we couldn't wait to stop looking at it.  And then we went to the international site and everything was different - we started feeling a swelling of emotion inside - especially for the chinese adoptions.  And then we realized we had our answer!

And there is a whole other story on why we chose the age and gender we did but we felt that our child was a little girl around the age of 5 or 6.  So I set those parameters and started looking.  A few days later I emailed Jessica, my new cheerleader, about a specific child and told her what we were looking for.  She emailed back and said she felt like she should share someone with me.  She called her her "hidden angel" because she was in the background of a photo she had of her son.  When she saw this little girl in the background her heart was full and she felt strongly she needed to find out who she is.  Here is that photo:

Do you see that little sweetheart on the left?

So she searched and asked and posted about it until she found her.  But she didn't know why she needed to find out - she just knew she needed to.  And then when I came along and told her what we were looking for she passed her along.  And she sent more images she had found and when we saw them...we knew.  Mike and I both.  And it was such a wonderful feeling.

And that was October 16th.  Nearly two months ago.  And what a beautiful, intense, blessed, joyous, overwhelming two months it has been!!!

I wish I could share more images on here of our little Pearl but I signed something that said I wouldn't until some point in the process.  And I'm a stickler.  I felt like I could get away with this image since it's not really of her but of her friend, Henry.  And Henry and she are going to be friends for a long time since he is being adopted by the McComas family and he will live just a few minutes away.  If you really want to see a picture I am allowed to email one so email me and I'll send some along!