Aprril 2005 - Referral Day Energy

On April 18, 2004 I woke up from a dream with a smile on my face. I had dreamt that we had met Savannah. In the dream she was wearing a pink outfit and had "crazy hair" sticking up all over the place. In the dream I was frustrated because though I could kind of see her, I wasn't able to see her face. I was also frustrated because I had to fill out more paperwork, when all I really wanted to do was finally hold my daughter. That date proved to be a sign for reasons you'll see below. Here are some excerpts from e-mails that were flying in our Journey to Savannah Yahoo group at that time:

Sunday - April 17, 2005

"As I type this we are 55 minutes away from Monday on the West Coast (not that I'm watching the clock or anything). I hope we will have news tomorrow. You can bet that the minute we do, Scott and I will have our fingers dialing. To my family, if you don't answer the phone and I have to leave amessage please don't be upset that you didn't hear the news first. I'm going down the line from my parents first. I'm guessing that Scott won't be able to contain himself and he'll go tell Drew (mybrother), Mike (my BIL) and Dad - ah the joys of working with family, they can easily be tracked down. :) Savannah, the curtains in your room are hung up, toys are in one corner waiting for your fingers to touch them. Stuffed animals are scattered around waiting for you to hug them. The rocking chair that will be in your room is up at Grandma Margie's and Papa Joe's -Grandma got it all cleaned up and we just have some minor touch-up painting to do to it. For now, the wicker chair is keeping its place reserved. Your Dad will download pictures of the room tomorrow so that I can post them on your group. Hang in there sweet girl, mommy and daddy are coming and we can'twait to see our first glimpse of your face. We love you. Thanks to all of you for coming along on this incredible journeywith us. Let's see what Monday brings. :)

Tassie"

My friend Catherine responded on Monday morning with this:

"Tassie, WACAP should be opening soon and by the end of today, I'm hoping youwill be staring at Savannah's picture. I'm just as excited for youtoday as I was when I got Susanna's referral in January! Can't wait to hear all about Savannah. I've got that bottle of wine in the fridge just waiting to be opened.
Catherine"

A friend of mine from the September 2004 DTC (Dossier to China) Yahoo group posted about calling that weekend (Saturday) planning on leaving a message with her agency and was quite surprised when they actually answered. Joking about all the ruckus in the background she jokingly remarked that they must be working on referrals. They were! The first files were already received and in the process of being translated. Here's my response to her e-mail with this news:

"Okay, need to breathe.... where's that paper lunch bag I've been saving for this occasion?! I am so excited!
Our computer hadn't been working since Friday and I was worried that it wouldn't be up and running, thus making it impossible for pics of Savannah to be received here at home. Way to go Scott! You fixed it. (HUGE grin!)
Last night my sister, her friend Brenda, their girls and I went down to a gathering that WACAP had in honor of Sophie Wang (Sophie was the guide for their trip last year, as well as the guide for the China's Lost Girls families in the Lisa Ling show last year). We all had so much fun and several times I started to tear up at the thought that very soon my daughter will be among these kids. Then I was off chasing Natalie (my niece) down and the nostalgic moment moved aside for a bit. The parents we talked to looked at me with a look of "how can you be so calm with your referral so close?" I'm still trying to absorb that I could be mere hours away from that long awaited phone call. A couple parents asked if I was going to drive down from Bellingham to get the info on Savannah. I just realized that my car will be in the shop for a couple days! Ugh! So much for driving down, unless I can talk my sister or mom into a journey (Teresa, are you up for a 4th trip to Seattle in 9 days?)
Oh my, Savannah could be sitting on somebody's desk at WACAP right now. I wonder if they'er there working on translating today?
Holy cow!
Breathe in.... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out.
Tassie"

Written around 9:15 am on April 18, 2005

"Referrals are flying in! This morning referrals for families in Iceland and the Netherlands were being posted at about 7:30 West Coast time. On the late Sept board several families have received info on their daughter, but no pictures yet. One family expects pictures tomorrow.You guys, this is happening!! Scott, how do you work this silly video camera? If someone needs to call me, please call my cell phone (it's recharging at this moment) so that I can keep the home phone open.
pen to write down info - check
paper to write info on - check
digital camera to capture moment of call - check
Kleenex - check
Stay tuned!
Tassie (a very anxious and excited 1st time mom!)"

10:25 am on April 18 2005

"Okay, referrals are coming in from all parts of the US right now. One couple I know who lives in Tacoma WA (Karla grew up in Lynden, WA about 20 minutes north of where we live) just posted their referral, so I know that calls are coming in on the West Coast. I don't have to worry about the video camera, the battery is dead and I need to have a tripod to set it up on. We'll see how my shaky hands do with the digital camera. I won't have racoon eyes to worry about, mascara got skipped today. I have the rough draft of the posting referral saved in my e-mail. The Jimmy Buffett boxed set is open and is the only sound in the housebesides the clicking of the keyboard. Anything else? Advice is welcome from the btdt parents.
Tassie"

The significance of the Jimmy Buffett music is because Scott agreed to my desire to name my daughter Savannah because Jimmy Buffett's oldest daughter is named Savannah - and if it works for Jimmy then it certainly works for him. Thankfully I too am a Parrothead.

By 10:41 am I was so concerned about our computer crashing that I headed to my sister's house to hold a vigil there while we waited. My cousin and her baby boy were headed out there too, my sister0in-law called to check in throughout the day, while my mom and aunt kept calling to check in as they were shopping in Seattle. For anyone who has had a large roomful of people in the delivery room or waiting at the hospital, you'll be able to relate.
At 2:42 pm the phone call that I had waited 18 months for came... and on the same day in April the previous year that I dreamt of meeting my daughter for the first time.
This is some of what I posted on our Journey to Savannah Yahoo group:

"I received the call from our co-ordinator at 2:42 pm that we have our daughter. I am still stunned and in awe as I type this...Here's her info: Her name is Lin Ping-Jing - soon to be named Savannah Margaret Ping-Jing. She was born March 17, 2004... and has been in foster care since last April. We're still waiting on measurements, but do know that they were done last December. Our file is being translated and we'll know more in a few days. I'm going to schedule a conference call doctor appt with Dr's Davies or Bledsoe for Friday. So, check out these red threads...She was born on my cousin Regan's husbands birthday... she is 3 days younger than her God-sister Ellie (who is also adopted from China and arrived home the month before)
Tassie (who has a stunned, deer in the headlights, ear-to-ear grinall over my face)"

Here are the three pictures that we received as part of Savannah's referral packet.