A Surprise Adoption-The girl in the yellow dress

So I told you there was a story behind the picture of the girl in the yellow dress. I hope I can tell it just right.

For awhile now we have been praying about a second adoption. We had planned on adding a boy to our family this time, you know because it makes sense to even things out a bit. :)We were looking to adopt from China or possibly domestically. A few weeks ago an orphan-advocate friend emailed me a picture of a little African orphan-girl wearing a yellow dress. She half-joked (maybe not) that the girl "had my name written all over her" and that she would be the perfect addition to our family. It was quite honestly love at first sight as far as I was concerned. I showed the photo to John and confessed to him that more than anything in the world I wished I could be her mother!

I could think of nothing else for an entire week.

The email/photo didn't seem to have the same effect on John. In fact, every time I brought it up I felt that it must not be the right time, he must be busy, he must not be interested. But OH, how I loved her!!

So a week or so passed, and FINALLY he said, "Charissa, show me the picture of the little girl you told me about last week." I couldn't believe my ears!! He was actually interested in looking at her picture! He was actually interested in hearing more about her!

I wasted no time running over to the computer to show him the private RR link with her photo on it. I was SO excited.

One little problem. When I brought up the page, her picture was gone, and in its place it said in big letters: MY FOREVER FAMILY FOUND ME! All week I had been looking at her and just that fast she was gone.

A wave of disappointment came over me. I tried to be happy, really I did. She wasn't going to be an orphan anymore! I should be thrilled for her, right? How could I feel disappointed when this precious little girl would not be an orphan anymore. How selfish I was to feel sad that it was someone else and not me that would get to be the mother of the little girl in the yellow dress.

Then in my peripheral vision stood John Urban with a HUGE grin on his face, holding up a little gift bag, and he said, "Happy Birthday!" Inside the bag was the picture of the little girl in the yellow dress. :) And she was going to be mine after all.

HA! Can you believe that? He had been faking aloofness, acting uninterested, and all the while he was scheming, of all things.....an adoption! And I never had a clue!! I just want to say I sure do love that guy!!! How blessed I am to be married to a man who knows just how to make this woman's birthday dreams come true!

(Disclaimer: Do not try this at home. A surprise adoption may not make every spouse's dreams come true!)