Introducing Ivy!!!!

J A N U A R Y   11:

I sat down at work, bursting inside but keeping calm on the inside. Just the day before we received THE call, the one we'd been waiting for for over a year. We have A LITTLE GIRL! An absolutely beautiful baby girl. Our daughter!!!

I don't talk about our adoption much at work, and wanted to keep this news quiet for you know, at least 24 hours. As I sat there waiting for the others to arrive for a meeting, my sweet co-worker turned to me and said, "I had this crazy dream last night that you came into work today and said, 'we've been matched with a little girl.'". I said, "Wait, when did you dream this?". "Last night." I whispered in complete shock, "We got matched YESTERDAY!" And then of course it all came gushing out as I shared with her photos of our new baby girl.

Some fun facts about our girl:

• She is currently living in a foster home (we are SO grateful for this!)!
• She turned 3 in November, exactly one week after Ezra's 6th birthday and one week before Canaan's 8th birthday - her birthday is smack dab in the middle. 
• She is already potty trained (can I get an Amen?!). 
• She likes to CLEAN!
• She loves playing in water and riding her bike.
• She can use chopsticks and she isn't a picky eater (she loves RIBS and roasted peas).
• She likes to be outside (she'll fit right in with this nature-lovin' momma)
• She is active and a thrill seeker, and loves to ride with her foster dad on his m-o-t-o-r-c-y-c-l-e (Jesus be near).
• She has an 8-year old foster sister with downs syndrome that is also being adopted by a Holt family, so we'll be able to hopefully keep the girls connected! 

These days all of the children adopted from Ch*na have some medical or special needs. Our newest little girl is, of course, no exception. She has vascular malformations (which have the potential to be much more complicated than we originally thought), and she also has either a PFO or VSD heart defect, the paperwork is unclear - but either way we know that somewhere in her heart is a hole.

We are so thankful that we will be able to provide her with the best possible medical care, as well as be her forever family!