Referral Day

Two years ago on this very day, one of the most wonderful events in my lifetime occurred: referral day. This was the day we first saw Madison's face. It was a quiet and unexpecting morning, when we were just going about our day. Mommy was out grocery shopping and Daddy was at work... and that's when he got the email:

******************************************************

Hello Great Wall Families!

The stork has landed at Great Wall! Today we received twenty-three (23) referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on January 12, 2006. The CCAA has not released a cutoff date yet, but as soon as they do, I will let you know. Of these 23 referrals, they were all girls! The children ranged in age from 6 1/2 months to 36 months. The children in this referral group are from the following Provinces: Jiangsu (3) Jiangxi (7) and Guangxi (13). Congratulations to these families!

Right now, we are working as quickly as we can to bring these families their referral! We ask for your patience as our response time to your phone calls and emails may be a little delayed. We thank ALL of you for your continued patience and support!

Sincerely,

Kim O'Bryant

Referral Counsel for

Great Wall Adoption

******************************************************

Daddy immediately told Mom to stop what she was doing! Go home and get to the computer because a picture is coming soon! I remember being so excited that day. I couldn't - and didn't - get any work done. All I kept doing was going back to the email, waiting for that picture to come. I just wanted to see a photo of my new daughter! One thing I did first was send an email out to everyone I know:

******************************************************

Hey there! Sorry about the flood of e-mails today, but I’m offically a daddy and I’m kinda sort of excited. I can guarantee you at least one more e-mail – with a photo of her. That comes later on today.... Our daughter’s name is Mei Yang Long - she's 22 months - her birthday is 6/15 (we’ll actually be going over there on her birthday!). She's from Guang Xi (see the photo attached to see where she’s from!). She's walking, she builds with blocks, she's 28 3/4 " tall, weighs 19 lbs, ... and she’s got a crazy adoptive father! We’ve named her Madison – keeping her name Mei as her middle name. That’s about all I know right now. Like I said, I’ll send a photo of her later when I get it. Have a blessed day! -David

******************************************************

And so I tried to work, but couldn't. All I knew was that I would be going to China really soon and there I would be meeting Madison for the first time. We were so excited and so very happy! It was all so surreal. Me? A parent? Very soon, my life was about to dramatically change. What would Madison look like when I first saw her? Where would she be from? Where on earth is Guangxi?

We waited a long time. We were connected to others in our traveling group, families all across the country who were all in our position: all waiting for our child's photo, all very anxious to go to China. Suddenly, one by one emails started coming to the others - and they started sharing their pictures. But where was Madison's picture?

Finally, at 5:43 pm (talk about a long wait!), we got this letter below:

******************************************************

Dear Cypher Family,

The Stork has officially arrived! Congratulations!

Photos of your daughter are attached to this email! Tuesday, you will receive a Fed Ex envelope containing your daughter’s original referral documents. Remember to sign and send back the following documents:

*Referral Acceptance Agreement (GWCA)

*Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter (CCAA)

*Travel Information Sheet

*Parent Information Sheets

It is very important that you return these forms by Wednesday May 14, 2008. The sooner that we send them to China , the sooner you will travel.

We are also currently working to translate her Medical Exam and Growth Report. The Growth Report is a single page or two of dense Chinese writing that will be provided in her original referral documents. This report will provide a brief description of your daughter’s history while at her orphanage as well as her name translation.

**The translated medical exam and the growth report will be sent to you via email as soon as they are translated.

Congratulations again,

The Referral Education Team

Great Wall China Adoption

******************************************************

We opened the pictures immediately and just stared at them. It was this day two years ago that we saw Madison's face for the first time, and couldn't look away. She was so beautiful to us. We saw she wasn't smiling, and wished we could see her looking happy where she was. But we knew those smiles would come. We laughed at the backdrop in the picture, and wondered about the toys. We had so many questions - but they'd all be answered soon enough. We became suddenly impatient. We just had to get to China as soon as possible! It was such an incredible day. Daddy immediately sent out another email, this one to everyone he possibly knew. He titled it "It's a Girl!"

******************************************************

Hey there! One last e-mail for the day – here she is, Madison Mei Cypher. With parents like us, she has no idea what she’s getting into! Her birth name is Mei Yang Long - she's 22 months - her birthday is June 15, 2006 (we’ll actually be going over there on her birthday!). She's from Guangxi. She's walking, she builds with blocks, she's 28 3/4" tall, weighs 19 lbs, ... and she’s got a crazy adoptive father! We’ve named her Madison – keeping her name Mei as her middle name. She’s got a serious little expression there – we’ll see what we can do about that! Have a great day! -David & Zena

******************************************************

Some people responded back immediately. Here are just a few of the replies to that email:

******************************************************

OOOOHHHHHHH MY Gosh! HOW EXCITING! I'm crying 'cause I'm so happy for you both!!! She's beautiful and she's your's! Finally it's happening......... Mj ********* ----- OH -- MY -- GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CUTEST THING I EVER DID SEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Weeping in the night, BUT JOY IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) LOVE TO YOU & Z!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jill Hayes ************ BIG Congratulations!!! You guys will make awesome parents! Can’t wait to meet her! You know, I’m a mother on the look-out for a future daughter-in-law! I have one son that’s 3 years old and one that’s 7. One day they’ll make great husbands! I’ve got two to choose from, so let’s get together in 15-20 years and talk! *grin* Have a great day, Dad! Beth Parks ************** Beautiful!!!! Gloria Stella **************** Ni Hao, Dave. I know you're beyond excited. That's terrific news for both you and Zena. I would give you the three thumbs up that I typically reserve for these situations, but unfortunately, due to rampant thumbs-up inflation, I have to go with four thumbs up (Chad/Al, I need a thumb from each of you). Obviously you've had a long wait, with lots of time to reflect on this, but I'll simply say that your marriage to Zena will be strengthened and enhanced by your new daughter. You'll find it true that no matter what kind of marriage you have now, you'll only become a family once this child comes into your lives. Given the fact that you're leaving for China mid-June, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we need to have the hoe-down at the Hogan House pronto. I'm offering up any Saturday or Sunday between now and when you guys leave. Congratulations! Getting strangely caught up with whether or not that's a licensed Daisy Duck toy little Madison is playing with, I am, Danny. *************** Yes, congratulations, Dave! I know you and Zena will make wonderful parents--Madison is indeed a very lucky little girl. I'm looking forward to meeting her! Much Love, Alan ***************** ...don’t cut back on sending the photos! We’re competing for them in our house! She’s beautiful! I wish we could go with you to go get her. 4 weeks and counting, right?! That should give the aftershocks time to disappear too……you are all in our prayers. D. (Deloris Irlbeck) ****************************************************** It was a beautiful day, one that I won't forget. We printed that picture many, many times and it was put on refrigerators everywhere. Ye-Ye and Nana were at the movies, so we drove up to their car in the parking lot and left her photo on their windshield (so they could see it when they came out). It was Ye-Ye's birthday. It is today too! But back then, he couldn't have asked for a better birthday present: he got a new granddaughter!