November 2006

What a wonderful month this has been! On Thursday, November 30th, we received “The Call” from our adoption agency. We had always believed that Angie would be the one at home to take the call, and she would relay the information to Victor. We even debated not getting any information over the phone, but waiting until we received the packet with Becca’s photos. Ironically, we had the beginnings of an ice storm on Thursday, and Victor’s clinic closed early, so he was the one home to get the message first. He called Angie at work (more about that later), and said, “Hey, Mama!” and Angie just started crying! Victor had only listened to the part of the message that said, “Congratulations, you are parents!” Then he hung up to wait for Angie to get home.

When Angie got home, we called our agency to get the information. It’s all on the “About Becca” page, so we won’t repeat it again. We were told to expect the packet the next day. Again, Angie planned to wait on Victor to get home before opening the packet, but thanks to 11 inches of snow (YEA!), we were both off work! UPS normally delivers around 10 AM, but the weather held them up until 2PM. We think Victor scared the poor driver when he ran out to take his picture!

After opening the package, we spent most of the day on the phone and on the computer contacting people. It’s amazing how many people have said that Becca looks like us! We were going to use the name Rebecca Clare (Clare in honor of Angie’s grandfather), but decided that we really liked Ling and we wanted to keep part of her Chinese name. So Rebecca Ling Pace it is.

Believe it or not, there was an entire month prior to the referral. The biggest change we’ve had other than the referral is Angie getting a job. She is working part-time as a teacher at Pershing Middle School here in Springfield. The job opened at the end of October, and Angie decided to apply. She is teaching Math and Communication Arts (English) to 6th and 7th graders, and works from 9:45-1:15. The best news is that each class is only 42 minutes with 9-12 students! Sounds too good to be true! And, she was very up front in her interview and told them she would only be available until late January. Wow!

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in St. Louis with Victor’s family and had a wonderful time. Uncle Ed, Aunt Lil, and Cousin Toni Anderson hosted the entire family on Thanksgiving, as they have done for over 50 years. Toni and family did a tremendous job…the food was delicious and the house was beautiful! Unfortunately, we forgot to take the camera, so we have no pictures!

Several months ago, we chose Rebecca’s Godparents. This was not a decision that we made lightly, but after much thought and prayer, we are blessed to have the perfect pair. We have chosen Dennis and Cindy Hughes as Becca’s Godparents. Cindy is Victor’s medical partner and Dennis an E.R. physician. We all attend the same church, Immaculate Conception. Cindy and Dennis have 2 children; Ryan is a senior at The University of Tulsa, while Kristin is a freshman at The University of Arkansas. Cindy is an incredibly spiritual woman, and if Becca turns out anything like her, we will have a wonderful daughter. We know that Becca will have excellent role models and that she will have an extended family here in Springfield.