We have a match!

We had an unexpected surprise in the mailbox today, our DNA results! We have a 99.96% match! What does this mean you ask? Well, it means we are able to now start planning our trip to visit Ana! I am just walking on air tonight, I really didn't think we would receive this information for another month or so. So this was a wonderful end to the day! I have to say though, it was a bittersweet experience opening up that envelope. Along with the DNA report we received a picture of Ana with her birth mother. I knew it would be there, and I'm happy it is, I'm sure it will be a treasured piece of information for Ana to have as she grows. It's difficult to explain the emotions I felt as I laid eyes on this beautiful woman. Along with the joy that I felt knowing that we were one step closer to bringing Ana home, there was sorrow and immeasurable gratitude for this woman whom I've never met. She understandably looks very sad, I cannot begin to imagine what she must have been feeling as this picture was taken. Having a child already, I know the depth of the love I feel for him. To have that love for Ana, and not be able to provide for her...it must be devastating. The Guatemalan women who relinquish their children do so largely because they simply do not have the means to provide for them. It is so entirely selfless and I wish I could reach out to her and let her know just how grateful I am to her for allowing us to raise her daughter. I would want to tell her that we will love her with every ounce of ourselves and will always help her remember what her roots are. That she will know how her mother loved her so much that she would sacrifice watching her grow to know that she will be given opportunities she would not otherwise have. We have had many people say to us how lucky Ana is, but I really don't feel that way. We are the lucky ones.