And we meet, well, sort of!

I was pleasantly surprised when I received an e-mail from my social worker at 10am this morning... on a Saturday! She responded that B&P loved my profile and wanted to "meet" me as well. She wanted to get days and times that Andy and I would be available to Skype with them.

I received an e-mail that afternoon, however this time, it was a group message, to me, my future program coordinators, and also to B&P. Our Skype date was for 8:00 pm this evening. Our agency doesn't play a role in the initial skype conversation. They want you to get to know each other naturally, without a third party listening in. She sent along tips regarding what to say and what not to say.

I was nervous, it almost felt like dating... Will they like me? Will they not like me? It was all so nervewracking. And what do you do when you're nervous? Well you clean of course! I cleaned my whole house from top to bottom this afternoon. Before I knew it, it was time to make myself look presentable, put the kids to bed and get logged in.

Andy and I waited, staring at our computer screen, waiting for something to happen. Finally it did...

The screen popped up and there they were, exactly as they appeared in the photos. Each sitting in brown leather chairs in front of a fireplace, wearing sweatpants, and big smiles. They were so friendly and within minutes, my nervousness wore off. Talking to them was easy, and they were hilarious. We laughed until our stomach's hurt, we talked until our voices became raspy, and toward the end, tears, as each descriped their hope for this journey.

I hated the thought of getting off our skype call, knowing we each have a couple days to decide if we truly want to move forward with each other. I hated the thought of waiting. However, as we were ending our call, "P" stated that they were happy, and felt comfortable with us and were excited to tell our social worker that they have agreed to move forward with Andy and I. I felt such a sense of relief. Andy and I both stated we felt the exact same way. We said our goodbyes and shut down my computer.

Two minutes later, my phone buzzed. There was an e-mail already from B&P saying, "we had a great skype chat with Ashley and Andy. We think they are wonderful, and we would very much like to proceed. Best regards."

And with that, I have officially been matched.