The Hiestand Family’s Adoption Journey |
An update
Well, we are nearing the end of the paper chase. I talked to Teresa, from our agency, last night, and she said that if things continue the way they are we should be done in a couple weeks. Then we have to finish a few things for our dossier (all the paper work that goes to Guatemala) and we will be done with our part. Then it is just a waiting game. I am praying we will get our reference (our baby) by the middle of July.
If anyone reading this is in the Corning, NY area, we are having a yard sale next weekend and all the money is going towards the adoption. If you want info. on where it is, just contact me.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support! Keep checking back, as things are progressing and we will hopefully be posting some really cute pictures of the new Hiestand soon!
Comment by: Valerie
106/7/06 9:41 AM | Comment Link |
Congrats….all of these milestones are HUGE!
Will you be picking up your child or having an escort?
Did I tell you my best friend adopted from Guatemala?
Anyway, the garage sale is a great idea…..for extra money see if friends, family or your church will do one in the name of your adoption. That don’t make a lot but, evey little bit helps. Also, we applied for different adoption grants….unfortunately, they didn’t work out for us, but maybe your luck will be different! ALso, we started a “Liam Fund”…..my mother-in-law opened the account and held the pass book. She would send updates to all friends, families and churches, some people gave a hundred and some thousands. We ended up charging some too….oh and the adoption tax credit is great! Make sure you keep all of your records for taxes.
Oh I have a TON of pics…..check out my husbands blog listed above and click on archives and the family……scroll down till you see some posts about my little guy.
Do you have a referal yet?
Do you know if you child is in a foster care situation?
Well, God bless you on this crazy journey! I prayed Numbers 6:24-26 for my child all throughout our process…..I pray the same for you and yours.
Comment by: Valerie
206/13/06 12:30 PM | Comment Link |
I thought of one more thing! We used an “orphan doctor” in NY. It’s a drive for you but well worth it! Jane Aronson is FANTASTIC. She is not cheap, just under $1000 but, worth it. SHe’ll want to see your child within the first few days that they are home. She saw our son an knew instantly that he had rickets…..plus through the tests she ran we found out that he had a nasty parasite. Regular pediatricians are not equipped to deal with or know specifics about orphaned children. You can find her online. She has a great reputation in fact Angelina Jolie used her for one of her adopted children. PLUS, Dr. Aronson has adopted herself and aids in relief work around the world.
Comment by: Melanie
306/13/06 5:41 PM | Comment Link |
Hi Valerie,
I just looked at some pictures of your son on your husbands blog. He is so adorable!!! I’m so excited to have our little guy home. We actually don’t know who he is yet. I’m praying we will by the end of July. They are all in foster care situations, which is nice. And yes, we will be picking him up. I really want to go there and see the country and culture.
The garage sale actually went really well. They raised over $1000 which is a huge help! And I think that I will talk to some people about having one at our church sometime this summer.
I actually had someone else recommend that doctor to me. I will definitely be looking into it. That is pretty expensive, but we see what we can do!
Do you think your friend who be interested or comfortable in giving me some info. and tips on adopting from Guatemala? Any info. I can get, I will take!
Thanks so much for your prayers!
Comment by: Valerie
406/13/06 7:25 PM | Comment Link |
I’m sure she would be thrilled….I’ll pass along your blog address to her!
So glad the sale went well. Every little bit helps!
Comment by: Laura
506/14/06 3:40 AM | Comment Link |
Hi Melanie,
Valerie’s my very best friend on this planet other than Jesus… so when she tells me to write, I write :) I was reminding her the other day that it’s because of following her words of advice that we have our son!! In a moment of utter grief & despair, Valerie told me to make a phone call to a particular agency and talk to them about Marshall Islands adoptions which were, at that time, being done as domestic adoptions. (We were stuck in post 9/11 INS meltdown and our fingerprints were majorly delayed. Our agency wouldn’t allow us to take a referral without them and a family event led us to a deeper pain than I can describe.) WELL>> our hearts desired a boy from Guatemala, but I was willing to consider other options and see what God was doing. When I made the call as Val recommended…one of my most major “God sightings” occurred. The woman I spoke to literally said, “Well that Marshall Isl. program has just changed to internat’l and there aren’t that many children typically placed for adoption there…. BUT if you happen to be interested in a baby boy from Guatemala; well I’ve just learned of this little guy who I hear is BEAUTIFUL!” She then continued to encourage me with our paper trail and said she’d have no problem giving us the referral without the fingerprints back, etc. !!!!!!!!!!!
That is our son :) He is more wonderful than I could have ever imagined and he is perfectly created for this family! Some people are shocked to learn he’s not ours biologically because he’s that much like us. (Some other people, however, think he’s Korean or Chinese….) We cannot imagine life without him and could seriously have never created a bio. child more perfect for us!
Or so we say :)
Anyway, we’re gearing up to do it again as Drew wants a baby sister and we’re not getting any younger :) The $$ is the biggest issue but we’re trusting that when and if this is what God has for us, He will provide! He is increasing the desire of my heart for another child, so I believe things will happen soon enough.
My encouragement to you is this… God knows you and knows your desires. He can do this perfectly for you if you will wait on Him and trust. Perfectly for Him may mean some pain for you… but if you look at it thru a larger picture, a lot of the pain can be avoided. He is working thru certain “red tape” so to speak, in order to connect you with YOUR child. So, be patient! Do the work you need to… but be relaxed in the knowledge that when you bring your desires in line with God’s plan YOU WILL have joy!!!!!!
The hard part to me was knowing how to handle incompetence on the part of agency, attorney, etc. and how much harassing to do!
I realized that out of love for my son, I had to do my job. I had to call people on it when they were not doing their job and I had to make frequent phone calls to check up….that was my job and I had to learn how to do that with a heart and mind steeped in peace and trust in the Lord. (That took time!) Through the whole experience I learned a kind of trust in the Lord’s timing that has not faded. He proved Himself more faithful than my wildest dreams would have otherwise allowed me to imagine.
Our entire adoption process (from filing for I 171 to homecoming) was 21 months long… we had a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end… topping it all of with my son’s escort being the LAST PERSON off the plane….. the waiting just was never-ending… and I seriously would not have changed a thing when it all comes down to it.
Liam’s adoption was much of the same…maybe even wilder, I think so. And again, it was evident immediately that he was predestined to be Bill & Val’s child. If they had not traveled through certain very painful roads… too strange to think of Liam not being theirs!
I’d love to talk with you more. I’m new to this blog stuff (other than reading Poet in Motion some times) so I don’t know how to connect with you via email without giving my address to the whole world :) Let me know how to do that! Would love to show you pics of my sweetie and I’m so excited to see yours when you are connected to him!!!! July? Wonderful!!
TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART.
LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.
IN ALL YOUR WAYS, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM.
HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS!!!!!!!!
Comment by: Laura
606/14/06 3:49 AM | Comment Link |
Oh, I meant the I 600… not the 171. It’s been a while :)
Comment by: Melanie
706/17/06 5:08 PM | Comment Link |
Laura,
Thanks so much for sharing your story. You should write a book! :o) And thanks so much for your encouraging words. It is so nice to hear from someone who has gone through it. People have been encouraging us, which is great and very helpful. But it’s nice to hear from someone who really knows how we are feeling.
I am very excited, because we are pretty much done with our part. I am sending the home study to USCIS on Mon. and have all the other papers I need to get state certified and so on. I just hope and pray everything is exceptable. They are so picky about things!
I would love to see pictures and write you more. I’m sure I could come up with some questions to ask you. :o) Feel free to email me at meljayh@gmail.com.
Again thanks so much for your encouragement! It means a lot that you would take the time to share those things with someone you’ve never even met! And if you are reading this Valerie, thank you too! It’s so great to get advice and people’s opinions on this. It’s a pretty nerve wracking thing!
Take care, and feel free to email me personally.