Spring Has Arrived!

It's Worth a Try

I am not above asking for free things... Through the adoption process, I have perfected the skill of writing and asking for grants. So, I had the idea of writing to Disney to ask for the opportunity to get Liam's pictures taken with the characters. It's worth a try, right? Liam will turn 2 on April 8th, the day before we leave for Disney. I will keep you posted with their response. I figure the worst they can say is no. (The letter we sent included pictures, but I could not copy them into the post).


March 4, 2012

Michelle Baumann

Walt Disney World Guest Communications


P.O. Box 10400


Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Dear Ms. Baumann:

I wanted to take the opportunity to share our Disney story with you as a testament that dreams really do come true at Disney World. I am sure that you receive stories like this frequently. However, ours is truly a unique story and one we share often. We thought it only fair to share the story with you.

           

Two years ago my husband and I took a trip to Disney World for spring break with my family. Before traveling to Disney, we had experienced some difficult times, including the loss of twin sons and a failed adoption. We took the opportunity to travel to Disney as a way to get away from the stress of life, if only for a week, and reconnect as a couple. Little did we know that our trip to Disney would be the start of a new chapter in our lives. On April 9^th, 2010, we were enjoying a beautiful day at the Magic Kingdom. We got to the park when it opened and rushed around like children to meet as many characters as possible and ride all the rides we could before the lines got too long. At 1:30pm we were in line to get a fast pass to Thunder Mountain before heading to lunch at the Crystal Palace when my cell phone rang. It was our social worker, calling from northern Indiana. She explained that a birthmother had chosen us, our son was born, and we needed to get to the hospital before he was discharged. We had waited and prayed for a child for so long and now in the happiest place on earth we learned that we were parents. We scrambled to locate my family and tell them the news. We decided to go ahead and eat as a family before setting out on our adventure home. We could barely eat, but decided to snap a picture with Pooh to show our son, Liam, when we explained his adoption story to him.

After trying in vain to change our flight, we rented a car and set out on an 18hour ride home, through the night. We couldn’t make it to the hospital in time for Liam’s discharge, so our social worker brought him to our house.

We refer to Liam as our Disney baby. We have such an amazing story to tell him. Liam is such a Disney fan as well. He does everything with his stuffed Mickey, which he refers to as “Gickey.” He is a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Winnie the Pooh. We decorated his room in Winnie the Pooh in tribute to the place where our dreams came true.

For Liam’s second birthday we plan to return to Disney World. We will spend the week of April 9^th-13^th, 2012 in the place where our family began. We are looking forward to seeing his reaction when he meets his favorite characters in person. We are also so excited to see his face light up when he sees the castle in person and watches the fireworks. Whenever he sees the castle and fireworks at the beginning of Disney movies, he squeals with delight and says, “Wow, what’s that!?”

         

We would like to personally thank the Disney family for being such a big part of our family. We would also like to ask for the opportunity to have pictures taken in front of the castle with Mickey Mouse and friends. We would love the opportunity to take Liam’s 2year pictures in the Magic Kingdom to commemorate how far we have come as a family and show where our dreams came true.

Sincerely,

Tiffany Herman