Help Wanted

Now that our paperwork for our daughter's adoption is under way, we need to focus on raising funds to bring our little lady home.  We are having our first fundraiser on June 8th-9th and we would love your help.  You can help in the following ways...


1. Donate items to the garage sale -
Items can be dropped off at the Castens' house anytime after 5pm on Thursday, June 7th.
     3101 Whitepine Dr.
     New Haven, IN 46774          

If you have any larger items, please e-mail me a list ahead of time, so we can put them on Craigslist.  We will also list children's clothing sizes on Craigslist.  We also need plastic shopping bags for customers.

2. Help price items ahead of time - 

We will begin pricing items on Thursday evening at 5pm.  Please e-mail me if you can help out that evening.

3. Work the garage sale - 

If you can help out for an hour or two, or even the whole day, we would love to have your help and enjoy some time of fellowship.  The garage sale hours are 8-5 on Friday and 8-12 on Saturday.  Please send me an e-mail if you would like to help work.

4.  Spread the word and stop by to shop -

Please tell your friends and family members about the sale and encourage them to stop by.  

We will be selling balloons for the children for 25cents and we will have some great items!

5. Pray for a successful event -

Many of you have expressed that you are already praying for our daughter and for the whole adoption process and we sincerely thank you!  We know God is able to immeasurably more than we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

If you have any questions, or would like to help out in any way, please e-mail me at - tiffanyherman11281@yahoo.com.

Tiffany Graduated... Almost

Tiffany has been working hard to finish her Masters in Special Education.  She wrote her thesis/special project over the last school year.  Aside from taking a summer class, she is finished.  The hard part is over, and so far she has a 4.0 grade point average.  She will officially graduate in June, but attended the Alumni Dinner to celebrate with her fellow classmates.

All dressed up and ready to celebrate!

Tiffany with her fellow classmates and advisor.

The Special Education Graduate Students from 2011-2012 & 2 Professors

Dream Come True

I have always thought I would have an Asian daughter.  Growing up, I always thought I would adopt some day and that I would get a daughter from an Asian country.  I assumed that my daughter would be from Korea.  My Godparents adopted three children from Korea.  We used to spend a couple weeks with them every summer, and I vividly remember meeting each child shortly after they arrived home and marveling at how beautiful they were.  I was fascinated with their eyes, hair, and skin color.  Time went on, and I still had the feeling I would adopt an Asian daughter some day, but it wasn't in my immediate plans.  I know I expressed this thought to Dave while we were still dating and he was open to the idea, but also was not anxious to pursue it right away.  When we started our initial adoption process (2009), we applied for the Korea program, but were put on a waiting list.  When the list opened up and finally allowed us into the program, we received Liam and had to take our names off the list.  When Liam turned 1 we tried to go back on the list and were once again put on a waiting list.  We were told in January of 2012 that the list would remain closed and we should seek another route.  I was sad and thought that our dreams of getting our daughter would not come true.  By this point I had a strong feeling that I just couldn't shake.  I felt like I had a daughter waiting for me and I had to get to her.  I'm sure I seemed like a woman obsessed.  I thought about it all the time, brought it up to Dave constantly, and prayed non-stop.  Finally, through guidance of friends and family and a lot of prayer, we were directed in another way.  We had heard that adopting a healthy girl from China would take 5 years, which didn't seem to fit with our family plan.  Then, we heard about a program that places children with a special need, most of which are minor/correctable health concerns.  We would not have felt prepared to handle a child with such a condition when we started the process in 2009.  However, going through the experiences we have with Liam's heart condition, we realized that we are perfectly suited for a girl with one of these issues.  At times it seems scary, but we know God will give us the daughter we are meant to have.  Looking back, we can see God preparing us along the way through every closed door, nudge, and circumstance.
   
In addition to wanting an Asian daughter I also knew I wanted a son first.  This was out of my control, but God worked that out for us.  Liam was meant to be our son all along!  I am also happy we received a newborn first, so we could learn all the milestones a baby-toddler needs to go through.  Liam has a strong personality, but is also sweet and gentle with younger children.  I know he will be a great big brother.


The formation of our family, although different from what I had planned, is exactly the way God designed it to be.  He knew all along who our children would be, when they would arrive, where they would come from, and how we would get them.  Knowing that He is in control and directing every path gives us comfort.  Look at what great work He does!