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!

We're Expecting!

We are proud to announce that our daughter is on her way.  Our little lady should be joining our family next summer from half a world away.  Our daughter is being adopted from China.  After a great deal of prayer, we feel called to take a leap of faith and adopt internationally. 

"And who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this?” Ester 4:14

Many doors have opened, and others have closed, which has lead us to where we are.  Our experiences as a family have also prepared us and opened our hearts.  We are once again trusting God's timing and plan and relying on him to take care of all the details concerning this adoption.  We are thrilled that Liam will have a sibling, but especially an adopted sibling.


The entire process "should" take between 12-15 months and our daughter will most likely be between 10-15 months old when she comes home.  We are adopting a special needs child, which means she will most likely have a minor or correctable health concern, such as a heart condition (similar to Liam's) or a cleft lip & palate.  Because this process is quick (compared to other adoptions) our daughter may have already been conceived, if not born.  Even though we have not received a referral (her picture and information), we love her!  We are praying for her - that God would hold her in his arms until we can.  We are also praying for her birthmother - with thanksgiving for her choice of life for her daughter - and that God would direct her path.


We are in the process of updating our homestudy to China's specifications, which we hope to have done in May, and are starting our I-800.  This summer I will be going into fundraising mode.  Our first fundraiser, a garage sale, has already been scheduled for June 8th-9th (more information to come).  We still have a lot of work, and paperwork ahead of us, but are very excited to be adding to our family.


Please keep us in your prayers as we embark on this adventure.  It is truly by God's grace that  our family is being blessed.  We have learned that nothing is our own, but entrusted to us from God.  We are so thankful he is entrusting another child to us and enlarging our family. 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory forever and ever! Amen." 

Ephesians 3:20-21 

Verona's Baptism

Our beautiful niece and Goddaughter was baptized on Sunday, April 15th. Welcome to God's family Verona!

Disney World

Going to Disney World as a child is fun and exciting, but going as a parent, and watching your child's face as they see all the wonder and amazement, is by far, the best experience. We were so happy to have the opportunity to go to Disney World. Liam was ecstatic to see all his favorite characters. Dave and I admit that we got choked up several times while watching Liam's reactions to everything he saw and experienced. We created many memories that we will remember for the rest of our lives.


Day 1 - Liam went on his first flight. He was such a trooper. Security at the airport was painful (staying still and waiting in lines are not among Liam's favorite activities). I almost turned around to go home when they took Liam's Mickey away to put it through the scanning machine. Liam was not happy. Once we got on the plane and settled into our seats, Liam did really well. He LOVED flying and even said, "Wow!" when we experienced turbulence. Other than Liam throwing up on himself, it was an uneventful trip. We brought plenty of activities and toys to keep him occupied. We were hoping he would sleep most of the trip, but he didn't fall asleep until we started landing.

Once we got to Orlando, we quickly changed out of puke clothes and got on the bus (another first for Liam) to head to our resort. Thank goodness there was a TV with Mickey cartoons playing.

After eating and resting, we headed to EPCOT, which is right behind our resort. Liam played on a playground, met Chip and Dale, and then we went on the Finding Nemo ride and to the aquarium. We found a fountain that Liam thought would be fun to swim in. When he started undressing, we took that as our cue to leave. We ended our busy day at one of the pools at the resort. Liam is becoming a great swimmer - I think it's time for classes this summer.

Day 2 - We started the morning at a Character breakfast at our resort. Liam was so excited! He thought Goofy and Donald were funny, but was especially smitten with Minnie. 

We then spent the rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon and Disney's Holloywood studios. We saw Mickey Mouse Clubhouse live, which Liam was crazy about. We ate at Pizza Planet, played at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids park, and met some Pixar characters. After Liam took a nap in his stroller we watched the parade. It was so much fun to watch Liam's reactions to all the characters he saw in the parade.

That evening we took Liam to Magic Kingdom to watch the light parade and see the fireworks. Liam recognized the castle from the beginning of his Disney movies. Liam was so excited to see Mickey on the float during the light parade that he actually starting shaking. Liam thought the fireworks were amazing.

Day 3 - We started the day by having a private meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie backstage in their dressing room (this was a gift from guest relations in regards to the letter I wrote them. They also got Liam his own personalized Mickey hat). We let Liam run down the hall to greet them and then we took pictures in their dressing room. It was a dream come true for Liam.

We then went on classic rides at Magic Kingdom like the Dumbo ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, the carousel, and the Winnie the Pooh ride. Liam loves rides. He will be the one to go on roller coasters with dad when he is older.

Liam enjoyed an ice cream Mickey, a short nap (with Christopher Robin hat), and then lunch with Winnie the Pooh characters.

We ended the day with more swimming at the resort and a relaxing evening in our room.

Day 4 - We spent the morning at Animal Kingdom. We got some family pictures taken by a photographer. We're hoping some turned out, since Liam wasn't really in the mood for a photo shoot. We then looked at animals and met some characters.

We ate dinner at the Rose and Crown in EPCOT (one of our family favorites) and enjoyed some live music. Then, Dave and I left Liam with Grandma and Grandpa and went with Rem to downtown Disney for drinks at the House of Blues and did some shopping.

Day 5 - Sadly, we had to get packed up to go home. We did manage to fit in some swimming before heading to airport. Liam swam for a little bit in the private beach at the resort and then in the pool, which had a sandy bottom and buckets and shovels to play with.

We had such an amazing trip. It was truly magical!

Happy Easter

Easter is such a great day of celebration for us. This year Dave played the timpani in church and Liam and I enjoyed the service with Uncle Rem and our friends the Castens. My men looked so handsome. I was thrilled to find matching ties online.


Christopher and Connor were with us in spirit and memory. We bought a purple hyacinth in memory of them. The beauty of the flower reminded us of the beauty they are experiencing as they celebrate Easter in heaven. We love them and miss them, but are so comforted that we will all celebrate together some day. Alleluia!