China
Russia
Vietnam
It is hard to believe we
have almost been home six months now. Our letter is long over due, but
needed to be expressed. First and foremost, my husband and I would like to
thank our FTIA coordinator for all of her hard work and helpful information she provided to
us. She kept us together during the tough times. We would also like
to thank the Guatemala team for all of their help and dedication to our son and
us. FTIA has been a great agency; they are truly here to find loving
families for these wonderful children.
Our entire process took one year and four months. This is from the time we received our dossier in the mail until our Gotcha Day on January 11, 2005 (our son's 6 month birthday). We had our ups and downs throughout the process, but overall things went pretty smoothly. My husband and I were very pleased with everyone during our adoption process. We were very nervous at first, but our coordinator helped us out tremendously!
We departed for Guatemala at 6:00am and arrived in Guatemala City at 2:45pm. As soon as we got checked into our hotel we called Andrea and she was so sweet, we met in the hotel lobby at 4pm. While we were sitting in the lobby waiting for Andrea we met some other families that were also adopting from Guatemala through different agencies. Hearing their stories made us love FTIA even more; we couldn't believe some of their stories. Andrea came up to us and introduced herself and we went over some paperwork and she told us that we would leave the next morning at 7am to go to the Embassy. Then she said, "Here they come", and from across the room we saw our son. He was even cuter in person than in all the pictures. My husband was video taping and the foster mother handed him over to me and I just started crying and kissing him and hugging him! It was truly the greatest day of our lives and we know there will be even more to come now! Our stay in Guatemala was great! Everyone was kind and the food was great. We left on January 14, 2004 at 11:15am and arrived home at 11:45pm. The airport was packed with family and friends. We were so exhausted but Drake was so good. He has been such a great baby. He adjusted very well and has fulfilled our lives and hearts in so many ways! It is hard to remember life without him. Thanks to FTIA we are finally a family and hope to bring a little sister home for Drake someday soon. Thank you again to everyone at FTIA for everything they have done for us and continue to do for our family. We can't wait to start our journey all over again!
Lots of Love,
Brandon, Brandee & Drake
