(Island Coast
International Adoptions plans to publish unsolicited stories that we receive
with the permission of the sender. This is the first of our on-going series
. . .)
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Hi:
I started looking to adopt a baby about 4
years ago. I started looking locally and to my surprise there are no babies.
I first worked with obstetricians and time after time potentially adoptable
babies were aborted. I did get lucky with one baby and after birth
discovered the child was severely brain damaged.
Another baby that I bonded with locally and
was going to adopt from a foster home fell through and the entire incident
broke my heart. The 13 year old mother changed her mind and wanted to
continue seeing her baby once a week for 30 minutes visits. The 30 year old
grandmother was not interested in caring for the child and the baby had been
placed into foster care because of failure to thrive at six weeks when the
pediatrician discovered that the 13 year old mother wasn't feeding the
infant. Anyway, the welfare dept could not under law tell the grandmother or
mother about me?????? The mom plans on continuing to visit once a week until
her baby is six years old and then might take her back. This adorable little
baby girl tore my heart out.
Then I started working with Catholic
Charities. They informed me they had adopted 4 children over 9 years. That
was a dead end.
At this point I decided the US was not the
place to find a child for adoption.
China became an option but I really could not
travel to China and spend two to three weeks learning their culture.
I then researched and found out Guatemala has
no waiting period. I started working with a big agency in Minnesota. I got
my hopes up and was so excited until I got the info that they just decided
to drop their program in Guatemala for girls. I was devastated.
I started working with the welfare dept again
and they told me they had hundreds of children needing homes. They mailed me
their info to find the most heart wrenching cases of abused battered and
mentally disturbed children needing placement. I already have a six year old
and the welfare dept states many of these children are aggressive and can
not be left alone with other children. I was sick!
After I cried, after I got over being angry,
and after I quit feeling sorry for myself. I found Island Coast
International Adoption Agency. At first I was extremely unsure and felt I
was going to be set up for a big heart break again. This was NOT the case
but the exact opposite. In February 2001 when I first emailed them they had
a 2 month old healthy baby girl available. On June 24th I got her and she is
the light of my life!!!! If you want your prayers to be answered trust and
contact Island Coast International. I traveled to pick up the baby and have
nothing but the highest regard for them and their people. I was treated with
the best red carpet treatment in Guatemala. I can not thank them enough!!!!!
Their follow up has been incredible. Their help through the confusing maze
of paperwork, The US embassy visit in Guatemala, the VISAs acquisition etc
etc etc was professional and very fast and they were there with me through
the entire process. They are the best.
Contact me any time and I will be glad to
give you more info. Do not give up there is a happy, healthy baby waiting.
You just have to find the right people to help you. If only I had found
Island Coast four years ago I would probably have three adopted children by
now.
Paula Abrinko
Top of Page
My Adoption Story
My husband and I waited to get married until we finished our college
educations. We both wanted a Masters Degree so we could obtain better jobs.
He was a college football coach and I was a nurse. We finished our degrees
at 25 years of age and married the next year. We only practiced birth
control for one year and then figured it was in the Lords hands.
After the first few years of not conceiving, we thought that we just weren't
together enough at the right times for conception to take place. My husband
traveled a lot and we weren't home together that often. After seven years of
no babies, we figured we had better take a look and see if something was
wrong. We had a bunch of tests done and sure enough there was something
substantially wrong. We did fertility treatments for two years and finally
determined it just wasn't safe to do any more. We were mentally, physically
and financially exhausted.
We knew, going into fertility treatments, that if they failed we would
adopt.
We gave ourselves two months off after infertility treatments ended and then
looked for an adoption agency. We lived in Pennsylvania at the time and were
fortunate to have several agencies with an hour from our home.
When we began our adoption process we thought about China (for all the
obvious reasons) but we ended up going to Guatemala. We really loved the
Spanish culture and wanted a Spanish little girl in our lives. We were
fortunate to meet several children who were adopted from Guatemala and we
fell in love with them immediately. Our local Pennsylvania agency used an
agency out of Florida as their international connection. Both agencies were
great. They helped us with everything. The best thing about both agencies
is that they both had adopted children. They new what we were going through
and they were bound and determined to make our process a pleasant one. They
certainly succeeded, as we are halfway through with the paperwork for our
second daughter from Guatemala.
When we lived in Pennsylvania we used Heart to Heart Adoption agency in
Bellefonte (Central PA) and the international agency was Island Coast
International Adoptions. We now live in NY and are using an agency in
the
Manhattan (Jewish Child Care Association) and the same international agency
(Island Coast International). Many of the agencies in NY could get us
children from Guatemala, however we had such a good experience with our
international agency that we did not want to change.
When we went to Guatemala for our first daughter, we realized the benefit of
using a reputable agency. There were so many adoptive parents there that
were stuck in Guatemala with no child. They had used facilitators or lawyers
and somewhere someone forgot one or two pieces of critical paperwork. So
these parents went to Guatemala thinking everything was done and they found
themselves staying many more days/weeks than planned and sometimes having to
get back home without their child. Island Coast International Adoptions
would
not let us travel until everything was complete. When we arrived in
Guatemala, the adoption worker met us at the airport. She transported us to
our hotel and made arrangements to meet the foster parents, our child and
our
lawyer that night. We got the baby that night. The next day, the adoption
worker picked us up and took us to the US Embassy and helped us with all the
paperwork. We left there and she took us around town, to the villages, and
where ever we wanted to go. The next day we went back home. Everyone I
spoke with that used this agency had the same experience. We absolutely
loved our adoption worker from Guatemala. She was a real angel (in the
biblical sense). It is hard to explain how unbelievable our experience was.
I will treasure it always. My husband and I are so looking forward to our
next trip to Guatemala when we can hold our second little girl in our arms.
We got pictures of our daughter every two months until we could go get her.
She was seen by the doctor every two months and as needed. She was taken
care of by a lovely couple whose children were already grown. She was well
taken care of and was a very happy baby. We all cried when she was given to
us. It was a bitter-sweet day.
Our adoption memories will be with us, just as birth parents deliveries are
with them. I hope anyone reading our story will have great success with
whatever agency you choose and my husband or I would be more than willing to
discuss any part of our process with anyone interested. There is a special
support system among adoptive parents and once you become one, you will
understand what I mean.
Michelle and Nick Polk
Rye NY
polksplace@msn.com
Top of Page
I'm writing to let you know
how completely pleased and satisfied I was with
the service provided by Island Coast International Adoptions and
Victoria
Pyjek in the recent (November 2001) adoption of my son, Simon, who is from
Poland. I had previously done an independent adoption in Poland, so I
appreciated the logistical support provided by ICIA. Vicki
coordinated
matters that I had to coordinate myself last time, such as getting my
dossier
certified and translated. The referral process was straightforward yet at
the
same time sensitively handled. I received medical and social information
about children who met the description of the type of child I was looking
for. From the point of my decision to pursue adopting Simon, Vicki worked to
move the process forward as expeditiously as possible-to get my son home!
The
translator and other staff who worked with my case on-site in Poland were
highly competent and supportive. The accommodations provided were more than
I
had hoped for. And communication with Vicki was always timely, completely
forthright, and sympathetic to my needs and concerns. Moreover, I feel she
advocated for me with the Polish adoption authorities, so that my age (47)
and the fact that I am single never became obstacles in the adoption
process.
Also important was that the service provided by ICIA was affordable.
Simon (who celebrated his fourth birthday shortly after the adoption) has
orthopedic special needs. In spite of these, he is extremely healthy and
active, and is developing well. He's a very happy and loving child, who is
adjusting well to our family. He is thrilled to have a "Mamusia" and we are
thrilled to have him!
I would be glad to talk to anyone who is considering using ICIA,
especially
for a Polish adoption. I want to thank Lori and Vicki for their considerable
professionalism and caring hearts. Finding good people to help you with an
adoption is sometimes more a matter of luck than of skill. I feel that I was
very lucky indeed to find ICIA, and I would recommend them highly.
Celia
Top of Page
Our adoption story begins
like most that you have probably read so far. My
husband and I were married in October 1993. We both were in our late 20's
when we got married and decided that we wanted to start our family right
away. Little did we know at the time, the good Lord had other plans for us.
After 6 years of infertility treatments and 4 failed IVF cycles we both
were emotionally and physically drained. We had started talking and doing
some research on International Adoptions. Once I had my husband convinced
that Adoption was the route we needed to take we sat down to figure out on
a country. We originally settled on China. I had a good friend who
adopted from China so I knew that she would walk us through the whole
process. So in May 2001 we started on our homestudy and gathering our
paperwork, when my father had a massive stroke and 10 days later I had to
have an emergency hysterectomy at the age of 33. I then decided that I
needed to step back for a while and concentrate on my health and my
father's recovery. In early September we started our adoption journey
again we were once again filled with hope. Then when September 11th 2001
happened I told my husband that I just was not comfortable with traveling
to a foreign country for 15 days.
For the next few days I searched the Internet for International Adoption
agencies that had programs that did not require you to travel to pick up
your child. That is when I found Island Coast International Adoptions.
I
called and spoke to a very nice lady named Lori Bollman she answered all of
my questions and sent me out information on her Guatemala program. What we
liked about Guatemala was all children were in foster care and they
received regular medical attention and if you wanted to travel to pick up
your child it was only a 3-day stay. When I received the packet I started
calling all of her references. I was so impressed with Lori and all of the
feedback I was getting from her references that we decided to use ICIA.
On
November 26th we sent Lori our dossier and to my surprise on November 27th
Lori called to tell me that she had a referral of a beautiful baby boy 13
days old. One wise person told me that you don't have to give birth to be a
mother. It was at that time I finally realized what God's plan was for us!
We traveled on June 2 to Guatemala to bring our son home. I had traveled
before but never so far away from home. Guatemala was a life changing
experience for us. On the morning of June 3rd we were called to the lobby
of our hotel where we met Lori's facilitator Noami, our son and his foster
family. That was the best day of my whole life. Our son was
beautiful! My heart soared with so much love that I just started
crying. Our son's foster family was just wonderful. I could tell right
away that they truly loved him and took great care of him. Our son's
foster family did not speak English so Noami translated what I was saying
to them. Noami stayed with us that day for a while to make sure that we
were going to be okay with our son and then she gave us her cell phone to
call if we had any problems that night. She took us to all the
appointments and stayed right with us. She also took us around town and
shopping. We had a wonderful trip to Guatemala their people are so very
loving and friendly we never felt out of place.
I just cannot speak highly enough about ICIA, Lori and Noami. I know
there were days when Lori probably wanted to smack me but she was so
understanding and patient. (Patience is not one of my best qualities) When
I just thought I would not be able to wait anymore Lori was always there to
comfort me. Lori gave Gary and I the best gift we have ever received, our
son.
I can honestly say that Jacob is the light of our lives! I just can't
imagine life without him. We had no bonding problems it was like he knew
that the moment his foster mom put him in our arms we were his
parents. Our family is just wild about him. My eight-year-old niece told
me that being adopted meant to her that the stork just left Jacob in the
wrong place and we had to go get him.
I would be happy to speak to anyone about ICIA. I am sure in the next
2
years we will be using ICIA again for our next adoption.
Gary and Rebecca Seeley
Milford, Ohio
Top of Page
Hello,
My wife and I started our adoption process in August of 2001. We used Heart
to Heart adoption Agency in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania who in turn worked with
Island Coast International Adoptions Agency in Florida.
We submitted our dossier and we got a referral for a little boy in January
2002. We were not expecting it to happen so quickly ! We received pictures ,
the birth length, and the birth weight of our baby from ICIA soon
afterwards.
We of course accepted this child and the adoption process was begun. This
was
the most difficult part of the adoption process. The waiting is so difficult
at times. During this time, ICIA would send us updated pictures of
our baby.
Those pictures were such a needed blessing for us !
Lori Bollman at ICIA was such a huge help and was oh so patient in
answering
all of our questions. We had so many questions for Lori and she always
quickly answered them.
We got word from Lori in June 2002 that our adoption was final. We were
going
to have our baby escorted to the United States so we sent our VISA
application to the INS in Philadelphia, PA. and thought that our baby's VISA
would be approved and our baby would be home in just a few weeks.
Unfortunately, our VISA application got hopelessly caught up in INS red
tape.
We waited until July and we decided to go to Guatemala and get our baby. We
had to get passports and make travel arrangements in less that a week! Lori
Bollman was so wonderfully helpful during this hectic time ! She got us into
contact with a wonderful travel agency in Florida that made us great last
minute travel arrangements. Lori also directed us to a company on the
internet that was able to get us passports in 3 days. Seven days after we
started making travel arrangements, we flew from Harrisburg, PA. to
Guatemala
City, Guatemala. While in Guatemala, we worked with Naomi Diaz. Naomi was so
wonderful ! She made us feel so at home in a strange place. Naomi helped us
through all of the processes in Guatemala and everything went so smoothly.
We
are so happy that we decided to go to Guatemala and get our baby. We know
that it was Gods will that we went to Guatemala and we were so blessed
during
that trip ! It was wonderful to be able to see where our baby came from and
experience some of the culture of Guatemala.
The adoption process can certainly be difficult at times. The waiting is the
most difficult part. It is a tremendous comfort knowing that a wonderful
adoption agency like ICIA is handling your adoption. It is also a
tremendous
help to have a deep faith in God. Put the adoption process in Gods hands and
everything will turn out just fine. God led us to Heart to Heart Adoption
Agency and then to Island Coast Adoption Agency and what a magnificent job
that they did ! I would highly recommend ICIA to anyone considering
adoption.
Our baby boy has been home for 4 months now and he has adjusted and bonded
to
us extremely well. Our baby boys name is Samuel James Moodler and he is so
happy and active ! He is such a beautiful baby and we love him so very much
!
He is a dream come true and an answer to our prayers. We thank you Lori for
helping make our dream of a baby become a reality.
Joe & Joy Moodler
Stormstown, Pennsylvania
Top of Page
How we became a family
by Joseph, Mary and Michael Ziegler
My husband and I always knew that we
wanted experience adoption as one of our ways in becoming a family. My
husband was adopted, so we already knew what a wonderful blessing this could
be to families. We discussed the topic for a few years, and after
concluding that adoption was the way that we were being guided to become a
family, we started researching adoption on all levels. We did thorough
research on domestic and international adoption avenues.
Once we decided that we wanted to adopt
a baby on the international level, it took some time for us to agree on
where to go. I had strong feelings for one country and Joe another. Maybe,
we thought at one point, we should wait longer before we make the decision
because we could not agree. Then after much prayer for MORE guidance, we
agreed that we wanted to adopt from Guatemala. We started with an agency in
our metro area, but we were still not feeling like this was IT. We kept
this silent from each other, not wanting to disappoint the other.
One evening at a local adoption support
group meeting, the social worker mentioned that there was an agency that
needed families for babies in Guatemala. Our hearts pounded as we
investigated a little more, and we knew that we were being guided another
direction. We made the wisest choice and changed agencies and our hearts
were finally content. Soon, we were notified by ICIA that we were
going to be parents, and that a baby boy had been born.
You see, all of the time that we were
trying to make up our minds and not agreeing on a country location was only
a factor in the story that our son had not even been conceived or born yet.
Once we received our first pictures of him, there was an immediate feeling
of being a family. The process went very smooth, with the help from
everyone at ICIA.
We can’t thank them enough for our
miracle of life that has made us a family.
Top of Page
Dear Lori, Sorry it has
taken me so long to get this together, but here is our story.
My husband and I were married in 1990. I
was 30 and he was 28. Our plans were to have 2 children by the time I was
35. Well, when I reached 35 we still had no children, we sought the advice
of doctors and went through numerous tests, medicines, and surgery and still
no luck. By the time I was 38 we decided to stop everything and just be a
happy couple.
We were definitely happy, but always
knew something was missing, so we decided to look into adopting. At this
time we were only thinking domestic adoptions and one agency I called said
it could take 6-8 years to place a young child with us, and by that time I
would be considered too old for their program. That was really a crushing
blow. Not only could I not have a baby, now I was being told I was too old!!
We started hearing about international
adoptions and decided to attend an informational meeting of another local
adoption agency. We really thought we would be interested in the China
program, but after talking to a couple who had adopted from Guatemala, we
decided this was the direction we would head.
We continued with the local agency,
Adoption Horizons, for our home study and classes. In June of 1999 we were
referred to Island Coast International Adoptions and Lori Bollman.
When Lori called to introduce herself and explain how the process goes, she
had a wonderful surprise for us. She was referring us a beautiful 4 month
old baby boy. WE HAD A SON!! It was an exciting and sometimes trying time.
The wait is so hard and to be honest we had some delays in our adoption, but
the main thing was we finally got the call to travel to Guatemala in March
of 2000 to bring our little boy home.
Our trip to Guatemala was wonderful.
Noami, Lori's facilitator in Guatemala met us at the airport, took us to the
hotel, reviewed our paperwork to be sure all was in order, and was there
when our little one was brought to us, took us to the Embassy for our visa
appointment, and even arranged for sightseeing of Antigua.
Our son adjusted beautifully and is a
wonderful 4 year old today. Our story continues.
Last year we decided it was time to
bring another child into our lives. Once again we contacted our local agency
to update our homestudy and then requested to use ICIA and Lori's
services again. This time in Sept. she called with a referral of a 10 day
old baby girl. This adoption went smooth as can be, and poor Lori had to
track us down on Jan 1, 2003 to tell us to pack our bags, as our little girl
was ready to come home.
Once again Noami took wonderful care of
us while in Guatemala, and we even were fortunate enough to meet our
daughter's foster mom and her birth mom. Noami was a wonderful translator.
We have 2 beautiful children and we have
ICIA and Lori to thank. She was very helpful with answering any
questions we had and she made sure we received pictures of both children on
a regular basis. We will always be grateful and would recommend her services
to anyone considering adoption.
Miracles do happen and we thank God for
the angels here on earth that helped make our dreams come true.
Sincerely, Jim & Cindy Daron proud
parents of Zachary & Emma
Top of Page
Our Story:
It started on April 9th 1988. That was the day of our wedding. I was
25 and my wife was 21 years of age. We decided to wait a few years before
we had children. To get on our feet. Well after years of trying to conceive
and thousands of dollars of doctor bills we decided to adopt.
We put a lot of time in deciding when and were we would adopt from.
From a past experience with a friend of the family we ruled out an American
baby. We had friends after three weeks the mother came back and took their
little girl. Not for us.
We decided on Korea. Our son was born on Feb 10th. It was June 26,
2000 when we went to St. Louis airport and met him for the first time. He
was met by his new parents, grandmother and great-grandmother and an aunt
and uncle. It was a joyous day. On the way home from the airport the proud
papa just happened to miss his exit off of the interstate. Oh well a few
more miles.
About two years later we discussed it and decided to get our son a little
sister. Again we pursued a Korean adoption. But our initial application
and check was returned. We were rejected do to our body mass index. They
thought we were too fat. That was a sad couple of days.
We researched a little more (OK a lot more) and finally decided to adopt
a girl from Guatemala. That was an experience. We had never been out of
the country before. Never! Thanks to Lori and her employee Noemi our
experience was a flawless and memorable one. On October 15th we returned
with our daughter. A beautiful 5 month old girl with the biggest dark eyes
and that winning smile.
Both of our children have adapted quite well and are thriving. Our
little girl was so small when we got her. Just over 11 pounds. In three
months she is up to almost 16 pounds and crawling everywhere.
This isn't the whole of it either. The Lord knew he needed a good home
for these two children and He knew we would provide that for them. On
January 17th my wife informed me that she was pregnant and we would be
expecting a child of our own. After all the years we had all but given up
hope and now the Lord blessed us with this miracle. On today the 2nd day of
Feb we had an sonogram. It was really neat to see the small living baby, no
bigger than a peanut. And to hear the heart beat it was amazing.
Our eldest is really excited. He wants a little brother. Mom has
already told him she can't pick him up any more because she has a baby in
her belly. Four year old curiosity... "Mommy how is the baby going to get
out of there?" Mom's reply was , "Mommy's body is made such that when it is
time
the baby can get out." We all are doing fine . With a long waited
anticipation
we will be a family of five. And if the Lord blesses us again we will be
happy
to provide.
Jeff, Bernadine, Kevin and Annabelle Suchomski
Pinckneyville, Il
Top of Page
Hi,
I want every one to know how blessed we are with our new daughter! I am 38
years old with a 14 year old son. I have been looking into adopting a child
for
a couple of years. I thought I did not have a chance since I am divorced and
live with my boy friend of 6 years. I contacted several different agencies
and
talked with many different people. When I spoke with Lori Bollman of
Island
Coast International Adoptions I felt a comfortable and a peaceful
feeling.
On March of 2003 I started my paper
work. I decided to go with Guatemala since my
son has a Spanish heritage. It just seemed to be the right thing at the
time.
Lori explained to me that Guatemala was going through some tough times and
things where a bit unstable at that time. She was always honest and upfront
with
me. Every time I had a question she also responded professionally and
efficiently. Well, in October or 2003 she had a baby girl for me. I knew it
could take
a while since the holidays were coming and Guatemala had just reorganized
after a tough year. On January 2004 she told me my daughter was ready to
come
home!! We never expected it to happen so fast. Noemi, the facilitator, met
us in
Guatemala and stayed with us all the way during the embassy visit. She even
took us sight seeing!!. I can tell you, not all agencies will do that. We
met
many couples there without any help from their agencies. They were really
lost
but Noemi even tried to help them.
I could have picked any agency, but the
Lord led me to Island Coast
International Adoptions and I thank him every day. My adoption went very
quickly which seems to be the norm for ICIA. And I will tell you my
daughter was one of the
youngest babies we saw at the embassy. Most of the children had waited many
more months. I would recommend Lori and Noemi from Island Coast
International
Adoptions to anyone interested in adopting. They are the best!!!
Barbara Garcia
Top of Page
My husband and I have
been together for 13 years and have wanted a child
for just as long. We felt we where missing the most important part of
lives.We
started about 7 years ago. We first began with clomid and then went to
artificial insemination. Neither worked so we then went to IVF. We did two
cycles of
that and both failed. We were both devastated and we did not understand why
God would do this to us .We felt that we were both good people and we did
not
understand why we were being punished. When we decided to adopt we looked
over all of the different countries and we both decided on Guatemala. We
liked
the fact that in their country listing, the first words that we saw were
"healthy and the babies where born in hospitals and they went straight to
foster
care."
We then announced to our families that
we decided to adopt. My sister-in-law
told us that her mother's neighbor had adopted from Guatemala and that she
used
a local agent. We gave her a call and she told us how wonderful Island
Coast
International Adoptions with Lori Bollman was. We called Lori on a
Sunday and
she called us back on Monday. We found out that Lori lived ten minutes from
our house so Lori invited us over to meet her. The very minute we met Lori
we
fell in love with her. That day Lori made us a promise that I will never
forget...she told us that she assured us that she would get us a baby and
that she
did. We can never thank her and Noemi enough.
Lori called me two days before
Thanksgiving and told me that I was a mom and
that our son was born. It was the best feeling I will ever have. Four short
months later she called us with the news that our adoption was final and we
could now travel to get our beautiful son. When we got to Guatemala, we got
a
call from Noemi telling us that she would bring the baby within the hour.
Adoption is the best thing in the world. It is hard to explain but
everything felt
so right and perfect. God did not punish us! He had blessed us. God chose
us for this wonderful plan. Dylan fits so perfect in our lives, it's like
the
last piece to our family puzzle. Noemi is great! She spent the whole next
day with us. We can not say enough about her. We traveled with another
family
that also used ICIA. Our babies were the youngest in the bunch.
Everyone
asked us how old our babies were. All of the other babies were 8 months to a
year
old. It is because of Lori and Noemi that we got our babies so young. Plus
all of the other families getting their babies did not have a Noemi with
them.
We were so lucky to have been led to Lori and Noemi. I just wanted to say
that Lori and Noemi you both are God's angels. We love you both and can
never
thank you enough for our beautiful son Dylan. Lori you have been my security
blanket through this whole thing. I would tell anyone wanting to adopt
definitely
go with Lori and Noemi they are great at what they do .
April 13,2004
Love,
Warren, Michelle and Dylan Mercer
Top of Page
We have our baby a
little over a week now. I see her in the crib and am amazed that she is
there. It is one in a line of cribs that we have purchased for an intended
new baby, only to give to Good Will when the baby was gone.
It has been a long nine years. My husband, Anthony, and I have held and
loved nine domistic children during that time. My children, Mia and
Stephan, have grieved with us when each child has left our home. Adoption
is not an easy road. We have heard lies, lies that the paperwork is being
rushed through for this baby. We have trusted each time. In one case,
three months after the paperwork being rushed, we were called that the
biological mother was back in town and wanted to see her child. Within
days, our little girl was gone. We picked up a little boy and were told he
had no one. No, no grandparents, no family at all. After one year of
loving this child, an aunt came to our home and took him for a few visits.
Then, in judge¹s chambers, the decision was made to send him home with her.
My son fell to the floor in despair when I told him Alex wasn't coming
home. He talked of him for months. "I wonder if he is walking without
holding on, by now," he would say.
Years ago, I asked my minister¹s wife about adopting a child from Guatemala.
She told me she would check with our missionaries in that area. Her answer
was that Guatemala was closed. It would be a long time before I realized
that was not true.
Last December, after all the presents were opened, the last two children
left our home. I tore up all my phone cards on caseworkers for I could not
go that route any more. For days, I would walk around the house wondering
what was happening. I was sure God had another child for us, and, yet,
there were no more options. I had exhausted them all. I could not form a
prayer in my mind. I just thought over and over what I had done to my
children, my husband, for they were disillusioned by all of the
disappointments.
One Sunday, I picked up the newspaper and read a story about the little
girls in Guatemala. The writer noticed each child was holding and rocking
something. They were rocking their baby dolls. When the writer asked to
see one, a little girl gave her a rock. They were all holding rocks for
dolls. I was so overwhelmed, I went right to my computer. I knew God was
leading me. I found Island Coast International Adoptions, and discovered
that Guatemala was not closed. In fact, they were looking for families.
When I talked to Lori Bollman, I had immediate peace that this was the road
I should take.
Lori and I wrote back and forth for a few months. She told only the truth
about what was ahead. She was confidant, so much so that I began to believe
we would have our baby. We began the home study, and dreaded what we
thought would be a long wait. It was February 2004. On May 26th, the email
arrived with Lori's question, "Are you ready for a referral?" A beautiful
baby girl born May 10th. Pictures followed of a yawning infant that I
wanted to reach out and hold in my arms.
As all of the legalities were taken care of, my desire for the arrival of
our child grew. I prayed she would be with us for Christmas. Not really
comfortable with travel to another country, I told Lori I would need an
escort. In my heart, I wanted to make the trip, but it seemed to take more
courage than I had. Then, I prayed a prayer asking God what He wanted me to
do. If I should fly, I told Him I was placing myself in His Hand. I was
placing my family in His Hand. The decision to travel came within hours,
and with it, total peace.
Lori and I flew to Guatemala after a flourish of details: an emergency
passport, tickets, and last minute paperwork. Could this really be
happening? Whenever I got this close before, something would take my dream
away. Lori's smile and her wonderful sense of humor got me through the
hours in the air. When I met the facilitator, Noemi, I felt I was an old
friend. These were women of great faith, and their presence, as I awaited
the baby's arrival, was calming. Then, the baby was carried into Noemi¹s
home, a house filled with angels. Angels of wood on the walls, statues of
angels in her breakfront, angels on each table, cherubs on the armoire in
the hall. A month before in church I had asked for prayer. I was told that
angels would place my baby in my arms. Surrounded by these angels, I
received my little girl. I was weak with joy.
The next day, she was six months old. In two days, after the paperwork at
the American Embassy was completed, we were heading home, to a family who
had waited years for this moment. As Lori, now one of my treasured friends,
looked on, my son danced in the aisle at the airport, my daughter bubbled
over with delight, my husband beamed as he saw this smiling, beautiful
bundle of baby, ours to keep in a crib that was meant just for her.
If anyone should have given up, it was I. How blessed I am that God
provided Island Coast International Adoptions to turn the ashes of my life
into beauty. My prayer was that she would be here for Christmas, but she
made it for Thanksgiving Day. A miracle has happened, and I will be
eternally grateful.
Top of Page
Anna Axe
I can't believe it has been almost three months since I held my daughter in
my arms for the first time. The time has passed so quickly, and I can easily
say Motherhood has been the greatest experience of my life. Wanting a child
as a single person is a very difficult decision -- one that I had
contemplated for many years. For years, I maintained a very close
relationship with my nieces and nephews, and I had daily contact with
children at my job. Still, something was missing in my life: a child of my
own. Adoption seemed the natural choice for me. Having worked as a childcare
administrator for many years, I knew that I would not have any problem
bonding with a child that was not mine biologically. I had been diagnosed
with PCOS several years earlier, so my chances of conceiving a child is very
slim. I knew that domestic adoption was not the route I wanted to take as I
had experienced first hand the heartache of friends and relatives who lost
children they had already bonded with. After much research I decided on
adopting from Guatemala. Having my child cared for by a private foster
family was very. I also liked the fact that Guatemala was very close as I
hope to have the opportunity to take my child back someday to see her
country. Now, I had to take on the daunting task of researching the hundreds
of agencies working with Guatemala adoptions. I truly believe in divine
intervention and being in the right place at the right time. The next week
my sister met a little boy in her son's music class who been adopted from
Guatemala. She quickly put us in touch with each other. This family had
worked with ICIA the year before and highly recommended Lori and
ICIA. From the first time I spoke with Lori, I felt confident that she
would help me in making my dream come true. She assured me of two things --
that she had no reservations about me being single, and that she would do
everything in her power to help me have a child home by Christmas.
As a single person, I had found through my research that my options for
adoption were limited, and I wasted no time in getting my paper work done.
There was no way I was going to risk letting this opportunity fall through.
I convinced my sister who had been pursuing an adoption from to switch to
Guatemala, so that our children could share the same heritage.
My home study was completed in March, and the paper work was approved on
April 5th! On April 15th, I received a phone call from Lori: "Are you ready
to be a Mom?" My daughter, who I have named Elle, had been born on March
27th. You can't imagine the overwhelming joy to hear those words. I was so
excited I barely made it through work. Thank God my family, friends and
coworkers were so patient with me during this time. My sister received her
referral the same day, she also received a referral for a little girl who
was born March 26th. We truly believe these two girls were meant to be
together. I received pictures of my daughter each month. With each new set
of pictures, I fell more in love with my daughter, and the wait became
increasingly difficult. I stayed busy, getting the nursery and the house
ready for a baby. I also took time to enjoy my last few months as a single
person.
I received my phone call on August19th that my adoption was final and I
could travel to pick up my daughter. My sister, mother and I left on August
28th and my daughter was placed in my arms on August 29th. This was truly
the greatest moment! My daughter was so calm and content and just looked
into my eyes as if to say "Hello, Mom!" Elle and I bonded immediately and I
truly feel we were meant to be together she definitely has my outgoing,
spunky personality.
I had been so nervous about the trip to Guatemala, but it was truly the
easiest part of the adoption, and an experience that I am truly grateful
for. I enjoyed having the opportunity meeting the foster family who had
cared for my daughter the first five months of her life. They took the time
to share all of the important details of her daily routine. It was very
obvious how much they truly loved Elle and I know it was hard for them to
say good-bye. The facilitator in Guatemala went over all of the paperwork
and guided me through my embassy day. She drove us around so we could take
pictures, and took us shopping so I could purchase some very special
Guatemalan gifts to give my daughter, as she gets older. Everywhere I went
in Guatemala other adoptive families stopped me to inquire how old my
daughter was. They couldn't believe she was going home at just five months.
I also met many families who had adoption horror stories. I can't thank
ICIA enough for making my adoption experience such a positive one. I
think of the all the " firsts" Elle has experienced in her three month at
home and am very grateful for having my daughter home so young.
God has blessed me with a beautiful, healthy daughter, she brings my entire
family and me more happiness than I ever could have imagined. My sister is
now home with her daughter and watching the two of them play together is so
much fun. I look forward to the years ahead and the many special things they
will share. People often ask me "Isn't it hard being a single mom?" At times
it has its challenges, but when I wake up to the sound of my daughter
calling out "MAMAMAMAMA," I smile and think to myself that it just doesn't
get any better than this!
All Children come from God, for some the jounrey home just takes a little
longer.
Top of Page
December 3, 2004
My husband and I first considered adoption in August of 2001. Our only
child, a 14 year old son, had died the year before after a very long
struggle with a very rare genetic disease. We were left lonely and empty,
and knew that we wanted to be parents again. God had given us our son for a
short 14 years, and we were not done being parents.
We got with Lori in December of 2001. Being that I was 46 and my husband was
54, we decided on trying for a toddler girl. We decided on Guatemala because
Lori would escort, and we were told the children were so happy and healthy
from there.
And so it began. Our local adoption agency in Bellefonte, PA got all of our
paperwork to Lori and we began our wait. On February 26, 2002 Lori had our
referral a beautiful eight month old little girl who was an abandonment
case. Lori explained to us what we would be up against, with her being
abandoned, but it felt so right. By all probability, she would be a toddler
by the time it was all done.
Little did we know then, how true that would be. The wait was
hard, but Lori was always just an e-mail or phone call away. She got us
through it all. It took until March 2003 for the abandonment to be granted,
but we were one step closer. My husband and I knew that this was all part of
God¹s plan for us, so we continued the wait.
By March 2004, we were nearing the end of our long journey. Guardianship had
been granted to the foster mother, and the actual adoption process began. By
this time we no longer wanted our daughter escorted to us; we wanted to
travel ourselves to bring her home.
On July 12, 2004, we got word from Lori that our daughter was just about
ready to come home. What emotions my husband and I felt at that time. We
left for Guatemala on July 25th and had our Rosa Adele in our arms the next
day. Lori¹s facilitator, Noemi, guided us through every step along the way.
She was wonderful and put us at ease the entire time. The paperwork at the
Embassy was done on the 27th and we on our way back home on the 28th. What a
whirlwind!
So here we are, five months later, and so very happy. Without our trust in
Jesus, we never could have completed the journey he prepared for us. But,
oh, what a journey! Rosa was a very special gift to us from up above, one
that we will love and treasure forever.
Thank you, Lori, for making it all possible.
Sue, Roger and Rosa White
Top of Page
God works in magical
ways. A little less than one year ago, my wife, Yvette, and I were wondering
if we were ever going to be parents. Now, as I sit here writing my
testimony, we are the proud parents of two beautiful, (and biological),
children from Guatemala. Below is our story:
After 3 ½ hard years of not getting pregnant, Yvette and I started to
discuss the possibilities of adoption. I have always been a firm believer
that things always happen for a reason, and that adoption was God¹s plan for
us. So, in October 2002, we decided to pursue adoption. We had no idea how
many different countries offered adoption, but by God¹s grace, Yvette was
drawn towards Guatemala and with her first "Google" on the internet, ICIA
and Lori Bollman was pulled up. I did a little research on her agency and we
decided to make a visit to Lori. During the visit, we just knew that this
was the right agency and we signed papers that day. By February 2003, we
received a referral for Elizabeth Grace, and we were very excited. The
initial plan was for us to travel some time within 4-6 months.
Unfortunately, come August, God¹s plan for us changed. The Hague Treaty and
UNICEF got involved and put a halt on foreign adoptions. Our hearts sunk.
Three very long months passed and still no word on when our dear Elizabeth
Grace was coming home. With each picture, we watched her grow up and
wondered if she was ever going to be ours. Then, a few days before
Thanksgiving, we received that blessed call. Lori told Yvette and we would
be traveling within a few weeks. I was at work, so instead of calling me,
Yvette decided to surprise me at work with the wonderful news. My heart
dropped with the news and we quickly called our families to share this
joyous occasion. Our trip was a success, Noemi was awesome, and we returned
home, after waiting 13 months, to finally feel that our lives were complete,
but God had other plans !
Four months after having Elizabeth home (April 2004), we received an urgent
e-mail from Lori to contact her immediately. Of course, we initially thought
the worse and were afraid that we were going to lose Elizabeth, but instead,
Lori informed us that Elizabeth¹s birth mother was pregnant again, but this
time with a boy and due in TWO weeks. Our initial plan was not to adopt a
second child until Elizabeth was at least 3 years old, by once again, God
had other plans. Nicolas Peter was born exactly 14 months and 1 day from his
big sister, and we decided to move ahead with the adoption. Initially, it
was a difficult decision as we were thinking how we are going to afford a
second adoption so soon, we are still getting adjusted to one child, and now
we are potentially going to have a second; are heads were spinning. In the
end, Yvette reminded me that God never puts you in a situation that he
believes you cannot handle and that he will provide. This past October, we
traveled down to Guatemala, with Elizabeth, to pick up her baby brother.
When Elizabeth first saw her brother, he put on a BIG smile and she went
over and gave him a hug. People always tell us that Elizabeth is too young
(20 months) to know what was going on, but I truly believe she and Nicolas
knew that they were siblings. To this day, every morning when our kids
awake, Elizabeth gives her brother a hug and kiss good morning, and Nicolas
just smiles and laughs. It is so beautiful to see and even though Yvette and
I now say that our family is complete, you never know what God has planned.
God has blessed our family with two beautiful children from Guatemala, and
we are so grateful that he chose Yvette and I to be the parents. We also
know that it was God who opened our hearts to adoption and brought us to
ICIA and Lori Bollman. Lori and Noemi will always hold a very special
place in our hearts.
Thank You and God Bless,
Peter, Yvette, Elizabeth, and Nicolas Barbatsuly
Top of Page
In May of 2002, I
underwent major surgery for endometriosis. After the surgery, my doctor
asked when we were planning to have children. I said "in about 2 years or
so". He said that we'd better begin trying now as the odds were the greatest
right after my laparotomy. We decided to give it a try and several months
came and went. I began seeing a new doctor who tested me for tubal blockages
and such. Fortunately, my tubes were not blocked. After several more months,
she referred me to a reproductive specialist. He decided to do a laparoscopy
to see what was going on as my ultrasound showed something unusual. The news
in the recovery room from the laparoscopy was not good. I needed yet another
laparotomy (less than 18 mos after the first one) to remove a cyst that was
very large and aggressive. My surgery was successful and the cyst was not
cancerous. During this time, I began watching Adoption Stories on Discovery
Health Care channel.
I watched intently and cried my heart
out as everyone was united with their adoptive child or children. About 6
months went by and my doctor was recommending injections and IUI. I paid for
the shots and went to the "training session". Meanwhile, I saw Lori and her
family on Adoption Stories. I felt COMPELLED to find her on the internet.
Fortunately, searching Lori Bollman and adoption on Yahoo made my search
very easy! I can't explain my compulsion to look her up except to say that
God must've been giving me a big nudge. The time came for me to give myself
the expensive injections and I just absolutely could not do it. I can't
really even say why. This is when we decided to go ahead with our adoption
from Guatemala. I got information from a large well-known agency but deep
down I knew I would be using Lori. I figured someone who has adopted
internationally herself would certainly be trustworthy and understand what I
am going through along the way. I was right! ICIA proved to be a great
choice.
Our little angel came home in October
2004 at 4.5 months of age. We visited twice prior to bringing her home. We
have such wonderful memories of our visits that we will always cherish.
Noemi, the facilitator in Guatemala, is such a joy. So helpful and
wonderful. I hope I see her again someday! In all honesty, we were concerned
(prior to deciding to adopt) that we would get a baby that was really far
behind. We laugh at that now. Not only is our little Kira one of the most
beautiful babies I have ever seen, she is super smart and extremely ahead.
She was pulling to sitting at 2 mos, pulling to standing at 4 and walking
with help at 5. When we brought her home, she would pick up toys with her
feet and bring them up to her hands, she could turn the light switch off and
on, etc. At 5 mos, she started drinking from a straw and sippy cup! At 7 mos,
she started kicking a soccer ball around the house and also going up the
stairs one alternating foot per step. Not trying to do toooo much bragging
here (what can I say, we are proud parents!) but you get the idea. Kids are
not necessarily going to be behind if they have been adopted. Our little one
has already inspired a friend to adopt. I hope that that trend continues.
Sincerely,
Suzanne, Alex, and Kira Buckmelter
Superior, CO
Top of Page
Hi there, we are the
Harmon Family and we live in Missouri near Kansas City. My name is Jason and
my wife's name is Heidi. We have a 10 year old son named Bailey, and we are
proud to say that we are the new adoptive parents of a beautiful 5 1/2 month
old baby girl from Guatemala named Brianna.
Our adoption story began a number of
years ago. We had kind of kicked the idea around once or twice because our
son is disabled with a genetic disease and we desperately wanted another
child in our family to enrich all of our lives. We were first seriously
approached on the subject by a friend who knew someone who was thinking
about adoption as an option for her baby. We soon met with an adoption
agency here locally to see what were the necessary steps we needed to take
in order to get the process started. Everything went flawlessly until the
mother gave birth. She then changed her mind about the adoption. We were
devastated. Emotions poured through us. We were so close, but in every way
understood the mother's decision to keep her child. It was the right choice
for her. Needless to say we were set back by this and took some time away
from the whole adoption idea.
Some time later we slowly started to
pick up on the idea again, or possibly thinking maybe this time we would try
to have our own baby. We committed ourselves to
trying to have a baby, but to no success. My wife then brought up the idea
of an international adoption. Warning lights, bells and whistles, alert
systems you name it went off in my head. Another adoption? Are you crazy,
look at the last one, it will happen again I would say. You have to know my
wife, she is very thorough and diligent with everything she does. So
needless to say she had done her homework on international adoptions prior
to even thinking about approaching me with the subject. I was very hesitant
due to the costs involved. But, all she simply said to me was " If I can
find a way for us to financially work this out would you be for it?" Me
thinking this was a long shot said yes I would be all for it if you can
figure it out. Her next comment was, " Sit down and listen to how we are
going to get our daughter." So I listened. The very next day we started the
process all over again.
We began our international adoption
process by researching and Internet chatting with folks from different areas
who had adopted internationally. We got references of different agencies and
talked to what seemed like hundreds of people. But the one constant in a lot
of the conversations was Island Coast International. We had heard so
many great things about them, their staff, and all their resources. We used
ICIA out of Cape Coral, Florida. There we were in contact with a
woman named Lori Bollman who has the patience of an angel. From the moment
we started the process until the end she was always there with answers,
pictures, assurance and reassurance. We constantly bombarded her with emails
wanting to know this, that and the other regarding our daughter. She always
left us a calming little note at the end of her reply emails. Noemi, in
Guatemala was just the biggest help to us. She helped get us through the
Embassy and all of its processes, she helped us get our new daughter in to
see a doctor at the very last minute of the work day. She offered to take us
sight-seeing with her and her husband to
Antigua. Last but not least Olga, how can you thank someone who has taken
care of your child the way she did. What a loving heart she has to do what
she does.
This whole process was a whirlwind event
with incredible highs and lows. From the application process and all of its
paperwork. To the referral date. To the monthly pictures and reports. To
getting the word that your case is in PGN. To GETTING PINK. Our trip is over
but our journey has just begun. Thanks to everyone who helped us to make our
dream come true. We are truly indebted to all of you.
The Harmon Family
Jason, Heidi, Bailey and Brianna
Top of Page
Well, we have
been home for almost 2 ½ months already, and each day is better than the day
before. It’s hard to imagine life before our daughter. We are truly blessed
to have found Lori Bollman and Island Coast International Adoptions to help
bring our family together.
My husband and I were high school
sweethearts and always dreamed of the day that we would start a family. We
were married in June of 2000 and didn’t waste much time trying to have
children. Months went by with no pregnancy. We both went to our doctors for
a few tests, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with either of us. We
continued trying until January of 2002. In January, it was time to take a
break and refocus our efforts on something else. My father, who had been
diagnosed with cancer, was starting to have complications with his health.
For the next five months, we spent all of our time and energy with him.
After the passing of my father, my
husband and I started talking about our family again. We knew we needed some
time to heal, but children were still on our minds. As the next few months
passed, we found ourselves discussing how we were going to become a family.
Should we invest our efforts into fertility treatments, or should we focus
on adoption? After years of heartache and waiting, we decided that adoption
was the clear choice for us. We just needed a little time to allow the
“money tree” in the backyard to grow, so we could pursue our dream of
becoming a family. Finally, in December of 2004, the time had come to begin
the process.
The adoption process started with the
search for an agency. I called a few people from our town that had adopted
from Guatemala and asked them what agency they had used. Three of the five
people that I talked to had used Island Coast. I did not hear one negative
comment from anyone. Everyone raved about their wonderful experience. I
almost thought that it was too good to be true. My husband and I talked
about it for about a week and decided that ICIA was the agency for
us. I e-mailed Lori for an application and info packet. The very next day I
found a piece of paper with an agency name on it. This same paper was given
to me almost a year before from a co-worker who knew someone that had
adopted from Guatemala. The agency was ICIA!! I knew this was the “sign”
that ICIA was the one for us.
The process proceeded pretty smoothly.
We started our dossier “paperchase” in March and had the completed dossier
to Lori on April 27th. The wait had started
when would our baby girl be born?? I think that I e-mailed Lori everyday.
Lori always had good words of support and encouraged me to believe that God
would bring our daughter to us in his perfect time. Well ..exactly one month
after submitting our dossier our baby girl was born!!!!
We received the e-mail on Thursday June
2nd with pictures of our baby girl. She was born on May 27th, and she was so
beautiful!! My husband and I bonded right away!
We knew she was meant to be our
daughter. The wait began again. When would we get to go bring our daughter
home?
Those next four months of waiting were
very hard!!!! Again, I think that I e-mailed Lori everyday about our case.
Poor Lori, I know she had to have been going crazy with all of my e-mails,
but every time she responded and assured me that everything was moving and
that it was all progressing in very good time. We received pictures every
couple of weeks, which was very important to us. Another family traveling to
Guatemala took down a package for us with things for our daughter. We even
received pictures of her wearing one of the outfits we had sent down. She
was growing and being well taken care of ..we were so in love.
On September 27th we received notice
that we were out of PGN and would be traveling in a few weeks to meet our
daughter!!!! We left for Guatemala on the 22nd of October and had our baby
in our arms the very next morning. I can’t even put into words the feeling
of holding our baby for the first time. We also met her foster family, who
were wonderful people. You could tell that they loved her and that saying
goodbye was going to be difficult for them. I was sad, but I felt a great
sense of peace that she had been taken care of by such a wonderful family.
We promised to stay in touch with pictures, so they could watch her grow.
e also met Noemi, the facilitator, for
the first time that day. I had heard wonderful things about her from other
families and everything was true. She was an angel. Noemi made the
experience so smooth. She made sure that all the paperwork for the embassy
was in order so that we could focus on our daughter. Our embassy day came
and went without problems. We spent one day shopping with Noemi for things
to bring back for our daughter and families. We also spent some time driving
through Guatemala City and exploring the city. What a beautiful place with
beautiful people.
It is now January. We are very fortunate
to have been able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas as a family. Our
daughter was one day shy of her 5th month birthday when we brought her home.
Now at 7 months we feel like she has always been here. The pain of “the
wait” truly has disappeared. My husband and I have the family that we have
always dreamed of having. We are even thinking about starting again. ICIA
will be getting a call from us. Our experience with them was
wonderful!!! Lori and Noemi are both remarkable women who do a beautiful
thing in uniting children with loving families. We cannot thank them enough
for doing what they do and keeping everything moving so well.
We thank the Lord for ICIA and
the angels who keep it going...Thank you for taking the time to read about
our journey, and if you are thinking about traveling the same path, we wish
you wonderful journey as well.
Love to all
Travis, Sonya, and Isela Maria
The Gatewood Family
Top of Page
The Friend Family
Adoption Story
Michelle and Chris were married May 5,
2001. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to have children. However,
we knew that it could take some time as we were both older when we were
married.
We decided to look into adoption when
Michelle was diagnosed with (PCOS). We began looking at local agencies and
were surprised at the statistics. The domestic agencies said that they had
adopted out 7 children with the last year and that 22 families were waiting.
So with that it could take 2 years or more before we would receive a baby.
We began looking into international
adoption. We looked through so much paperwork that it was overwhelming. Then
on a chance trip to our local mall we ran into an old friend (Karen) and she
gave us information about Island Coast International Adoption (ICIA)
and her friend our angel Lori Bollman. We were elated to find out that
ICIA’s offices were located in our city of Cape Coral, Florida.
We contacted Lori and she arranged to
meet with us at out local library after her office hours. We felt an instant
connection with her from the start. We decided on a child from Guatemala.
Lori explained what needed to be done and the approximate timeline for us
and we started. We started our process June 4, 2005 and had our son
Jefferson in our arms February 11, 2006.
We completed all of our paperwork,
completed the dossier and other details then brought it to Lori on October
6, 2005. At this meeting we asked her how long it could be before we receive
a referral for a baby (The child’s gender did not matter because we know
that the baby would be God sent and we would accept whomever he sent for
us). Lori told us that she had mothers giving birth daily and we could
possibly have a referral within 2 weeks. Well, our angel Lori emailed us on
October 10, 2005 and asked “are you ready to be parents”. Chris read the
email 1st and was in shock and called Michelle at home to tell her the news.
Chris then called Lori and left a voicemail to accept the referral and was
so excited that he could not remember their home phone number but finally
did remember. About 30 minutes later Chris, Michelle and Lori had a
conference call and were told all of the birth information about Jefferson.
It was as emotional as if we were present at the birth of our son. We fell
in love with him and knew it was meant to be from the beginning.
Lori is the most patient person we have
ever met. She is always cheerful, energetic and helpful every step of the
way. We are sure that Michelle and Chris must have emailed or called her at
least once or more a day. I’m sure Lori must have received emails from
Michelle and Chris at the same time without either one of us knowing that
the other emailed her as well. Lori never complained and just replied to
both of them.
Lori kept us up to date throughout the
entire process with pictures and updates every couple weeks. The wait wasn’t
as bad as we had heard. Although, the process seemed like it took forever
when you’re waiting to bring your child home.
We received “PINK” in the beginning of
February and traveled to get Jefferson on February 11, 2006. We were
expectant parents waiting for the call that our baby was downstairs in the
lobby. Once we received the call from Hugo it was like the 100 yard dash to
get him. As soon as we received him we felt an instant bond and there wasn’t
a dry eye in lobby. The sometimes lengthy adoption process was eased by
working Lori Bollman and ICIA.
Our timeline was:
June 4, 2005
June 25, 2005
October 6, 2005
October 10, 2005
February 11, 2006
February 13, 2006
February 14, 2006
February 15, 2006 |
Met with Lori Bollman (ICIA)
Home study Conducted
All paperwork and completed dossier brought to Lori
Received and accepted referral for Jefferson
Pick-up trip to Guatemala to pick up Jefferson
Embassy appointment for Jefferson
Pick-up Jefferson’s Visa
Jefferson home in Florida and our new forever family |
God led us to our chance meeting with an
old friend (Karen) in the mall and Karen has told us recently that she has
not been back to the mall since then. God put us both there at the right
time and then lead us to our angel on earth Lori Bollman. We thank Lori for
helping to make our dreams come true in completing our forever family.
Chris, Michelle and Jefferson Friend
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September 26, 2006
My husband and I recently brought home our
beautiful baby boy we adopted from Guatemala thanks to Lori and ICIA
(Island Coast International Adoptions). After many long years of fertility
treatments, we chose to adopt internationally. The choice to adopt
internationally was an easy one for us. Firstly, there are so many children
in need of a home and loving family, and to have the chance to experience
opportunities that otherwise would not be available to them that the
decision seemed very clear. Secondly, I have some reservations about
adopting domestically. Birth mothers in the US change their minds
frequently, and referrals seem to take longer. It just didn't make logical
sense to me endure the heartache of a birth mother changing her mind if
there are so many children internationally in need of a family.
Around this time, while disheartened over not
being able to conceive, I had a serendipitous encounter I will never forget.
I had the pleasure of meeting Lori outside of the adoption realm. We
instantly connected, and I fortunately learned she owned and operated an
international adoption agency. After answering my numerous questions
patiently and honestly, we contracted with Lori on January 25 to start our
adoption of a baby boy from Guatemala. She handed over the massive paperwork
packet involved to complete the dossier, and I gladly accepted the
challenge. At first glance, the documents, home study interview, and all
certifications and authentications can be very overwhelming. However, with
diligence, patience, and with Lori’s help and support, we completed
everything needed in less than 6 weeks, and received our referral of a 4
week old baby boy on March 7th! Now the ‘real’ wait begins…DNA, family
court, PGN, Pink. There are so many steps involved after receiving the
referral, but Lori keeps you abreast of changes as you enter and exit each
stage, and keeps you calm with lots of reassurance that “everything will be
OK”.
We took two visit trips to have the
opportunity to meet and bond with our son. On the first trip he was 3.5
months old. I will never forget the moment I saw Noemi and the foster mother
walking into the Marriott with our baby in hand. I cried as the foster
mother handed him to me…he was so precious! Noemi is Lori’s partner who is
based in Guatemala, and orchestrates all of the referrals, embassy
appointments, monthly pictures, visits with babies and foster moms, family
visits and pick up trips, physician visits, and so much more that I am not
even qualified to list. Noemi is a true angel, just as Lori is. She loves
the Guatemalan children with all of her heart and soul. I hope to see Noemi
again one day, as there will always be a place in my heart for her!
Our second visit trip was planned on our
son’s 6 month birthday. It was a wonderful experience to see how he had
changed! He had learned to roll over, sit up, and hold his own bottle! I
highly recommend visiting as it makes the experience more ‘real’ to be able
to hold, touch, kiss and cuddle with your baby and stay connected with his
developments. Precious bonding time I would not trade for anything in the
world!
To our surprise, two days after we returned
home from our second visit trip we were out of PGN!!! The adoption is
final!!! PGN was the hardest step for me…waiting and waiting for the
adoption to be reviewed and signed off on, I was going mad until Lori called
me with the good news!! So, in just 3 short weeks we received our ‘Pink’
slip to travel, and brought our baby home on 8/31/06.
As you can see, Lori is highly experienced
and works very fast. Our adoption experience lasted only 7 months from start
(contracting and receiving the paperwork) to the trip home with our baby.
And only 5.5 months from the time of referral to the day we brought him
home!
As I sit here and write this, I watch my son
playing happily nearby. I am so lucky to have him as my son. I couldn't ask
for a more beautiful and happy baby! A quote I hold dearly comes to mind
from the Dalai Lama…”Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a
wonderful stroke of luck”. Because we could not conceive, I have the most
precious baby I could ever ask for, and wouldn't change a thing. I thank
Lori and ICIA every day for giving me the wonderful gift of
motherhood, and making my husband and I a complete family. I recommend
ICIA to anyone looking for an experienced, compassionate and
knowledgeable adoption agency. With ICIA you can count on honesty,
personal care and the utmost of professionalism.
If you have any questions about my
experience, please feel free to email me at
Torig71@aol.com
Vicki Durso
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OUR JOURNEY FOR ELI
My Husband Owen and I began our journey for Eli in June 2005. After a year
of infertility treatments and still no pregnancy we both knew if we wanted
to have a child together it was time to make a decision to either continue
the treatments or adopt. At that point we started looking at adoption on our
computer. The next question was what country did we want to adopt from. At
first I looked at Illinois and I could not believe the “wait time” was so
long to get a healthy infant. With Owen and I nearing 40 years old we knew
we wanted a baby sooner than that. At that point I looked at Russia but they
required several visits and some long stays in their country. Then I saw
Guatemala and the website I was on had pictures of the most beautiful babies
with the biggest, darkest eyes I had ever seen. That caught my attention and
I read more and more and more about the adoption process for Guatemala.
I found out that most of the babies were born
in Hospitals, we could adopt a baby between 3-6 months old, and the adopting
parents would only have to stay in Guatemala 3-5 days. It sounded perfect
The following day I called LCFS (Lutheran Child and Family Services) and
they referred me to ICIA (Island Coast International Adoption Agency)
in Florida.
I contacted them and they sent us a packet of
information which included a list of a ton of paperwork that would be
required to start the process. All this paperwork would need to be notarized
and Authenticated to make up this packet called the “Dossier”. We also
needed a Home study done by a licensed social worker along with
fingerprinting and several background checks. So, we began our paper chase
for our Dossier on July 23rd 2005 and I sent everything to Lori Bollmann at
ICIA on January 9 2006. Once ICIA reviewed our paperwork they
translated it and sent it to Guatemala.
Once Guatemala said everything was okay
we were clear to accept a referral as soon as an infant boy became
available.
On January 27, 2006 while on my lunch break
at work I received a phone call from Lori that would change our lives
forever She said “Stephanie this is Lori with ICIA and apparently
you’ve been away from your computer today “ I said “Yes, I’m at work today”
she said “well I have sent you some pictures and information of a healthy
baby boy that is available as a referral to you if you want him, do you have
access to a computer? I said “No we’re not allowed to use the computers here
(at work) but can I call Owen and ask him to see what he thinks and call you
right back” She said “Sure”. So, I then called Owen and he said “Is he
healthy” I said “yes” , he said “what do you think babe” I said “my heart
tells me this is our son” He said “okay” call Lori back” so I called Lori
back and told her we would accept our referral. So, I accepted our son”
Sight unseen”.
The first thing I did that day when I got
home was look at our son on the computer- He was perfect He was born January
3rd 2006, he weighed 5lbs 1oz. And was 18 inches long. He went from the
hospital to private foster care where he stayed with his foster mother ( a
wonderful woman), her 15 year old daughter, and a 3 year old boy that was in
foster care there too. His name was Gabriel but to us he was “Eli” (we knew
we would rename him Eli).
At this point we were in for what seemed to
be a very long wait to bring our son home. We received monthly updates of
our baby, It was our only connection to someone very far away that we knew
we loved immensely although we had never really seen him, smelled him, or
even touched him.
The beginning of March we received word that
our case was flying. By March 22nd our final paperwork was in the final
stages of the Guatemala Court System. Once our papers got to this stage
called PGN they needed to be signed by the Main Official of PGN . Nothing
more could be done without his signature. Well, at the end of March before
our papers were signed the PGN department in Guatemala made some changes and
there was a new Head of PGN that caused things to either move very slow and
even completely stop sometimes when it came to releasing adoption paperwork.
So, we were stuck somewhere in PGN . Since we were all unsure if or when we
would get out of PGN we decided to go visit Eli from May 22nd - 25th. We
finally got to see and touch our Angel for the first time. But of course,
our visit trip went quick and leaving Eli behind that day not knowing when
we would get out of PGN was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Then
on June 18th 2006 I received an e-mail from Lori at ICIA saying our
papers were signed in PGN Hallelujah we were finally out of PGN They ordered
our son’s birth certificate and they had it by June 22nd then they got a
PINK slip that had a date of June 28th for us to be at the Embassy
appointment in Guatemala.
We flew to Guatemala June 27th, within an
hour of being there Lori’s facilitator in Guatemala (Noemi) brought Eli to
us. We had our appointment the 28th, picked up his Visa the 29th and
returned home to Hoffman, Illinois on July 1st 2006.
Eli has been with us for 3 months now. We
have truly been blessed There is nothing in the world that can describe the
joy he has given us. There is nothing like walking into his room in the
morning and seeing his huge dark eyes and toothless smile staring back at
us.
I would like to thank Lori Bollmann at
ICIA for being sooo patient and nice to us during our adoption process.
She kept me faithful in the fact that when I thought I couldn’t wait another
day to hear news about Eli she reminded me to pray, keep the faith, and know
that he was coming home soon.
I also want to Thank Noemi (Lori’s
facilitator in Guatemala) for taking such good care of us and checking on us
and getting us where we needed to be while we were in Guatemala.
We were also fortunate enough to meet Eli’s
foster mother while we there. She is a remarkable woman who did a wonderful
job taking care of him- he was well nourished and very outgoing thanks to
Noella. And, I believe, because of her he adjusted extremely well when we
got home. I think of her often and continue to pray for her. Everyone of you
women are Heaven sent and all played very important rolls in our son’s life.
Thank You all very much from the bottom of our hearts for you have helped
bring one of the greatest joys to our lives Hugs in Christ
Owen and Stephanie Paulsmeyer
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This is how we were
blessed with our son, Diego. My husband, Scott and I had been trying to get
pregnant for about 5 years when we started infertility treatments. I went
through a couple surgeries and numerous unsuccessful treatments. I started
looking on-line at adoption agencies and found one locally. They were having
a seminar regarding international adoptions that I attended with a friend.
My husband and I then signed up with this agency that referred us to ICIA.
Lori immediately eased all of our concerns, and we began the process of
adopting from Guatemala.
Our journey started in April, 2006 with our
home study. ICIA then sent us all of our paperwork that we needed for
our dossier. I completed our part in May or early June. We received our INS
approval and FBI fingerprints back by mid June. As soon as Lori received
everything we had our referral. On June 28th, 2006 Lori emailed me saying
she had a boy that was just born on the 23rd, and were we interested? Of
course, so later that night we emailed her back accepting him!!! About a
week later we got the first pictures of Diego and he was just the most
beautiful child I had ever seen! We then received monthly pictures as well
as frequent updates. We went into PGN at the beginning of August. We then
got the best call of our lives at the end of September-beginning of October
we were PINK!! We went down to pick him up at the end of October.
We arrived in Guatemala on October 29, 2006.
We had just enough time to get to the hotel and get our room before we got
the call that the foster family was in the lobby with our son! It was the
most wonderful moment we had ever experienced. The foster mom had brought
her whole family. You could truly tell that each and every one of them loved
him.
Noemi (the facilitator in Guatemala) was a
godsend. Diego got a stomach bug the second day we had him and she took us
to the doctors and then all over the city to get him the correct medicine.
She had everything all in order and made our experience there unforgettable.
We have been home now about 1 ½ months and he
is the happiest baby around. He is completely healthy and where he should be
developmentally.
Thanks to Lori, Noemi and everyone at ICIA
my husband and I have been able to achieve something we thought unattainable
- our own family. The ICIA family is truly a group of angels that
only God could have assembled. We loved our experience so much that we are
already deciding when we will do it again.
Good Luck and God Bless,
The Fader Family
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As I celebrated having my
beautiful daughter from Guatemala for one year this week, I started to think
about the whole adoption experience all over again, so I wanted to share my
memories of the last year in hopes of encouraging others that are
considering international adoption.
My story started by researching both domestic
and international adoption. After much thought, I decided to try domestic
adoption and contacted Lutheran Child and Family Services. They sent me all
of the information and paperwork to start the process. To be honest,
everything is quite overwhelming at first, from the home study to all of the
documentation needed; however, they answered all of my questions and made
the process go as smoothly as possible. When everything was complete, I was
hopeful that someone would choose me to raise their son or daughter, but
after over a year of waiting, I began to realize that as a single mother,
domestic adoption may not work out for me.
I had researched international adoption and
was actually quite hesitant to start the process. I didn’t really know what
to expect and I am not a world traveler, so the thought of going to another
country wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of things that I wanted to do.
It became apparent to me, however, that my desire to be a parent was greater
than many of my fears, so I decided that international adoption would be the
best way for me to have the child that I had always wanted. I think my
final decision came after more than one of my friends reminded me that it
doesn’t matter where your daughter is from because she will be yours and you
will love her no matter what, which is absolutely true.
I contacted LCFS and told them of my decision
to try international adoption, so they quickly began to help me with this
process. They recommended a couple of international agencies, but my
decision was to contact Lori Bollman at Island Coast International
Adoptions. Lori sent me another round of paperwork that needed to be
completed and I began to start working towards getting all of the
documentation needed for my dossier. This was quite a lengthy process,
especially with all of the certifications that are needed for the paperwork,
so once that was complete, the wait for my daughter began.
To my surprise, within less than three months
of my first contact with Island Coast, I received a phone call as I
was traveling home one day and it was Lori asking if I had seen my e-mail.
I had not, but she told me that I had received a referral for a beautiful
little girl that was one week old. I couldn’t get home fast enough and then
couldn’t believe that I was opening an e-mail with pictures of my daughter.
I quickly accepted the referral and then the waiting began.
Lori kept me informed throughout the process
of progress that was being made towards the day when I could bring my
daughter home. She regularly sent pictures and those were the best days for
me during the time I was waiting for everything to be completed. There were
some difficult times when things just take more time than you think they
should, but I would contact Lori to make sure everything was going well and
she was always full of encouraging words to help me with the waiting.
When my daughter was 4 ½ months old, I
received an urgent e-mail that everything was ready for me to travel to
Guatemala. I couldn’t believe that everything was finally happening so
fast. I found out on Wednesday that I had an appointment at the embassy on
Monday, so I had to travel to Guatemala on Sunday. I was so blessed that
all of my flight and hotel arrangements worked out well, especially
traveling on such short notice.
On Sunday, my friend and I went to the
airport. It was a really stressful time, as there were severe thunderstorms
in the area and when we arrived at the airport, their computers were down,
so everything didn’t seem to be going so well. By another blessing, the
thunderstorms seemed to weaken as they approached St. Louis and our plane
took off only a few minutes late. From then on, the day seemed to go much
better. We arrived in Guatemala right on time and when we arrived at the
hotel, there was a message waiting for me that Noemi would meet me in the
lobby with my daughter around 5:00 that evening. Noemi works in Guatemala
to facilitate the adoptions for Island Coast and she was absolutely
wonderful!
My friend and I went down to the lobby a
little early and to my surprise, the lobby was full of new parents meeting
their children for the first time. I didn’t know Noemi, but when she
arrived, she picked me out and introduced herself. She was a little early
and as we started to go through some of the paperwork to make sure
everything was in order, I saw my daughter coming through the front doors of
the hotel with her foster mother. She was smiling and was absolutely
beautiful. She came right to me and continued to smile. I couldn’t believe
her good nature, especially with someone that she had never seen before.
The foster mother helped me by letting me know her habits and feeding times
and anything else that I needed to know and then said her goodbyes. As
Noemi and I finished up with checking the paperwork, I took my daughter up
to the hotel room and she continued to be a happy little girl.
The embassy process went very well and we
were able to go home on Wednesday after only three days in Guatemala. Noemi
was with me every step of the way and I was so thankful for her help. One
of the reasons I had chosen Guatemala was that the trip was shorter than
most and I wanted to spend my time off of work at home with my daughter
rather than in another country.
During the three days we spent in Guatemala,
we visited with many other parents and many of them were there to spend time
with their child, however, they were not able to take their son or daughter
home yet. Some of these children were several months older than my daughter
and the parents couldn’t believe that I was taking her home at such a young
age. We also visited with a mother that was there to spend a week with her
newborn daughter, but she waited for almost an entire day in the lobby
before she arrived. After hearing some of these stories, I couldn’t believe
how fortunate I was to have chosen an agency that was able to work through
the adoption process so quickly.
After we arrived home, I couldn’t believe how
well she adjusted to her new surroundings. I had almost constant visitors
for days and she would let anyone hold her and was happy most of the time.
She adjusted so well that I even took less time off of work than I
originally anticipated so that I could spend more time with her throughout
the year.
The last year has gone by so quickly. I was
so fortunate to get my daughter at such a young age. I can’t imagine
missing all of her “firsts” that I was able to experience, such as sitting
up, pulling herself up and taking those first steps. She is growing up so
fast and gets more beautiful each day. We honestly don’t go anywhere
without someone stopping us to tell me how beautiful she is. She is very
outgoing, has a wonderful personality and loves to be around people. Her
development has been ahead of what I expected and she is a very smart little
girl. She has really started to talk over the last few weeks, so it has
been fun to teach her new words and watch her reaction as she learns new
things. I am also fortunate to have a wonderful day care that she loves
going to each day. There are days when she claps as we pull into the
parking lot, so I know that she is comfortable spending her day there. She
has been a wonderful addition to my life and I don’t know what I would do
without her.
I can’t believe that I ever hesitated with
the thought of international adoption. I had some fears of how people would
accept a single mother with a child from another country, especially being
from a smaller town, but those fears are long gone. Everyone has accepted
her and there have been many people that stop me to talk about my adoption
experience and many of them have someone in their family that has adopted
internationally as well. My story seems to make some people jealous,
however, as many families don’t get their children when they are under six
months old or have the positive experience I had with Island Coast.
I will be forever grateful for all of the help they gave me throughout the
adoption process. Lori and Noemi were wonderful to work with and I would
recommend Island Coast to anyone who is considering adoption.
Top of Page
Hi,
I hope our story will be helpful to someone considering embarking on the
journey of adoption. My husband and I were married in 1990 and in 1995 we
started trying to get pregnant. That did not happen and after a few
inseminations we realized that we wanted to adopt. Of course at that time we
had no idea how we would reach that goal. A few years passed and we had the
opportunity to foster a child in 1998 and upon having to send him back after
a short time we knew that we were not cut out for the heartbreak of having
children come and go. We wanted a family of our own. Time passed and months
turned into years and while watching Adoption Stories one day I saw Lori's
story. When my husband arrived home from work that evening I had him
immediately watch it and then we went out the door to run some errands. We
stopped at a restaurant for dinner when we were finished shopping and to our
surprise there sat Lori and her entire family. We knew that was a sign and
we were supposed to go through her agency. Just as we were getting ready to
start the process a series of events put things on hold for what would turn
out to be 3 more years. In January of 2007 we were finally ready to begin
the process and had chosen India as the country we were going to adopt from.
We had set in our minds that we were going to adopt a little girl but Lori
had referral papers for a little boy. Now looking back we are so happy and
couldn't imagine our lives without our son, Jack. ICIA (Lori) was
fantastic in guiding us through each and every step of the process. Lori
answered all my questions and if I e-mailed her once I e-mailed her a
hundred times but she was always patient and kind in her response. Anyone
who is strongly considering foreign adoption I have this to say to you,
“Patience.” The process is not perfect and there can be what seems to be
delay after delay but you eventually have your beautiful child at home with
you and it is all worthwhile. India is different from the states and there
is no set timeline for each and every adoption. Frustrating oh yes to say
the least but life is not perfect and for me I had to trust that God would
make everything happen when it was supposed to. I am thankful for all the
things that fell perfectly into place at just the right moment to align us
with our son. I traveled over to India in January 2008 to bring Jack home
and the trip couldn't have gone better. Culture shock yes but a trip I would
not trade for anything. It was a true gift to be able to see where Jack
lived for the first part of his life. Lori prepared me ahead of time with
information covering every single aspect of my trip. If I didn't have all
that information on hand it would have been frankly a scary trip but thanks
to Lori she had all my bases covered and everything went smoothly. The worst
part for me was the long plane flight and travel time coming home was over a
day. The waiting for court dates and all the seemingly endless paperwork
have actually faded into a fond memory and part of an incredible journey.
ICIA (Lori) is a great agency that I recommend to anyone wanting to
adopt. You are treated with a personal touch and she makes a daunting
process bearable and is always there to encourage you!!! You will not get
lost in the shuffle or be treated like a number which is quite refreshing
nowadays. Jack has been home now for almost 7 months and we have enjoyed
every minute of it. He adjusted so easily and is the most beautiful little
boy we have ever seen although we tend to be completely biased on that issue
and frankly anything related to Jack. Our adoption was finalized in July
just six months after my trip to India and what a relief for him to be
officially our son. We plan in the near future to start a second adoption
for a little sister for Jack and without a doubt will be using Lori/ICIA.
She is a true angel!!! Lori, thank you seems so inadequate for the miracle
that you made happen. Jack is the light of our lives and we are so honored
to be his parents.
Anyone is welcome to e-mail with questions about our India adoption journey
at lvthemovies@aol.com.
Paul, Laura and Jack Ryan
