_________________________________

Our Family Is Complete

Dear Marianne,

Where to begin?  How can we thank you for guiding us on this journey to bring home our new son!  I don't know if we could have made it through all the red tape, without your help.  From the very beginning, I felt a connection and could tell is wasn't just a business to you...but a calling.  You were so knowledgeable...but also compassionate and devoted to these kids.

I  honestly believe God led us to CHI...just as he told us in our hearts, that Wen was the little boy we should adopt.  We weren't really considering a boy, or a toddler, or a child with special needs.  But he is the perfect addition to our family...a darling little boy...bright and happy and sweet.  He is so capable, despite being born without a right forearm.  Every day the love grows stronger and deeper. 

There just aren't words to describe what a blessing Wen is.  He has made our family complete.

Many thanks,

Lin Sue and Wen

_________________________________

We're Back From Vietnam...

Hi Marianne,

Well, the first 2006 travel group is back from Vietnam, and I must say that all went very smoothly.  Just got back to the office this week after getting back from Vietnam last week.  I thought that I'd catch you up with what is going on with Alexis.

The first night in the hotel, I put her in the crib, and she sat up for over an hour.  Grandma finally moved her to the big bed, and she slept with me while we were in Vietnam.  When I first met her in Vietnam, she arched her back initially on day one whenever I held her.  On day two she shook her head NO when she saw me.  From then on, she was okay and began to get more comfortable.  She started showing smiles and her personality came out around the fifth day.  From then on, it has been great!

Since we have gotten home (less than a week ago), Alexis has adjusted extremely well.  Much better than I had anticipated.  She's very disciplined and organized, extremely neat and clean.  She likes everything in order!  She takes all of her dirty clothes to the hamper and does everything we ask.  AMAZING!  We took her to dinner with our family, and she never made a peep!  Just sat there like an angel and ate her dinner and fed her dad! 

As you know, Bob did not go to Vietnam with me.  Alexis went to Bob right away when she got home to the U.S. and also went to my adult son.  She's really shy, and it took her about three days to smile/laugh with Bob, and now she is just fine.  Once we got home, she slept with Bob and I for four days.  Then we switched her to the toddler bed which is right next to our bed.  She then mastered the art of throwing a fit when it was nap time or time for bed in the evening for a few nights. 

When I was in Vietnam, I put her in bed and patted the pillow.  She went right to bed.  So I believe she has developed the "spoiled" routine already.  We started working on the problem right away.  As of last night, she settled right in and fussed a little.  We are leaving the door open so that she can hear that we are near.

Anyway, we are pleased.  This was much easier than we thought, and we're so grateful.  We almost feel guilty as we have heard others have had a much more difficult time with adopting.  Again, we feel so blessed.  So much so, that we are having conversations about a brother or a sister for her.

Thanks Marianne for all of your help and support.  Thank you for checking in on us.  We enjoy Alexis so much!  We didn't realize that it would be this great.  Talk with you soon.

Donna

Hi Marianne,

Alexis is my bundle of joy.  Five days ago, Lexie was almost robotic-made us wonder if she was slow or maybe even autistic.  Today, she bounces around the house talking, laughing, smiling, and even giving hugs and kisses!  I can only image how much fun she's going to be once she's speaking English.  Each day she opens up a little more to show us how loving, smart and happy she is!  We can't wait for tomorrow to come.

                                                                                   Bob

_________________________________

We Will Always Be Eternally Grateful

Dear Marianne,

We wanted to update you on Roman's progress now that he has been home six months.  When we were going through all the paperwork it seemed like forever, and now we are amazed at how time has flown since he has been home.

I'm sure that you remember we contacted you when we were in Russia because we were so concerned about how much Roman cried at all of our visits during the first trip.  Looking back now, it's kind of funny because he is really so full of joy.  He loves music and dancing and is often found playing his ukulele, piano, or guitar.

His adoption was final on the day he turned 20 months old.  He had just learned to walk, had little or no babbling, and did not feed himself.  He now runs and climbs everything, including all the way up the big playground equipment at the park.  He can say many words verbally along with signing quite a few.  He has also mastered his spoon.

We are very thankful for all of your help and assistance throughout our process.  There were so many times that there was a new requirement or delay in our process, due to Russia's changes.  But you and the CHI home office in St. Louis were always on top of what the latest news was, and you were honest and trustworthy as to what the next steps were.  As frustrating as it was, we know now that it was to match us the THIS child,  the one God had chosen for us.  Any change in our journey and the end result might not have been this amazing little boy joining our family.

So again, thank you for all that you and CHI do.  We will always be eternally grateful.

Love,

Matt and Carrie

_________________________________

An Incredible Journey

Dear Marianne,

Sending you a great big THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your support and guidance along my journey to Taldy Korgan, Kazakhstan where as you know, I adopted my beautiful son, Talgi. 

It has been an incredible journey that I will never forget. I  still remember that hot summer day in 2004 when I first met you at one of the CHI's informational meetings.  As a single gal, I was so uncertain as to which agency I wanted to work with, and you as the CHI-AZ coordinator, had come highly recommended.  You were were the main reason I chose Children's Hope International.  You were there for me through each phase of the adoption, from the challenge of getting all the paperwork done, through the waiting period, through my travel time in Kazakhstan, and even now that I am home with my son.

As you know Talgi was 10 months old when I first met him.  He is now 16 months old, happy and healthy and bonded to his forever Mama.  For all that you have done to make us a family, I thank you!

Sincerely,

Marianne Zuen

_________________________________

We are the Lucky Ones!

It's five o'clock in the morning, and our house is quiet and still.  As I sit folding laundry, I lovingly glace up at the portrait of our three beautiful daughters hanging on the wall.  As I look at it, I have a difficult time remembering what our lives were like before them.

The journey to become the fortunate parents of these three children began in 1998 when we contacted Children's Hope International.  We quickly began the process to become the parents of Grace Meiying Callesen (now 7).  We brought Grace home in 1999.  We soon realized our family was not yet complete, and we once again began the adoption process.

In 2001 we traveled to China to bring our second daughter Sophia Mei Di home (now 5 years old).

Our lives were full and happy but somehow we always had the feeling someone was missing from our family.  CHI once again assisted us in bringing our youngest daughter Ava Lian Margaret home in 2004 (Ava is now 3.).

International adoption is a very complex process.  CHI has the ability to take this very complex process and make it virtually seamless.  From the very beginning, working with Marianne Adams, our adoption coordinator, we felt a sense of confidence and ease.  We had frequent contact and updates regarding the process of our adoption.  Once in China we were met by employees of the CHI branch in China.  They accompanied us the entire trip.   We felt secure and informed.  The staff was extremely knowledgeable regarding the adoption process.  We were supported in every way imaginable.  When we left China we felt we were leaving friends!

We are always perplexed when people approach us and tell us how lucky our children are.  Our response is always the same, "We are the lucky ones!"

Our children are thriving.  They are all incredible little beings.  They are inquisitive, intelligent and beautiful...but most of all they are loved.

If any of your clients want to talk to either of us, please feel free to give them our contact information below.

Mark and Heidi Callesen
480-704-0280
Email: heidi.vanfleet@gmail.com

____________________________________________________

Thinking about Adopting from Kazakhstan?

Hello!

So you have a lot of questions about adopting from Kazakhstan?  And I bet you are wondering which agency to use?

We had a really positive experience with Children's Hope International (CHI), and we are actually in the process of waiting for our second child from Kazakhstan at the moment.  Our son, Kincaid is a beautiful child, and we are so blessed to have him in our lives.

I suspect that you have a lot of questions and uncertainty at the moment, as I know most people who are thinking about adoption have.  However, you can rest assured that you will be in good hands with CHI.  They were absolutely wonderful and did a fantastic job of not only taking good care of us throughout the process, but also making sure all our needs were met while we were in Kazakhstan.  Our CHI representative there did so much for us that seemed to go beyond the normal requirements.  For instance, she made sure we knew where the good places to eat were near the hotel.  She helped us find an airline ticket home when no travel agent was able to.  She provided us with a cell phone so that we could be reached and also so that we could communicate with our family.  Our representative also negotiated with our hotel and reported any complaints we had, and always asked us if we had any questions.  This is really unusual for Kazakhstan because the "service industry and culture" we are used to in the US does not exist there since many are having a hard transition from a communist mindset to a free trade one.

Adopting from Kazakhstan is not an easy process.  I actually have heard that it it one of the more difficult programs because of the time requested to go there.  However, I suspect that their method makes it an easier transition on the child since they require a two-week visitation of the parents to the orphanage.

Our visitation period was definitely a harder one than normal since our son's orphanage was about an hour and a half (with the winter snow) away so a large part of our days was spent driving back and forth.  But it was worth it.  I can say that based on our experience.  The visitation period surprised us by giving us insight that we didn't expect - like how much the caretakers loved our little boy.  They gave us really good insight into his routine, likes and dislikes, and they gave us a history of his first 18 months of life living with them at the orphanage.  We have photos of them and got to see the food he was eating and where he spent his infancy.  My thought is that he will treasure these stories and photos later on in life.  By the time we were able to bring him to our hotel, we knew each other well.  We didn't feel at a loss that we have heard so many other adoptive parents experiencing who adopt from countries that don't require any visitation.

To have a successful travel adoption experience from Kazakhstan, I would say that you need to be flexible and able to relinquish the control we Americans are accustom to having so much of.  Being in a third world country where there is not a lot of American tourism and the country and culture is consistently changing because of their economic needs and growth will be a unique experience.

We spoke with our translator and saw our driver everyday...and with our CHI representative about once every 3-4 days.  She was really busy doing a lot of paperwork for us while we were going back and forth to the orphanage, so not being in touch with her too often was normal.  However, if we ever had a question or concern, she would make herself available for a meeting.

For most of the late afternoons and evenings, we were on our own to explore, eat and gather our thoughts.  It was a tiring experience with so many emotions that come at you when you least expect them...but I suspect that child birth and the aftermath can be like this too.

Our son was small for his age.  When we met him, he hadn't put on any weight for 6 months and was 19 pounds at 18 months.  He could barely crawl and was very lethargic when we saw him in the orphanage.  All the disorders they diagnosed him with were really scary.  However, we found out that he was on a lot of medicine for a cough and as soon as we got him home, he gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks and grew 6 inches within 3 months.  Our pediatrician found that the only things that he had (which were really easy to fix) was Gardia (which is a parasite), and he was anemic.

When we went to Kazakhstan for our son, the program was slightly different and only required one trip.  Now they are requiring two trips instead of one. 

Kincaid recently turned 3 years old.  He's been an absolute delight, and we are thrilled to be going back for a sister for him.

Best regards,

Lara Vineyard                    

Note: The picture of Kincaid on the left was taken while he was in the orphanage.  Kincaid's picture on the right is a recent shot of when he turned 3 years old.

____________________________________________________

What a Tremendous Blessing...

Hi Marianne,

Just a little update.  Mae-Lei never ceases to amaze me.  We often wonder what, if anything, she remembers of her life before coming into our family.  This past week, it appears, she is ALL OURS.  Mae-Lei is beginning to snuggle with folks other than her mom and dad.  Grandpa Craig got some snuggling in this morning.  Yesterday she reached for her Uncle Barney when her mom was holding her! 

Mae-Lei is walking, and trying to run everywhere!  She willingly walks to everyone and wants you to scoop her up and love on her while she cackles.   The change in this girl over the last two weeks is amazing...it is like she finally decided she could trust us all as we are constants in her life. 

This afternoon Mei-Lei was walking from Aunt Krista to her mom and did a u-turn back to Aunt Krista--what a change!  She sings and babbles all the time.  She is such a happy girl.  What a tremendous blessing she is!!!  Thanks for all your help in this journey.  You are very special to all of us!

P.S.  And by the way, how do they give you children who fit so well into the family?  She is such a drama queen!

Love ya,

Shari (Mae-Lei's grandma)

____________________________________________________

ARIZONA OFFICE REFERENCE FAMILIES

ARIZONA REFERENCES

NEW MEXICO REFERENCES

NORTH CAROLINA REFERENCES

 
updateD: 4/14/06

© 2006 Children's Hope International. All rights reserved.