The adoption process is hard and long, but so worth it. Our story began with a family vacation to Guatemala in June 2005. We stayed at a hotel and saw a group of beautiful babies with their new adoptive parents.

When we arrived home after our amazing trip, we began investigating the possibilities of adoption. We found EAC on the internet and applied.

We have six biological children, ages 19,17,15,12 and 5, and we weren't sure if we would be allowed to adopt. Once we received the approval from EAC, we started the paperwork. We chose to adopt two children, a boy and a girl, so they could grow up with a sibling rather than being alone at the tail end of a big family.

We got Daniel's referral in April 2006 and Isabella Linda's in May 2006, we were so happy...but we recognized the need for patience. The pink slip for Daniel came September 13th, 2006 and we flew to Guatemala hoping to pick up Isabella on the same trip (with them being seventeen days apart). We decided to get Daniel immediately rather than wait for their paperwork to be completed simultaneously.

We got to visit Daniel's foster mom; she was so sweet and we could tell that he had been raised with love. While picking up Daniel, we had our visit with Isabella Linda. It was fun to have both of them. We took a lot of pictures. We were so thankful we were able to visit Isabella although her pink slip wasn't approved for another four months!! What a difficult wait! On January 30th Isabella was finally ours!!

Traveling to Guatemala was simple and enjoyable. EAC was great to work with. They were extremely thorough. They don't take risks because they want every family to come home with their baby as quickly as possible.

We are so thankful to be home with our babies. "Twins" can be a challenge , but they are such a blessing in our lives. Thank you to Marti and Debbie (EAC Ohio) and to Kayla and Tori (EAC Guatemala) and the whole team of translators, drivers, etc. You helped make a dream come true.

I kept asking myself through the whole process, "Why does this have to be so hard?" Now I believe I know why -- it's like pregnancy and labor. The delay and pain cause you to have an instant bond with your baby. I had no idea it would be so instant and strong!!!

I believe that in life we value relationships and things that require much time and money. Perhaps adoption is hard and costly so we are sure to value and love our adopted children as our own.

Dale & Karen

Visit the Adoption Storybook to view more adoption stories from people like you.