Hi!

We are very excited about working with you and the Independent Adoption Center on a successful Open Adoption plan for your child. We would imagine that this is one of the hardest and most important decisions you will ever have to make in your life.

We are Gary, Liza (pronounced Lisa), and Delenn from Ohio. We have been happily married 16 years and are truly best friends! When we got married, we planned to have children, but we knew that we may never be able to biologically have children. We love children so much, we decided to adopt. Open adoption seemed like the most natural choice for us to create our family!

In September of 1998, we met Delenn's Birth mother, Rachel, through a family friend and were able to build a good relationship with her and her son, which we continue to have. Wonderful changes have occurred in our lives since Delenn became a member of our family through Open Adoption. Every day is new and there is always something for each of us to learn. We are looking forward to all of the things we will learn and the experiences we will share with our newest family member!

As a family...

We spend a lot of time together, from playing outside with Delenn on the swing set or working on crafts and reading. We enjoy nature and like to travel. We look forward to traveling to meet you! We also enjoy being close to home, especially around the holidays, spending time with our families and friends. Both of our families have shared Thanksgiving with us in our home for the past 11 years. We also enjoy camping, fun trips to the zoo or Six Flags. We can hardly wait to include our next child in all of the family fun!

Please call...

We can't wait to talk with you and meet you! Please call us anytime toll-free at 1(877)585-5188 PIN # 1415, email us at glheffelfinger@ecr.net or call the Independent Adoption Center at 1(800) 877-OPEN (6736).

Warmly, Gary, Liza, & Delenn Heffelfinger



OUR COMMUNITY

We enjoy our home on 8 ½ wooded acres in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, which is a small town of about 15,000 people located about an hour northeast of Columbus, Ohio. Mt. Vernon has lovely parks for running, playing or picnics, a movie theater, and a wonderful library for storytelling and reading adventures. Summer time is filled with sporting activities for children, splashing and swimming in the community pool, county fairs and lots of YMCA activities. We have a great school system made up of 7 elementary schools, a new middle school, a large high school, a county vocational school and 4 nearby colleges. We will provide lots of opportunities for our child from academics to recreation.



ABOUT GARY

Gary grew up in Mt. Vernon and has two younger sisters. His family gets together often. They are very excited and supportive of our plans to adopt again! They can hardly wait for a new family member.

Although Gary enjoys his job as an engineer for Boeing, he loves being a Dad! He enjoys playing with Delenn indoors or out. He can hardly wait to support our next child's interests and talents!



ABOUT LIZA

Liza grew up in Danville, Ohio and has 3 younger sisters and 2 younger brothers. Liza's large family is close-knit and spends a lot of time together. They are really looking forward to having a new family member!

Since we adopted Delenn, Liza left her job as a computer programmer to be a full-time mom. She loves being a Mom and is looking forward to nurturing our next child and teaching him or her everything from ABC's and numbers to baking!



ABOUT DELENN

Delenn is a very loving child who loves to bounce around and make lots of noise, especially when she is with her cousins or friends! She has a very good imagination and loves to pretend and play with her toys. She also enjoys singing, coloring, painting and reading books. She will be so excited to be a big sister and to teach her new brother or sister how to do all of these fun things!



OUR FUTURE

We are looking forward to having another child in our family and our lives. We know that raising a child is a big responsibility that takes a great deal of love, patience, understanding and time. We believe it is important to teach children that they can do anything in life that they set their minds to. The possibilities are endless!