Love makes a family

TIFFIN --- The Harrison family has a love for children—so much that after growing their family biologically, they are taking the next steps to become adoptive parents to a little boy from Bulgaria. The family consists of Austin Harrison of Austin Harrison Construction, Taylor Elchert of Taylor Elchert Photography, and their five—soon to be six—children: Rosalie, Eloise, Cordelia, Ambrose and Forrest, which include two sets of twins. Adoption is something the family has always wanted to do, and so they decided to begin the process of becoming foster parents last summer. "Due to our heart for adoption, I have been in several adoption advocacy groups on Facebook, including some for international adoption," said Elchert. "Just as we were about to begin our home study for foster care early this year, another adoptive mom shared a profile of a waiting child in Bulgaria to one of those Facebook groups. When I saw his face, my world stopped. It felt like I was looking at a picture of my child." Harrison and Elchert agreed after seeing the boy, it was unconditional love at first sight. The couple then got in contact with an international agency called Both Hands, a foundation that helps adoptive families fundraise for adoptions through their mission to serve widows and orphans. "We knew we would move heaven and earth to bring this precious boy home, so thankfully, we were matched and approved by Bulgarian authorities to begin the process of adopting him," Elchert said. The adoption process officially began in February after the Harrison family was selected for the Both Hands fundraising program. Elchert said the "fundraiser could be completely life-changing for us as the total approximate cost of our adoption is $32,000, and Both Hands averages $22,000 per fundraiser. It is our goal to fundraise $20,000, and we are inviting our wonderful community to come together and help us get there." The family is serving a widow, Diane Tiell of Tiffin, who recently lost her husband Tim in August. Diane devoted much of her life to caring for those around her, and the Harrison family is looking forward to showing her love and care by completing some major landscaping and yard work on Nov. 4. "We are just so excited to finally hold our little boy," Elchert continued. "Getting him home as quickly as possible is a priority to us not only because institutionalized care simply cannot compare to the love of a family, but because he has lifelong medical needs that also need to be addressed here in the U.S." The family acknowledged that while adoption is a beautiful process, there is also trauma that comes along with it. "By gaining a family, our son will be losing everything he knows," said Elchert. "We have the purest love and utmost respect for him, his biological family and his country. We will always honor him and where he came from, and we consider it the greatest honor to be his parents." The Harrison family noted they would love for those who feel called to donate to do so by visiting bothhands.org/Harrison-1102/ or by making a check payable to Both Hands, Attn. Harrison 1102 and mailing it to PO box 2705, Brentwood, TN 37024, and writing "Harrison 1102" in the memo of the check. "They say it takes a village to raise a child, and we would be so honored for our community to be part of that village," said Elchert. "We are hopeful to bring our little guy—who we call our "sonshine"—home early next year. So much about this process is out of our hands, but we are doing everything in our power to get him home as quickly as possible."