For Felicia Huff, love at first sight is a reality. Her love didn’t come with chiseled muscles or a handsome bank account – in fact, her love spoke a different language and was entirely too young for her. Her love at first sight wasn’t romantic, it was that of family.
The affection came through the eyes of a 3-year-old boy in Guatemala, Otoniel, who she now affectionately calls O.T. He is one of her 5 children, two biological, three adoptive, and he is now 6 years old.
Huff can clearly recall the moment when she first saw Otoniel on a website for international adoptions in Guatemala.
“I get on their website and looked at those children and I saw O.T. He was this 3-year-old little boy and at that point you had until the end of November or December to be grandfathered in, and if you didn’t go ahead and start the process then that child would not be adoptable,” said Huff. “I couldn’t stand the thought of him being there, I just started crying.”
When Huff showed her husband, Greg, the picture of Otoniel at home, he agreed – Otoniel was going to be the newest part of their family. And thus the Huffs entered into the adoption process for the third time.
The Huffs first adopted in 2002, a son named Keegan from Guatemala who is now 8 years old. Though Felicia has two biological children, David, 23, and Danielle, 19, both from a previous marriage, Greg was looking for the opportunity to experience more of fatherhood.
“Greg and I were looking to adopt and we were considering different options. I couldn’t have any more children so we were looking at domestic adoption as opposed to international,” said Huff.
After opting for international adoption, the Huffs began a lengthy research process of examining adoption agencies and countries they would like to adopt from.
“I had the Internet going nonstop and I called a lot of people and called a lot of agencies and had them send me pamphlets and books and I just researched it that way,” said Huff.
Huff also spoke with friends who had adopted abroad, and after looking into Russia and China, the family decided to adopt from Guatemala, favoring their short waiting period and young adoption ages.
“And the children were beautiful,” Huff added, “of course, I haven’t seen an ugly child yet.”
The research paid off when the Huff family brought home Keegan, who is now 8 years old. After the positive experience of adopting their first child, the Huffs looked to adopt from Guatemala again for their second adoptive child.
“We knew we were going to adopt a little girl and we thought about Guatemala, but the agency that we went through with Keegan was no longer doing Guatemala adoptions, there were a lot of issues going on in Guatemala at that time,” said Huff. “The social worker agency said, ‘you should think about China’.”
Though the Huffs were originally hesitant to adopt from Guatemala, they eventually decided to adopt from China and brought home their second adopted child, Keeley, who is now 5 years old. Later, when Felicia stumbled upon the picture of Otoniel, they adopted their third child, completing their family. Despite the different backgrounds, the children came together happily.
“It’s amazing, when you get kids together, it doesn’t matter what the language is, they play non stop, you can crash and bang cars in any language. It’s just amazing to watch them,” said Huff.
The experience has been everything the Huffs have wanted.
“It’s just amazing to me when you think about how any child is a miracle, period. When it’s the birth of a child it’s just a miracle, but when you think of a child that’s been born as far away as China and somehow that child ends up being in your arms and it’s the perfect child for you and there’s that bond there, you’re getting twice the miracle so it’s pretty awesome,” said Huff.
In addition to bringing more love and life to the family, international adoption has opened the Huffs’ eyes to new cultures and ways of seeing. The family has learned bits and pieces of Spanish (the native language of Guatemala, and the only language that Otoniel knew when he arrived in the U.S.) and learned more, in general, about both China and Guatemala, celebrating holidays from both countries.
Felicia and Greg have felt so touched by the Guatemalan community that they have considered moving there in the future.
“It’s our hope and prayer that when we retire we could start an orphanage down there for the children,” said Huff.
For anyone considering adoption, Huff encourages them to “go for it” but also warns people to do their research and keep an eye out for agencies that are corrupt.
“When you’re dealing with another country you don’t have the legal options that you have here,” adds Huff.
And to those who fear they may not be able to love an adopted child as much as their biological children, Huff advises them not to be afraid.
“When you see your child it doesn’t matter how that child came to you, that is your child, there’s not any difference at all.”
