To Whom It May Concern:
On April 30th, 1970, I placed a son up for adoption. When my other children (born in 1972 and 1975) were old enough to understand what I had been through, I told them the story of my son. They were both excited and eager to find their older brother. My son, Matt, now age 28, began looking into my son's history when he was older and owned a computer. As you know, many agencies want a lot of money to help with a search for an adopted child. My name was on the National Registry in the State of Wisconsin, but nothing was happening. My son, Matthew, even paid money to get help with his search. This netted us loss of money, but a bad result. The person we contacted was rude and unreceptive. My son said that if this was his brother, it was best not to know him. We sat back and thought of other options, but nothing came. Then, one day, I received an email from a woman I went to school with. She had found my name on the National Registry, and since she had found her adopted son, she wanted to help me. I admitted to her that we didn't have a lot of money, and that we didn't have many details to give her to aid her in the search, but we gave her the information we had. Within 48 hours, she had tracked down my son, and it cost us only $10.00.

My daughter, Nikkie, called the phone number we were given, and though there was hesitation on the other end, my son, Mark, admitted he was curious about Nikkie, because she provided details that could only mean she was his sister. In June, 2003, Nikkie went to a Milwaukee Brewer game to meet her brother, Mark. As soon as they saw one another, they knew they were related. Nikkie took pictures of my family along, and Mark was thrilled to know where he got his nose and mouth. :-) After hugs and kisses, they parted ways following the baseball game.

From there, we proceeded to set up a meeting with the rest of the family. On July 20th, Matthew and I met my son/his brother for the first time. Wow, what a reunion. He not only looks like me, but he has many characteristics of my children (and me). It is the most awesome experience of our lives. We continue to spend time with Mark, Jana, Ryan, and Alex. Our family has certainly grown, and I couldn't have asked for more. What a Christmas this is. We will be getting together for the holidays on January 3rd, and I know how emotional it will be.

Well, I just wanted to share my wonderful story with you. Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have about this experience. Thank you for your time.

Happy Holidays.

Sincerely,

Carol Butzen

© 2003