Katie and her husband Jim have long wanted to add to their family by adopting. They contacted FANA, an orphanage in Bogota, Colombia, through Minnesota Friends of FANA, and by April 2014, they received the call they’d been waiting for.

In September 2014, Jim, Katie and kids Courtney and Cody travelled to Colombia to meet 1½ -year-old Andrés Felipe, spending over a month there. After the rest of the family returned to Minnesota, Katie stayed on to complete the process, finally arriving back home with Andrés on Thanksgiving (and Jim’s birthday!)

Since the family speaks Spanish, Andrés’ transition to life in Minnesota has been a smooth one. Katie says, "Andrés is fun-loving, social and kisses freely…he fits right in and it feels like he has been with us forever!"