Local family welcomes new member

MARINETTE COUNTY - One Marinette County family is excited to welcome a new member.

Ten year old Marianna doesn't speak much English and doesn't say much in front of a camera. However, her face tells how she feels about her new family and that feeling is mutual.

"It's been good," said Kat Meissner. "It's been very good."

Kat Meissner and her husband Mike have been trying to adopt Marianna for about three years. A friend from the organization Haitian Helping Haitians helped the Meissners find Marianna. They met her during a 2007 trip to Haiti .

"We knew she was ours at that moment," said Kat.

The Meissners have worked through paperwork with both the Haiti and U.S. governments. They had hoped Marianna would be home with them by May, but the family believes last month's earthquake in Haiti may have helped speed up the process.

"It was the hardest month of my life," said Kat, referring to the time after the earthquake. "The first two days we didn't even know if she survived. Then we knew she was alive but she hadn't eaten or drank anything until Friday and then you just hear all the stuff, you watch the pictures and you know she's seeing it and she's living it."

Though the family is thrilled to have Marianna, they know there will be challenges ahead as she adjusts to life after the earthquake.

They met Marianna at a Miami airport earlier this week. While waiting, airport traffic caused some vibrations.

"The floor was shaking and she was terrified there was another earthquake coming. So I guess now we just want to help her move on and just glad she's here."

"We gave her hugs and she gave us hugs right away and it was very emotional. It was exciting," said Karissa Noffke, talking about welcoming her sister home.

While Marianna doesn't say much, she doesn't have to. Her family knows as she adjusts to a new life here, she will open up and tell more of her story, an incredible story, still being written.

The Meissners say they will home-school Marianna until fall. Right now they are her sponsors, and they say they have two years to complete the adoption.