Kim never saw herself fostering or adopting, until she met a baby that a family member was caring for. As she held the infant in her arms, something whispered to her that this was something she could do. Kim and her husband decided to become licensed to foster and grow their family and provide some siblings for their daughter Abigail.
From 2014 to 2018 the family fostered several children in their home and by 2019 they were ready to seek adoption as a path to grow their family. In the summer of 2019 they were matched with a sibling set of four kids and went from a family of three to a family of seven practically overnight. In March, the adoption was official.
“When people ask how we are doing I tell them the good days are that and the hard days are also just that. It’s overwhelming, exciting, pretty much every emotion is involved—maybe not to the extreme but pretty close,” Kim said.
As a teacher, Kim said she sees the transition as very similar to getting to know a new class of students each year. It takes time and patience, but the kids are always worth it.
It’s difficult for the family to choose the best part about their adoption journey. Kim and John love having a home full of laughter and the best hugs they’ve ever received from their almost two year old son. Overall seeing the children thrive in a stable environment has been awe-inspiring.
“It’s a wild but a beautiful ride. We’ve had lots of people over the years say ‘We don’t know how you do it’ to which I would say ‘Sometimes we don’t know how we do it but when you feel like God calls you to it, that’s how you do it.’”
There are thousands of children in Arizona’s foster care system in need of a stable, loving home. To learn more about foster care and adoption, please join us for a virtual agency meet and greet.
