I have always loved to be around children and foster parenting was something I had wanted to try for a long time. I grew up in a large family of 10 children and have successfully overcome many challenges in my life. I always believed in my heart that I could use my experiences to help children. In 1996 my husband John and I had our first baby, a beautiful boy named Christopher. We had waited a long time for this day to come and enthusiastically started our journey of parenting. Since I was going to stay home for at least 6 years to raise our son, I suggested to my husband that maybe we could try foster parenting. We started to take all the required classes and in April 1997 our home became an ‘approved' foster home.

In April of 1997 when Christopher was just 7 months old we welcomed the first two children into our foster home.  Patrick (4 years) and Leslie (6 years) were siblings and lived with us for just under a year. Patrick and Leslie did very well in our home and we grew to love the kids very much. When they went back home to live with their mother we missed them but were happy they were able to reunite with their mom. The social worker told us that it was possible that these two children could end up back in care and then possibly up for adoption. John and I discussed whether or not we would consider adopting Patrick and Leslie.  After a very short discussion we decided yes, we would seriously consider adopting the two children if we ever had the opportunity. 

After Patrick and Leslie left we continued to welcome other children into our home. Over the next couple of years the children that came into our home included a 6-year-old girl, who also stayed for a year, and another baby who stayed with us for another year. Each of the children that came into our home taught us more and more about parenting. We learned about the value of consistency with children and how the simple things in life like attention, love, good nourishment and laughter are important to all of us. We enjoyed foster parenting and were always were able to see so much improvement in the children after living in our home. Every child has a special uniqueness about it. Through our experience with being foster parents we discovered how natural it is to bond with children even if they are not biologically your own.

In 1999 we found out from another Foster Parent that a 2-year-old little girl named Janie was about to become a Permanent ward of the Government (PGO) and would be going up for adoption. We started to visit Janie in September and we all just seemed to click. Janie has the most beautiful eyes and the sweetest smile. Janie was not a very active child and she used to like to sit on my knee for long periods of time and just observe everything around her. She loved to laugh with our son Christopher and she even loved our family dog. Though we were told that Janie was developmentally delayed and had other health issues we could always see her potential and knew Janie would blossom in our home.

In January of 2000 we proceeded with our interest in adoption and Janie was named our ‘child desired'. If we were not chosen as Janie's family we were prepared to take another child because we know there are lots of children in care that need ‘forever homes'. We at last found out Janie was truly meant to be ours and July 1, 2000 we became her very proud parents. Our son Christopher was 3 years old at the time and was just thrilled to have a little sister. The process of adopting was very exciting, emotional and seemed to take forever but it was all so worth it.

We took a year off from fostering and then decided to open our home again. By this time our children were well settled and excited about the thought of taking care of another baby. We took care of one 5 month old baby for 2 months, and then a baby 3 days old for two weeks during the waiting period for another family's pre approved adoption. This little girl and boy touched our hearts and reawakened our strong desire to have another child. We thought this time we would ask to be considered for a newborn child.

In September 2001 we contacted the adoption office and had our completed application back in the office by November. Around this time I heard on the radio that there was an Adoption Fair going on that weekend. When we were adopting our daughter Janie we looked in the adoption books to see if maybe Patrick and Leslie were in there too, but they were not in the picture books.  Over the last 4 years we had always thought about these first two children that had come into our home. We always wondered if we would ever hear from Patrick and Leslie again. I asked my husband if we should take one last look to see if these children may still be in care and possibly available for adoption. John and I decided to go to the Adoption Fair and see if we could find out anything new about these 2 very special children. Our whole family went to the Adoption Fair including a beautiful 7-month-old boy we had been fostering in our home for several months.

We looked through all the pictures at the Adoption Fair and nothing came up so we started talking to an adoption worker named Fran Wildman. We told Fran how we had been wondering about Patrick and Leslie for years and wanted to take one last look for these children before putting our application in for a newborn child. We knew by this time Patrick and Leslie would have been 8 and 10 years old.  Fran took our information and said she would call us by Monday morning and let us know if these children were back in care and whether they could be considered for adoption.

Monday morning finally came and Fran called us at 9:00 AM and gave us Patrick and Leslie's social worker's phone number. I can't tell you how excited, happy and scared I felt all at the same time! I called the Social Worker that day told her our story. Several emotional months of waiting followed that phone call. In June 2002, Patrick and Leslie finally came home for good and now our family feels complete.

The last year has been a huge transition for all of us but the challenges have only deepened our bond and made the good times all that much more sweet. The support from every one involved has been incredible and without all this support we know it could have never happened the way it did. I get so emotional when I think about our beautiful children. If you asked me today which of my children are adopted I would have to stop and think. You see in my mind I know that three of my four children were not born through me but in my heart and they were all meant to be with John and I. I can't tell you that Adoption hasn't come without struggles but it has all been worth it and what we've gained is immeasurable. Our many thanks to all the Staff from Ma'mowe Capital Region for all your support then and now. We all thank you for helping us to find each other and become the family we are today. Our family is complete (well at least I think it is!).

P.S. The little boy that was with us the day we went to Adoption Fair has since been adopted into a beautiful family. It turns out his Mom and Dad were at that Adoption Fair at the same time we were and we probably passed each other that day.

*The names in our story have been changed to protect the children's anonymity.