MEET THE FAM

STEF AND I MOVED TO NORFOLK SIX YEARS AGO TO PUT DOWN ROOTS AND BE PART OF A COMMUNITY. WE BELIEVE ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO LOVE AND HELP CHANGE A COMMUNITY IS TO CARE FOR ITS KIDS.

OUR HOME HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HOME FOR KIDS SINCE WE GOT MARRIED 13 YEARS AGO. IT HAS LOOKED DIFFERENT WAYS IN DIFFERENT SEASONS OF OUR MARRIAGE. IN LAWRENCE, I WORKED AT BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB AND WE VOLUNTEERED REGULARLY AT THE HOMELESS SHELTER. IN HARRISONBURG, I WAS THE YOUNG LIFE CITY DIRECTOR IN ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN THE STATE.

AND FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, IT HAS BEEN MY JOB AS A TITLE I TEACHER, STEF’S NON-PROFIT ADVOCACY WORK AND THROUGH FOSTER CARE.

WE BECAME CERTIFIED FOSTER PARENTS IN JANUARY 2020. OUR FIRST CALL ABOUT A PLACEMENT WAS FOR A SIBLING GROUP OF THREE WHO NEEDED A “FOREVER HOME” AFTER SPENDING THREE YEARS IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM BEFORE THEY CAME HOME TO US.

STEF FILMED THIS AS A BIRTHDAY GIFT JUST A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE LITTLES CAME HOME TO US.

AFTER ADOPTING OUR THREE KIDS, WE DECIDED AS A FAMILY TO CONTINUE FOSTERING. WE HAVE WELCOMED SEVERAL OTHER KIDS INTO OUR LIVES AND PROVIDED A HOME FOR KIDS THAT NEEDED ONE FOR AS LONG AS THEY NEEDED ONE. ALL HAVE RETURNED HOME OR MOVED TO A RELATIVE, BUT WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS AND ARE STILL INVOLVED IN THE LIVES OF MANY OF THE KIDS WHO HAVE BEEN IN OUR CARE.

A woman with four children standing on a wooden dock near a marina with boats, looking at the water and city skyline in the background.

OUR FAMILY MAY LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT WE THINK ITS A REMINDER THAT BEAUTY CAN BE BORN OUT OF BROKENESS AND GOD USES CROOKED STICKS TO MAKE STRAIGHT LINES.