In 2007, my husband and I became foster parents. At the time, we had wonderful, funny, creative 4 year old daughter, Morgann. She was excited and wanted a sister. We originally thought we would foster teenagers. However, our first placement was a one year old boy who reunified with his parents. We experienced heartbreak when we sent him home to be honest. 

 

Two weeks later we were called about twin baby boys with a long list of medical problems, they just needed a place for the night. An hour later, the floppiest baby I’ve ever seen showed up at our house. Isaiah  was 8 months old but couldn’t hold his head up. His twin brother Kaden was in the hospital. Little did we know we would spend over 200 days in the hospital during the next two years.  The “just one night” turned into weeks, weeks into months…then years. We fell in love with them. I fiercely wanted to protect and advocate for these two little boys. I wanted them to defy the odds stacked against them. Doctors gave them a very bleak outlook: “ Kaden likely would not make it to five years old.  They would never walk.” But we knew they were meant to be Clegg kids. And what a blessing those two precious boys Isaiah and Kaden are! Despite their challenges, they have proven to be fighters. They walk with walkers and though they are non-verbal, do a great job of communicating their needs with assistance. It was never our thoughts or plans to adopt twins with special needs; I would never have it any other way.

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Then came another call. Another baby boy, likely pre-adoptive with no parental involvement... “a lot like Kaden”. I remember standing at my kitchen sink washing dishes and praying and telling God I didn’t want “another Kaden”, but clearly heard God tell me that it was not about my wants but this little guy needed a home. We said yes. And that baby boy, he thrived. He is now an amazing, smart, energetic seven year old.

 

After Teyson’s adoption, Morgann, now 10, insisted that our next foster child needed to be a girl! Then came a call. “We need a home for either a 2 year old little boy with a feeding tube. You would be perfect. But we also have a newborn baby girl. I think Morgann would prefer that,” said Christine, the resource worker. We talked it over as a family and let Christine know that Morgann decided that we needed another girl. When I went to pick up Corabelle, she was the tiniest baby I have every held. A whopping 4 pounds, but so healthy! She came home and thrived. To be honest, I knew at the hospital she was meant to be a Clegg kid. Though we worked reunification and really tried to support her birth parents, they ultimately relinquished their parental rights. My heart will always hurt over their loss, but she is a little light in our family. Corabelle shines joy. She lights up a room. I don’t know if our family is complete yet, but we continue to foster and are currently working on reunification with our current foster baby. I truly believe every child deserves a safe and loving family and adoption has blessed our family beyond belief.