Sarah came to us as foster placement at the age of two–and–a–half. I remember so clearly the day she was brought to our home. She was sound asleep in the car seat as the social worker carried her in. At the time, she had two older siblings and the three of them had already been in and out of foster care. She had been bounced back and forth between her birth mother and grandmother. She had experienced severe neglect, and her mother’s alcoholism and lifestyle were destroying their family. Sarah was delayed in many areas and the only words she could say at first were “me eat”, probably because there was never enough food for her before. She began to blossom and was soon doing quite well. Her birth mom had now had another baby so there were four children involved. I have to say that this was definitely the most difficult case we were ever involved in. Sarah was an absolute sweetheart, but her social worker was changed four times and there were many extended family members involved who made life an absolute nightmare for us. There were not only visits with birth mom, but her grandma and aunts too.

Then after having Sarah in our home for about three years her birth mom called us one day and said that she would be willing to sign off her parental rights for Sarah, if she knew that we would adopt her. She said that she realized that she was never going to get better and that we were the ones who loved her and cared for her when she couldn’t. We were very shocked, but also very honored and quite happy that this beautiful girl we had grown to love would now be a part of our lives forever. The day we went to court for the termination was a difficult one. Sarah’s birth mom had called and asked if I could pick her up and take her to court. On the ride there, I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I was a step closer to having a daughter but that she was losing one. She loved Sarah deeply and truly wanted what was best for her. After court we hugged and cried and she thanked us for loving Sarah so much. Now the adopting process could begin. The adoption took another year, but after four years with us in foster care, the day had come when she was officially our daughter. Sarah is now ten years old. She is a beautiful girl. She is a very sweet, caring, and nurturing girl. She is advanced in all academic areas in school; she plays the piano, dances, is a Girl Scout, and loves to draw and do crafts. When I think of all that she has endured it is truly a miracle. She makes us so proud and we know she will continue to do great things. She has added so much joy to our life.