November is National Adoption Awareness Month! All month long Gateway Longview is highlighting the stories of our amazing adoptive families and their road to adoption. Today we highlight the Barrett family!
Meet the Barrett's!
Originally certified in: 2016
Number of children fostered: 4
Number of children adopted: 2
Number of days Brooke and Peyton spent in foster care: 732
What led you to fostering?
"We started our fostering journey in 2016. We looked into fostering when our attempts at starting a biological family were not successful and we decided that instead of going down a fertility journey we would open our home to children in need. My brother had worked in foster care and I had researched a foster agency for an MBA project so we had some knowledge about the process.
We went through foster training with the intention of adopting if a child in our care became free. As we went through the training we realized that we also had an opportunity to come alongside biological families to support them in their times of need and so decided we would be both adoptive and foster resources."
How did you make the decision to adopt?
"Our kids came into our care in 2017 and were freed shortly afterwards. We were able to adopt in August 2019- 2 years and 1 day after they came to us. It was a joyful day with many of our extended family members and some of our kids’ biological family joining us in the courtroom- standing room only!"
How is the family doing now?
"Our kids- now 9 and 7- are doing great. The healing and growth that has happened since they came to us has been incredible to see. They are thriving in the home, at school, and as a part of our big extended family. We see their grandma and sisters frequently as they live close by and are able to share holidays and celebrate birthdays together. The kids have 16 “new” cousins, many of which live nearby and they love seeing them often.
This April we added a new puppy to the family as we adopted a rescue we named Lucy. She is a handful and keeps us all busy. We added another child this summer as our 3-year old nephew came to live with us (also a handful). My kids have embraced him as part of the family and are doing great as big brother/ sister. Our family journey has not been typical but we wouldn’t have it any other way!"
Visit our Foster Care and Adoption page for more information on Gateway Longview's Foster Care and Adoption Program!