John and Sherry's Story

Here's the next story in our series of adoptive parent submission for National Adoption Month! Today's story is a sweet reflection on just how surprisingly enriching foster and adoptive parenting can be.

John and Sherry's Story
"We can’t say exactly why we became foster/adoptive parents. It almost sounds funny and cliché to say it now, but it’s hard to explain how much it has enriched our lives.

A few years ago we weaved our way through the maze of hallways of a Des Moines hospital to pick up a three-day old child. He was our first placement. Two days later neighbors and other foster families, many of whom we were meeting for the first time, had given us everything we needed to care for him. They are relationships we cherish today. As it turned out, our son never left our home and we adopted him within days of his first birthday.

A great photo from IFAPA's (Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association) annual "Stride for Foster Care Walk"

Next was an eight-month-old with blond hair and blue eyes. She stayed less than a year, and while it was sad to see her go, we were happy for her and her birth mother. Back down to one child – and the house seemed empty.

A few months later we picked up another girl during a blizzard. This one had dark hair and hazel eyes. We would celebrate her first birthday five days later. She was scared and tired, but gave us a smile when we wrapped her in our arms. We adopted her as well. We felt like the luckiest people in the world.

Life is full of surprises. The phone rang. Could we take the little blonde again? Yes. She is now part of our family as well. Never did we expect to have three children, who are now ages 4, 3, and 3. Yes, we are busy, but blessed many times over. We are watching the petals of the flowers unfold – and we are glad we chose to foster and adopt. We hope others consider it also."

- John and Sherry