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Our multiracial and multicultural family

2018: For nine years I had been working as an addiction recovery nurse. I learned that the children of many of my patients had been placed in foster care. At that time, about 9,000 children were in foster care. I couldn’t help thinking that maybe, as empty nesters, my husband and I could do something to help these kids. The desire became so strong that I quit my job as a nurse, and we became licensed foster parents. 

Since then, we have fostered 18 kids and have adopted three. Our family is now multicultural and multiracial.  We have formed wonderful bonds with our former foster kids, and some have become our extended family. 

There is a story that I tell foster kids when they come to our home for the first time. It is the true story of how two cats, after many stops along the way, found their forever home. The story, titled “Jack & Max & the Happy Home,” is relatable and encouraging to foster kids and promotes empathy with their peers. 

At the urging of another foster and adoptive parent, I wrote a story about kids going into a new home with new family members titled, “My New Home and Me.” 40% of of children don’t grow up in an intact biological family*. This book encourages not only foster and adopted kids, but also grandparent-led families, blended families, and multicultural/multiracial families. It promotes racial and cultural understanding and is a wonderful tool for teachers and counselors.