Meet the McGinnis Family!
We had the pleasure of raising my husband’s three children and when we realized that biological kids weren’t in the cards for us, God led us to the foster system and placed Grace and Sara into our home and hearts. We were told up front that we would not be matched with a baby. While raising an infant was a deep desire in my heart, we were willing to embrace any path. The week of Thanksgiving 2004, we got a phone call in the car while heading “off to grandmother’s house” in Idaho. We were told we had been matched with a two-month-old. We brought Grace home in early December and finalized her adoption in April 2006.
Around a year later, we got another serendipitous and heart-stopping phone call. Our daughter’s birth mother had given birth to a second infant, and we were being offered the opportunity to adopt her since we were now next of kin. Sara joined our home, also around two months of age, and we finalized her adoption in 2007. Now, these girls make my life complete.
Grace just turned sweet 16. An artist, Grace loves to put pencil to paper and creates beautiful things. She's smart and articulate, and impressively level headed. She has a great, keen memory that is so sharp she remembers things I sometimes wish she didn't (ha!).
Sara, age 14 is an accomplished athlete. Having been involved in sports since age 4, she now plays soccer on an advanced team. Sara is not just strong in body, but also in heart and mind. She loves kids, and is especially drawn to helping, supporting, and defending those with special needs. With her really big and open heart, she genuinely “feels all the feels."
Our adoption experience was unusually smooth, as foster care adoptions go. We did not face conflicts around the juggle between honoring the needs of biological family versus the needs of the children. While we did feel some brief flashes of fear during the time between placement and finalization, more than anything else I had faith that their adoptions were meant to be. Our hope is that any family who wants to have children should be able to parent and love children that likewise need it. There are still so many kids waiting in care…
I think the challenge we want Congressional leaders to focus on is helping children who experience foster care to stay in touch with biological siblings. For our daughters, we know they have multiple siblings out there. We have tried exceedingly hard to try to locate them. Yet, there doesn’t seem to be a way for agencies to be able to pass on that information to our family. We are frustrated it seems to be so elusive. Understandably, our daughters wonder and would like to learn more about them, or even meet them someday. There must be a better way to respect the roots and connections of all of these children.
“Adoption is special because I was given a chance at a better life. I want to adopt when I get older to pay it forward.” ~Sara, age 14
“I love my family and feel so blessed to be part of it.” ~Grace, age 16
