The Breneman Family
I always knew when I got married and was ready for a family, I wanted to adopt. My brothers, now 18 and19, were adopted. Seeing how they fit into our family – they were no different than my biological sisters – this planted a seed in my heart.
My husband Chris was interested too, and we decided we would like to be a permanent home for kids from the foster care system. We knew we should wait until we were more established, so we waited a few years into marriage.
After research, we found Children’s Home Society and learned they worked with all counties statewide and had a long history. We went to two informational meetings over 6 months and began working with our licensing specialist in summer 2017. We were licensed in September. Robin Fox was our caseworker, and I’m biased but she is the best ever.
Dylan and Rylan
In October, we received a referral for twin 3-year-old boys. We were immediately interested after seeing a photo of their sweet faces. In November we met them at Chick-fil-A and got to play with them. We instantly fell in love – very energetic little boys – fun and playful. Unfortunately, there were several court delays, and it was devastating when we thought they weren’t going to move in with us. We didn’t give up, but we were licensed for three, so we decided to receive referrals for a single child and see what happened.
On December 11 there was a little girl, Ava, who needed us, and we said yes. On December 12 we went to the hospital to meet her. We got to hold her but tried not to get too attached. On December 17, we were able to bring her home. And then, four days after that, we got a call that the boys needed us. It was almost Christmas! A few days in, the infant wasn’t sleeping, and the boys were bouncing off the walls. We looked at each other like, “What did we just get ourselves into?” A couple of weeks in, we didn’t think we could continue with all three of them. We were too overwhelmed. I thought long on it and truly couldn’t imagine them moving again or someone else tucking them into bed at night. We decided to give it more time.
Ava at 19 months
Robin was so supportive. She called every day to check on us. She knew we needed support. We could not have done it without her. Six months in, things started to settle down. We had figured out a routine. The boys knew what to expect and felt safety and consistency. They began to understand the rules and boundaries. They were always the sweetest boys ever which really helped with managing their behaviors. In May 2019, all three adoptions were completed. It’s been an emotionally difficult journey, but it’s been 100 percent worth it. It’s easy to want to shy away from things that are difficult, but if we continue to do that, then we will really miss out on blessings that come from difficult places. There are kids who need families, and they are beautiful kids with wonderful hearts. Love and consistency go a really long way in bringing healing to their lives. They’ve done much more for me than I have done for them.
By Briana Breneman
