Erin and Penny have a full house with five children and two adults. There are the 14-year-old twins Aleena and Leala, and 9-year-old Harmony and 7-year-old Harlem, who both found their “forever home” after being in the foster care system. Last year “Little Brother,” a toddler who is the biological sibling of Harmony and Harlem, began his stay in this busy family home. There is plenty of space outside to ride bicycles and explore nature – and there’s no shortage of enriching indoor activities like bookmaking. “I mostly like animal books, but I make people books too,” Harmony explains as she helps her younger brothers with their creations.
The family is hopeful they will be able to adopt “Little Brother,” but know from experience that fostering is an unpredictable journey. When they began serving as a resource family with Angels Foster Family Network six years ago, Erin and Penny were delighted to learn that they may be on track to adopt the toddler siblings, two boys, who had been with them for 18 months. The case seemed like it was moving toward adoption, but then took a quick turn toward reunification with the biological mother.
“We always talked to the children about reunification with their mother, so it wasn’t upsetting to the boys. But for us, it was like a deflated balloon,” says Penny. While the couple was heartbroken, they wouldn’t do things differently. Successful reunifications with birth families are always the goal in fostering. The family happily stays in touch with the boys and their mother.
Soon after the reunification, Penny and Erin received a phone call from Angels with an unusual situation. Harmony and Harlem had been in a County foster home for three years and needed permanent placement. “We wanted to grow our family and we wanted to help children in need,” Erin says. “This is part of our legacy.”
Fostering wasn’t always on the radar for the couple, though. Erin says that before he and Penny found Angels he thought many foster parents simply “stacked beds and collected a paycheck.” Then they discovered that their friends from their homeschooling community fostered through Angels and decided to attend an information session. “Angels said they have a mission to imprint young brains with what healthy, functional families look like, and they only put one child or siblings in each home,” he recalls.
Once Penny and Erin attended the session at Angels, they knew it was the right choice for their family. “With Angels you don’t feel alone,” Penny says. “One of the kiddos would always unbuckle his seatbelt and once I literally had to pull over to the side of the road and call my case manager in tears. She knew exactly what to do and sometimes you need that person who can suggest a five-point harness or give you advice in a way that someone who doesn’t foster cannot do."
Erin adds, “At Angels we knew we were part of something very well run and that we would have support. We knew we were on the right team with them.”
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