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Us as we embark on Daddy-Daughter date. |
Kelly was raised in a small town in Alabama in a place that had no running water, no regular toilets, and no proper shelter. Her "houses" were rental storage sheds. She mentioned one time to us that she was in charge of "the bucket". I didn't realize what that meant until she explained it was her job to take the "waste" bucket to the woods and dump it out.
Kelly is also intellectually disabled. She physically has no disabilities, but intellectually struggles to comprehend and retain information.
She needed to be taught how to bathe, how to wash her hair, how to eat healthy and eat veggies. With the help of great special education teachers, we worked on teaching her strategies to help her in areas she struggled. We tried to help her socially by getting her involved in social clubs at school and church.
In all of this, she was a sweet 12 year old girl (at the time), and was willing to do anything to please you. She did it with a smile on her face. Everyone around Kelly loves her.
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Let's Roll! |
My wife and I decided to become foster and adoptive parents before we even got married. So after we were married we went through the process in the Department of Human Resources to become foster and adoptive parents. And for a year and a half, the paperwork for us seemed to never come through. So we had basically decided to give up being foster parents. Until one day, we received a call from DHR and said they had a child they thought would be a good fit. So we expedited the paperwork and finally got licensed. Little did we know that the little girl that was a good fit would be Kelly. She was our first foster child.
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We go to her favorite place, Cracker Barrel. |
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This is a song that never ends for us. |
Finally the day come where we adopted Kelly. She was 16 years old and was a part of our family from the first day she came through our door. She wanted to change her last name to ours, and she has been with us since. It has even been said she favors us!
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Kelly getting her favorite breakfast. |
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She wanted some Tutti Frutti for dessert. |
What is next for us? Kelly said to us not long after we adopted her, "Now I want a little brother". We are planning over the next two years of adopting internationally from China. We are hoping and praying we can get the process started soon.
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Kung-Fu Panda 3 in the dark! |