DENVER — Neither family was expecting to adopt children, but they say it changes you forever.
In honor of National Adoption Month (with National Adoption Day coming this Saturday), Denver7 spoke with two families who found passion and fulfillment through adoption.
The Humenansky family already had four biological children, when their church inspired them to consider foster care. Fastforward five years, and they have now provided short and longterm care for 48 children. In fact, they even adopted four of them, will be adopting the two kids they currently have in foster care in January, and also have a foster dog as well.
Meanwhile, the Murray family had to act fast when their son could no longer care for their granddaughter, Shaylee. They eventually adopted her, her sister, and are now providing foster care to a teenaged cousin. Since then, they have started The Shaylee Foundation, to help other families find resources about foster kinship care and child maltreatment.
While both families have different stories, they both agree on one overlooked aspect: They wish that more attention was paid to teenagers who are up for adoption.
"[It's hard for] the older children to get placed and be adopted out," said Kimberly Murray, who has also decided to become a social worker. "But what is important for them to know is that that they have people who support them, and that people do want them in their lives... And for them not to give up on hope of having a forever family."
In the videos above, you can meet their expanded families, and hear more about their adoption journeys.
