High school sweethearts, Brooke and Brandon from Northwestern Minnesota, married and dreamed of having a big family. Heartbroken and disappointed after years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, they decided to move forward with adoption. An acquaintance, aware of the challenges Brooke and Brandon were experiencing, knew of a sibling group of four young boys in need of a forever home.
Starting in February 2015, Brooke and Brandon worked with Children’s Home to come up with a plan that would
ease the boys’ transition of getting to know them. Brooke said, “It was a good process for the boys. We got to meet them in May. After many play dates and sleepovers we told them we were going to be their forever family.” The boys moved into their home August 2015 and the adoption finalized in March of 2016.
The devastating impression that trauma leaves on a child was evident when one of the boys asked Brooke if he would soon have to move to a new family. “That’s really sad to hear,” Brooke explained, “but it’s fun to say, you are in your forever family. You’re going to stay here forever.”
The family enjoys free time together watching movies, going out to dinner and playing front yard football.
Free time fun may sound easy, but Brooke and Brandon always keep each child’s needs at the forefront of how daily activities are approached. Three of the boys deal with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and one has suspected fetal alcohol syndrome. While they have shown great progress, Brooke and Brandon strive to find as much one-on-one time with their children as they can.
Brooke is thankful that during the stressful life that these boys have lived, they have always had each other to lean on. “They have a lot of love for each other,” said Brooke. They call Jacob, age 8, the third parent because of his wise comments. He told Brooke, “Even though my brothers get on my nerves a lot, I’m really glad we got to stay together, because I do love them.”
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