Growing up in foster care is something that too many kids have to experience.
A family that loves us and a safe, secure environment to thrive in is something so many of us take for granted. But for three siblings from Utah continuously moving and only having each other is something they had to endure for five years.
Four-year-old Miquel, six-year-old Willis, and 9-year-old Nevaeh entered foster care in 2016 and have been moved 16 times, often into group homes.
When one single dad of three learned about the three siblings he was deeply affected by their story.
Darryl Andersen of Vernal, Utah, already has three grown-up children but as a single dad wanted to offer these three children the stability and love that they deserve.
After getting the blessing from his grown up children Darryl brought the kids to their forever home and they have blossomed ever since.
For the last five years the siblings had suffered being shunted from different homes while authorities struggled to find a good household to take them in.
For kids to thrive they need stability but these sweet kids have had to endure years of constant change, never having a place to call home.
“They’re very close, and understand, you know, they’ve been placed 16 times and in group homes and so all they had was each other,” Darryl told KSL News.
“There are kids out there in this world who don’t have a place to call home. When Christmas comes, where do they go?” Andersen said.
The idea that Miquel, Willis, and Navaeh experienced this deeply troubled Darryl and he wanted to give them a place they could always call home – with him.
After adopting the children they have thrived with him.
“One of my main motivations is, I feel, like the saying says, because I haven’t been given much, I too must give,” Darryl said.
As he continues to build a strong foundation for these kids he wants them to continue to look forward.
“I want them to understand that the past is the past, and they get to make their own future, and it all depends on them,” he said.
In just a short time these children already know that they are loved.
“We all love you more than the earth,” the kids told Darryl. “It’s because you’re a good dad. We love you so much”.
The future is so much brighter thanks to this incredibly big-hearted man. Watch this wonderful family in the video below.
As a single dad Darryl is proving that a loving family comes in all shapes and sizes and I’m so glad he took these three incredibly bright, funny and wonderful siblings in. Their future is so much brighter now.
Help pay tribute to Darryl and these three resilient siblings by sharing this story.
