The words of Darrell and Rita:

Makayla Victoria Cecilia Nicole, age 7 years— a grand name for a wonderful little girl.

Makayla came to us from the Polinsky Children’s Center at the age of 5 months, after being removed from her family due to neglect and abuse. She was sickly and undernourished, but with love and care, she quickly became well.

However, at the age of 17 months, Makayla began showing behaviors indicating that she may have a developmental disability. Early intervention services were sought immediately to support her through these challenging behaviors and emotions, and to this day she still sees therapists and behavior specialists.

It is a huge daily struggle, but when you love a child as much as we love Makayla, then you put all that aside. She is doing quite well in school, and she is a great horse rider since becoming a student at “Winners Circle” Equestrian Therapy. She loves music, which calms her just as the horses do, and she is always singing.

After adopting Makayla, we wanted to continue helping out Angels by fostering another child, which is when Hayley came into our lives. Hayley’s past involves drug exposure and extreme neglect. Her mother was unable to reunify and we, surprisingly, were able to adopt Hayley as well. Due to the neglect experienced, Hayley had obvious developmental delays but it was not until after several months did we realize how extensive the delays would be. Hayley too has been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. She received early intervention services and continues receiving therapies and services to assist her with her challenges.

These girls are the center of our world and they are the reason that we get up in the morning. It has been a very big challenge for us and there have been days when we wonder if we can carry on, but then we see their smiles, and they hug us, and we know everything has been worth it. If we could go back, would we do this all over again? You betcha!! Thank you, Angels, for giving us these precious children.