Growing up in foster care isn’t easy. It’s something that four-year-old Miquel, six-year-old Willis, and 9-year-old Nevaeh know all too well.
The three siblings spent much of their childhood in the care of the state, up until recently, when a single dad came to their rescue.
Darryl Andersen of Vernal, Utah, brought the kids home to their forever home last year, and everything changed.
It’s the heartwarming story of a single dad stepping in to prove that with a little bit of love, anything is possible.
Posted by Darryl Pnut Andersen on Monday, December 14, 2020
All in all, the three siblings have had a rough start in life.
They entered foster care back in 2016, and since then, it’s been a nightmare trying to find a good household to take them in.
Posted by Darryl Pnut Andersen on Monday, February 22, 2021
Everyone knows that kids need stability, however, for these youngsters, it’s been an endless cycle of constant change.
Andersen explained to reporters from KSL News that it was simply one house after another.
“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,” said Andersen.
Between all of the foster homes and group homes, the kids changed living situations sixteen different times over the course of the five years that they had been floating through the system.
Andersen couldn’t believe it.
As a single dad with three kids of his own already, it was hard to stomach the thought.
The idea of Miquel, Willis, and Navaeh spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, and really, their entire lives without a stable living situation was too much for him to bear.
https://www.facebook.com/PeanutAndersen/posts/3170063969706591
That’s when Andersen started entertaining the idea of adopting.
With so many years of experience being a father under his belt already, he knew he could do it.
Then, with the blessing of his own children, he decided to move forward with the process.
“There are kids out there in this world who don’t have a place to call home. When Christmas comes, where do they go?” he asked.
Andersen has a life philosophy that will really make you think.
We would all do well to take a page out of his book.
“One of my main motivations is, I feel, like the saying says, because I haven’t been given much, I too must give,” said Andersen.
Now, Andersen is once again raising three youngsters up to adulthood, just like he did before with his own offspring.
https://www.facebook.com/PeanutAndersen/posts/3493050060741312
Despite what happened to them in the past, he hopes to build a positive foundation for them to thrive as they continue to mature.
“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,” said Andersen.
Posted by Darryl Pnut Andersen on Saturday, March 16, 2019
He makes it clear that the door is wide open for them.
The kids can go anywhere and be anything that they want to be. The world is full of beautiful hopes and dreams, and he wants to make sure that they see all of the amazing possibilities.
Posted by Darryl Pnut Andersen on Monday, February 22, 2021
Of course, Andersen downplays his part in the process, but his kids see it differently.
“We all love you more than the earth,” the kids said to Andersen. “It’s because you’re a good dad. We love you so much”.
With his love, support, and expert fatherly guidance, their future is looking very bright.
Check out the full video about the siblings’ adoption from KSL News below.
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