Sam and Maria Quine had always planned on having one adopted child and one biological but their plans later changed in a big way, Arizona’s West Valley Viewreported Wednesday.
“Since the Goodyear family’s first adoption in 2003, the couple now has nine children, seven of whom are adopted, and is in the process of adopting two more,” the newspaper said.
Maria has worked as a school counselor for many years and explained that helping children was her passion in life, and not long ago, the Laveen elementary school employee learned of two siblings in foster care who needed a home.
A million little stories are contained in this picture. Unexpected stories. Extraordinary stories. Miraculous…
She had been working with the older child at school for a while and said she felt a unique connection with her. But adopting the siblings never entered her mind until she was told of the special circumstances.
“When I called the case worker, she explained to me that somebody who works with a student or knows a student in an educational setting can be considered a kinship placement,” Maria noted.
“You still have to do a whole lot of paperwork, but it’s less of a process. And I didn’t know that. When she said that, I don’t know, it was like God shifted things in my mind. I mentioned it to my kids, who all said we should adopt them,” she added.
The family is currently in the adoption process, but it is scheduled to be finalized in October.
“They almost look like different kids to me,” Maria explained of the childrens’ improvement since coming into their home. “Our oldest, she had never ridden a bike, she didn’t swim, she didn’t scooter, and really was terrified to do any of those things. Now she does all of them.”
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Maria said there were 19,000 children in foster care in their state:
This was a super fun surprise. I had honestly forgotten about the interview my hubby and I had done a couple of weeks…
When asked the reason behind adopting so many children, the couple said, “Why not?”
“It’s simple. There’s a need here in the United States. There’s a need in Arizona. There’s a need globally for families, and we can provide that,” Maria stated.
She also told the newspaper how she felt about parenting the children.
“I really feel like they are sacred gifts from God, and it’s the greatest honor. Sometimes people tell us, ‘The kids are blessed to have you,’ but no, we’re actually the blessed ones because we get the privilege of being their parents,” Maria concluded.
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