Adoptive Parents Expand Their Hearts For Sisters In Need
By Libby Smith
THORNTON, Colo (CBS4) - In a Thornton home, two sisters sing "We're Off to See the Wizard" from the musical "The Wizard of Oz". Grace, 7, and Madalyn, 6, are energetic, young ladies who go to a magnet school for the performing arts.
"Grace really loves to do art. She loves painting, she loves drawing," said Mark, the girls' father.
Mark and his wife, Jackie, had signed up and trained to become foster parents with an eye to adopting. They weren't expecting to get full biological sisters.
"As sisters, its super amazing for us to see them grow up together," Mark added. "They love each other. They support each other, and do many, many things together."
Jackie and Mark adopted them in 2011, when they were just months old. Grace was born with medical issues.
"It was scary as we heard about her medical needs," Jackie explained.
She required a feeding tube for the first four years of her life.
"When we first saw that, at least for me, I was freakin' out. 'This is crazy,'" Mark said.
After a few weeks, the new parents adjusted, and then they ushered both sisters through physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.
"I think we've learned a lot about ourselves and perseverance and that we can do a lot more than we ever could have imagined," Jackie told CBS4.
Now the girls are healthy and happy. Jackie and Mark can't imagine their family without them, and they encourage other couples to look into adoption.
"It's real kids with real needs and big stories often, and there are a lot of older kids, especially, in the system that need these homes," Jackie added.
LINK: A Day For Wednesday's Child
Libby Smith is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. If you have a story you'd like to tell CBS4 about, call 303-863-TIPS (8477) or visit the News Tips section.