2 Years After WCCO Report, MN Family Has 4 Adopted Children

ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- In the horse barn at the Minnesota State Fair, the Furey family is experiencing a first. There are four kids helping with the horses.

It is a family dynamic that started two years ago when Patrick Furey and his wife, Sara, saw a story about FANA on WCCO and decided to adopt two kids.

Little did they know that 13-year-old Jimmy and 14-year-old Angie from Bogota, Colombia had two other siblings, an older sister Julieth and a younger sister Heidi.

The Furey children had been in orphanages for several years, but were separated for most of that time.

"I was so sad, because I think my brothers and sisters I won't have any more. Everybody going to different family," said Angie Furey.

It left the Fureys with another big decision, one they made in just five minutes.

"We were only going to adopt two. We thought, well, might as well go all out and took all four of them," said Patrick.

"It's my dream coming true, because I was in the orphanage," said Julieth.

With a language barrier and a new home, the new family found a connection through their horses.

"I like the horses," said Angie.

"It's been a good experience for them. They've been around the horses, a little scared, but at the fair, they're doing really well," said Patrick.

It is a bond they build on every day.

"I really feel lucky. In my orphanage, a lot of kids need families, so it's lucky for me to have one," said Julieth.

The adoptions were finalized in March of last year through an organization called FANA.