Family finds fulfillment in adoption, and you can too

Hundreds of kids woke up this morning with no place to call a permanent home, but not a few special kids in the Beyer household.

"I have realized how beautiful life can be, even with a set of family that's not your birth family," said Alicia Beyers.

Her two boys, 3-year-old Gavin and 18-month-old Harrison, were once in foster care. Alicia was determined to adopt a child. Her own loss when she was 19 fueled the decision.  

"About 10 years ago my parents were killed by a drunk driver and then, my family was destroyed. I had a very unexpected family step in," she said.

Even at 19, Alicia needed family and she got one. She was taken under the wing of a family who still to this day are like grandparents to her own children.  

Stephen wasn't convinced that they were ready to adopt, then he went to a Judson Center meeting. They help families foster and adopt kids who need it.  

"There was a McDonald's across the street and we were in line and she was ordering, and she looked over at me and she said, 'So what do you want?' and I said, 'Let's adopt that boy," Stephen said.

They already have their own two children, but the social worker and Stephen, a nurse, decided to adopt not one, but two boys.

"Actually the day we adopted him our adoption worker asked us if we wanted to take another little guy, and that's Harrison so he's a year younger," Alicia said.

Three hundred children right now are waiting for a foster home in Michigan. The Judson Center hope that other families who see this think about how easy and fufilling it is.

Addison Sweany with the Judson Center said adoptions vary depending on the county, but there are times where families are eligible to have fees rembursed. 

"There are times where there are no costs at all to adopt a child," she said.

The Beyers are going to have a very Merry Christmas -- four times over.