After years of praying and contemplating how to have children, Kellie and Jared Anderson decided in early 2020 to consider foster care and adoption.

“For months, we researched what to do,” Kellie explained. “Then one morning, I was driving to church and heard a segment from a local radio host about foster care and the need for more foster care families. That story led me on the foster care journey.”

The Andersons earned their foster care certification through Youth Villages in June 2020. They fostered a 10-year-old girl temporarily that summer. Then, on Oct. 29, 2020, Kellie got a call that changed her life; a baby boy was born in early September and had been in the NICU ever since. He didn’t have a family and needed a place to live once he was discharged.

Kellie and Jared drove the 90 minutes to the hospital that first day to meet him. Kellie stayed with him the whole time until he was discharged from the NICU. The baby boy wasn’t named upon birth, so they decided to name him Asher.

Because Asher was born three months prematurely, he had a lengthy stay in the NICU and still has occupational and physical therapy appointments to help with various skills.

“The nurses told us on our second day in the hospital with Asher that they could tell a difference in his demeanor,” Kellie said. “It is amazing the difference love can make even for a newborn baby. It’s like he was created for us.”

Asher was officially adopted by the Andersons in June 2021.

“The Andersons had so many people, family and friends at the courthouse for Asher’s adoption,” said Megan Bailiff, Youth Villages clinical supervisor in the Therapeutic Foster Care program.

Megan said that Asher and the Andersons were a good fit from the beginning; that they looked at each other – as if they were biologically related.

“The process can be hard… not knowing if or when the adoption will be finalized,” Kellie said. “But every heartache and frustration is worth it.”