Forever Family

Grayden's Story

by Lindsay Curtis, 4KIDS Adoptive Parent

A little over six years ago, our family moved to South Florida from New Mexico. When we started attending Crossway Church, it instantly became home for us. We began considering fostering when our church shared the huge need for it in the community.

Throughout our fostering journey, we were committed to supporting his biological parents however we could. I remember taking Grayden on long drives to his supervised visits and dropping his mom off at the bus stop afterwards.

My husband Jason and I started the foster parent training classes through 4KIDS in January of 2017 and three months later we were licensed. A week after, we were asked to take in a 4-week-old baby boy that was in the NICU. We were told that he only needed to be with us for two weeks until he could be placed with a grandmother.

When we picked him up, he was underweight, anemic, and had infections due to neglect. Upon bringing him home, our other three children were so happy and excited. On the other hand, Grayden’s temperament was very flat and he did not show much emotion. The two weeks went by, and his grandmother was no longer in a position to take him. As the months progressed our love for him grew more and more every day. Grayden slowly transformed from an anxious baby into an adventurous toddler with a beaming smile.

Unfortunately, as his parents went in and out of jail and struggled to complete their court-ordered tasks, visits eventually became less frequent and more sporadic. In the end, the courts decided to change his case plan goal to adoption.

On April 7, 2020, Grayden officially became ours exactly three years to the date of when he was first placed in our home. Even though there were so many unpredictable elements and frustrations throughout those years, we truly believe God was in all the details. Having Grayden as part of our family, it’s as if he was always meant to be here.