It has been a year of permanency at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries. This year, 18 children have found permanency through adoption or guardianship—which gives us so much to celebrate!
Our prayer is for these children to find greater stability and to feel a constant presence of love and safety in their forever homes.
One celebration took place in early November, when Carley and Josh McCoy adopted three siblings, Jacob, Josh, and Keven, surrounded by family and loved ones, all wearing big smiles and decked out in different colored flannel.
“The purpose of everyone wearing flannel at the adoption was to show that not all families have to match,” Carley shared.
Carley is a licensing specialist and family advocate in our Moberly area. Carley and Josh have previously fostered and adopted their oldest son, Aydan.
“It was very chaotic at the beginning,” Carley shared. “It was really nice to have Karcie as my advocate to help us settle in.”
Karcie Clark, our Moberly Area Coordinator, was able to help the McCoys locate a crib, buy groceries, get connected to daycare, and more. She stepped in to ensure the McCoys felt ready to welcome the boys into their home after receiving the call from their case worker.
As the McCoys worked through getting into a new routine with their three youngest children dealing with difficulty sleeping and other challenges, they saw huge progress in a short time.
“Seeing the boys progress from where they were, and seeing where they are today is just monumental,” Carley said. “I look back at pictures of the first day they came into our home, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, how are these the same kids?’ We still obviously have our daily struggles of things, but it’s just fun to see them overcoming those hurdles.”
Carley and Josh have mainly provided pre-adoptive care to their sons, but they have also provided short-term care to a baby.
As Carley reflects on her family’s foster care journey, she says that no matter the length of time, she thinks it is a privilege to give love, safety, and support to the children in their care.
“I know everyone says, ‘I couldn’t do it because I would get too attached,’ but you have to get attached for however long they’re there,” Carley said. “You love them, and you let them move on with their journey. That’s what we’re here for. That’s the point—to get attached. They need attachment.”
Even amidst challenges with fostering, there is still so much joy. For the McCoy family, there is daily hope as they watch Jacob, Josh, and Keven continue to develop and grow.
“Jacob has the absolute cutest smile in the entire world,” Carley said. “He’s got this little clown laugh, and it will brighten anyone’s day. And Josh has this little whisper talk . . . he just does this little Batman whisper type thing when you ask him to repeat something that you say. And Keven is so smiley and happy all the time.”
Congratulations, McCoy family!
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