Teacher receives bundle of joy

“Adopting children is a great experience. It’s a complete 360 turn from my life before. Bedtime is earlier and my husband reads to the kids before they go to bed. In the morning I have to wake up and put lunches together when I used to blindly stumble around just trying to find my coffee.”

Kathleen Palmer is a substitute teacher at Annandale, having previously been a ninth and eleventh grade English teacher. She has recently adopted two children from foster care because she is physically unable to conceive children.

“I always knew I was going to adopt children, but the timing just never seemed right because my husband is in the military and we were constantly moving and being deported.” During the past five years things settled down and the Palmers began looking into adoption. They considered foreign adoption but foster care seemed like a better fit. This way they would be able to help out the hundreds of children that do not have homes.

The Palmers then applied to the United Methodist Family Services in February of 2007. The agency reviewed their applications and placed them in a training program called PRIDE that lasted for nine weeks. “It’s like tryouts, it weeds out the people who aren’t serious. Training gives the people a taste of what they are going to experience, and if they don’t like it, then they can leave.”

“We looked at the children who were put up for adoption, searching for siblings because we wanted to start a family with more than one child and siblings are often overlooked. We found Lizzy, 7 years old and Emily, 10 years old, who were currently in foster care in Virginia Beach and began visiting them on weekends.”

Occasionally they would come and stay with the Palmers for a weekend to get used to the house, family and neighborhood. The girls finally came to stay in the beginning of November.

They adjusted quite well. “We already feel like a close-knit family, like we’re meant to be together. We just want to fold them into our world, as if they had always been there. My husband and I have a lot of love to give, and we’re looking forward to spending time with our new kids. The house already seems so much smaller, which is awesome. Before they moved in it felt so big.”

 Palmer plans to let her children experience life to the fullest, enrolling them in most of the activities they are interested in. Both of them are taking gymnastics. Lizzy loves basketball and Emily loves cheerleading. “Of course, you can’t take the teacher out of the parent, so homework comes first.”

The Palmers have a plan to provide the children with every memory of their childhood. They have created life books that  are very similar to baby books. They contain pictures from their life in foster care and have many empty pages that will be filled with information and pictures from the rest of their childhood years. It also includes information about their birth parents.

The girls are of hispanic origin, so the Palmers plan to incorporate aspects of their culture as life progresses. Currently they are just getting used to each other and their new routine. They are experimenting with different religions and hope to add language and other aspects of their hispanic culture.

Although her life has completely changed, Palmer says she doesn’t mind it one bit. It was a huge change and she and her husband are engjoyin every moment of it.

“I would highly recommend adoption, if the family is emotionally ready to handle everything that comes with raising a child.  They should reach out, jump in, and do it. So many kids need a home, and it’s wonderful when a family can take them in. The agency we worked with was exceptional, very helpful and just a breeze to go through. If you have the opportunity, take advantage of it and take a child in.”