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Jennie and Bryan
Jennie and Bryan

Jennie and Bryan
Oklahoma

Basic Info

Jennie

Age: 41
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Bryan

Age: 45
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Child Preferences

Age: Infant to 9 years old
Sex: Either
Max Number of Children: 3
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, African American, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Mixed, Bi-Racial


Special Needs the Family is Open To: Any Child, Animal Allergies, Asthma, Drug Allergies, Environmental Allergies, Food Allergies, Defiant, Difficulty Making Friends, Encopresis, Lying, Manipulative, Poor Social Skills, Tantrums-Severe, Wets the Bed, Drug Addicted at Birth, Failure to Thrive, Fetal Alcohol Effected, Low Birth Weight or Premature, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Hearing Impaired, Speech Delays - Mild, Vision Impaired, Hoarding, Overeating, Academically behind due to poor attendance, Cognitive Delay - Mild, Has Behavior Problems in School, Mild Learning Disabilities, Speech or Language Impairment, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Depression, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Schizophrenia, One/Both Parents Have Alcohol Addiction, One/Both Parents Have Drug Addiction, One/Both Parents Diagnosed with Bipolar, Exposed to Domestic Violence, One/Both Parents Have Had a Mental Diagnosis, Child has had a disrupted adoption, Multiple Placements, ADHD, AIDS, Epilepsy, Missing Limbs: May Require Prosthesis, Seizures, Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, Requires Medication For Psychiatric Condition/Mental Health Diagnosis, Requires Counseling/Therapy, Runaway - Past, Willing to Maintain Contact via Mail with Bio Family, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Grandparents & Other Relatives, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Siblings

Environment

State: Oklahoma
Neighborhood: Country/Rural
Residency: Single Family Home
Years Together: 8
Children in the Home: 2
Pet(s): Dog(s), cat(s)

Work

Jennie

Occupation: Stay at home mom

Bryan

Occupation: Pastor

Adoption Agency

Agency: Ok dhs
Worker: jennifer cox
Worker: jennifer.cox@okdhs.org
City: Lawton
State: Oklahoma
Zip: 73505

Family Description

We are open to children of all age range. We are open to boys or girls. We feel we can accommodate a sibling group of up to 3 kids. Any ethnic background will blend in with our family. We are open to children with many, many special needs. We do not mind having contact with the child\'s biological parents (by email or by phone or by mail or in person ) provided the parent was/is not abusive to the child. We do not mind having continuing contact with the child\'s former foster parents, by phone or by mail or in person . In general, We are fairly open to various children. We would like to have children that can work at becoming apart of our family and do not pose a threat to our current children. Our names are Jennie and Bryan Hester. Bryan goes by Matt I am currently 33 years old. Matt is currently 36 years old. We have 2 kids. Our children's names are Josiah and Emmalynn and they are 4 and 6 years old, respectively Like us, our children have a caucasian ethnic background. Matt enjoys playing golf and often takes the children with him to hit golf balls at the driving range. We enjoy family hikes at the mountains that are near our home. Emmalynn takes English riding lessons once a week and also violin lessons once a week. Josiah really enjoys cars, spider man and PJ Mask. The children enjoy playing with our neighbors who have children ages 5, 3, and 2. We like to go swimming regularly as a family. We also have a 4 wheeler for the kids and one for the parents. We enjoy riding these as a family, in addition to spending time at the lake; fishing and swimming. We take a trip each year to a beach nearby. This has become a family tradition that each of us look forward to. Jennie enjoys reading, scrapbooking and helping out at the Homeschool Co-op that our family is apart of. We like to go to the zoo and Children's museum in Oklahoma City. I am a stay-at-home parent and have a flexible work schedule. Matt works full-time for United Methodist Church as a Pastor and has a flexible work schedule. We believe that Jesus is Lord and the only way to heaven is through the gift of salvation that he offers. We can not earn this salvation. We enjoy our church community that Matt serves as a senior pastor. We take the youth on a mission trip each year to Eagle Pass Texas. This is time that we enjoy with our youth and that they get to experience people who live differently than them. We also are a Friendship Family for 5 Nigerian girls who are students at Cameron University. This has become a great joy for our family. Our kids look at the girls like family and enjoy the time we spend with them. We enjoy sharing love, family and American culture with the girls who are so far from home. We often do home crafts or topic studies to help the children understand how the Bible relates to their lives, even at a young age. Church on Sundays are difficult for Josiah with his diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. Therefore, we have learned that it may not always be feasible for him to partake in church services like his sister. It is our desire for our children to view church and the body of believers at our church as a safe and loving place. That is why we do not force Josiah to partake in anything that he is simply not able to handle. We believe in living our faith our through our lives and our children witness this through the way we care for each other, our friends, family and community around us. Our family enjoys football. We root for the Pittsburgh Steelers and OU Sooners. We were gifted season tickets last year to OU. We enjoyed taking the kids to the football game and spending the day enjoying the atmosphere of the ball game. The kids enjoy PJ Mask, Power Rangers, Paw Patrol, Henry Danger, and Wild Kratts. Jennie and Matt enjoy Sherlock, Big Brother, Survivor and such shows. We tend to watch Disney movies and own quite a few. Josiah's favorite is CARS 2 and Emmalynn's favorite in Frozen. We listen to quite a bit of Kidz Bop. Josiah loves "shake it off" and is super cute to watch sing and dance to it. Emmalynn's favorite song from Kidz Bop is "Worth it." Jennie and Matt enjoy listening to the kids' music, as well as country and Christian radio. We have a dog and a cat that are special to our family. Jennie is a stay at home mom that dedicates her life to raising our children. Jennie home schools Emmalynn who is in kindergarten. She works with Josiah on letters and numbers. He recently has taken an interest in addition. The kids enjoy playing with the neighbor children. We have a 4 wheelers that they enjoy riding around. We also have a swing set and trampoline that keep the kids entertained. We tend to have friends from our church or community over for meals and games. We also host the youth in our home on Sunday evenings. This consist of a meal, games and a light Bible study. Bryan is usually able to come home for lunch each day. Therefore, we are able to share family meals twice a a day for lunch and dinner. Each evening we work together to pick up the house and then play as a family. Our evenings end with books, songs and prayers. We live in the State of Oklahoma. Our home is a single family home. We live in a Country/Rural neighborhood. We are close to our neighbors. We have one dog and one cat . We regular go on family hikes. We like to ride 4 wheelers together as a family. We go to the park, splash pad and pool together. We like to play soccer, and baseball as a family. We have "family jump" regularly on our trampoline. We also like to play golf, so we take the kids to hit golf balls. We visit the Children's museum and zoo regularly. Our public school and co-op offer a variety of sporting activities. Music lessons and riding lessons are also available. There is a park and swimming pool nearby. There are youth church groups that the kids can participate in. There is the home school co-op that offers a variety of extra curricular activities. This month we are visiting the local hospital and seeing how various areas functions. Later in the month we are going on a iceskating outing. We trying to participate in the actives offered by our home school co-op each month. There is a library and reading program for kids. We also have a local FFA that the kids may participate in. We have Sterling Public schools that are an option for any child in our home. It is a small community school that is involved with the children and their families. Many of the teachers and school employees attend our church. Jennie currently home schools Emmalynn. She is working through a Christian curriculum called My Father's World, as well as using the montessori method. Bryan and I have lived in the extreme situation that was living in the country of Azerbaijan. We learned how to care for our children in a county that everything was different. Josiah has Sensory Processing Disorder. This has been a learning experience for us. We have learned about the disorder and how in life there are many things that he "can't" handler do. It's not a matter of he "won't." We have experience with counseling and therapies with him. We have learned ways to help him thrive in the world around him. We have also learned how to protect him when he doesn't know what trigger him. Emmalyn was extremely sick for a couple of years. She has been diagnosed as gluten intolerant. This has been a learning experience as well, learning how we can teach Emmalynn to make wise decisions with food and eat food that will not cause her hard. Jennie home schools the children and find great joy in seeing our children discover the world around them. We are a bonded family. We always have been, but especially since we moved overseas. We learned that we needed to rely on one another and that it's important for us to support one another. Emmalynn is a loving and caring young girl with any one who comes into our home. Josiah is funny and entertaining for everyone. We believe that our faith is a strength and that we couldn't do what we do without the help of Jesus. We have a tight family with both parents being able to have flexible schedules and be apart of all the children's activities. It's a strength that Matt's schedule is flexible and he is apart of family activities and outings as much as Jennie. He is able to help in Emmalynn's home school co-op classes. He is also able to stay home with Josiah when co-op is too overwhelming for Josiah. Communication is a great strength of our family. We have gone through many trainings to improve our communications skills. We have a great deal of experience with transitions. We transitioned from seminary in Kentucky, to Oklahoma where we raised financial support to move overseas. We then moved to Azerbaijan and had to learn an entire to way to survive and live. We believe this has helped us learn to manage challenging times with the children that we may adopt. We have a great support system through our church and co-op. We also have a counselor whom is willing to work with us as we transition. She is already familiar with our family and Josiah's special needs. We have a great relationship with Sterling Public school and accessibility to their therapy services. We have families in our co-op and other friends whom have adopted through foster care that offer support to us, in a way that only someone who has adopted in the way can offer. We have completed all trainings that DHS requires and are open to any other trainings that would be beneficial. Lastly, Matt and I were granted guardianship of my sister when she was 14 years old. She is currently 25. We understand the challenges that raising a teen can bring. We also see the value in investing in them. We are still a role model and parental "go to" for my sister. She experiences abuse and trauma from her home life prior to placement with us. She was also suicidal. She know works with the Suicide Prevention Hotline in Oklahoma. We believe that we had a strong influence in helping her find her value and worth in living. We have this unique experience to offer to other teens. As mentioned above we have therapies available for children that come to our home through Sterling Public Schools. These services are already offered to our son who has Sensory Processing Disorder. We also have a counselor who is able to help our family and the child/children as we need. She is currently working with our family to help us with Josiah. We have our church congregation, home school co-op, friends who have adopted through foster care, the local school, counselor, and DHS. When we started to pursue adoption, we looked at many avenues. We chose foster care, as we believe the Lord has put in on our hearts to meet children where they are at in life from our culture. We believe that there are so many children in the US who deserve to have a loving family, that we do not need to seek international adoption. We want to make a commitment to our adoptive children in the same way we make a commitment to our biological children. We want them to know that we will walk this life with them until we die. We are here to celebrate life's mountain top moments, and stand together and support one another in life's darkest valley. We have learned through our struggles with Josiah that it takes a lot of commitment through struggles, but through that commitment comes strength and a deeper love for one another. We have seen the value in investing in my sister through her teen and young adult years. It was a struggle many days, but it has been a blessing to see the young woman she has become. We know that hard days, weeks, months and maybe even years can be ahead. We also know that it is ALL WORTH IT!

Preference Description

We are fairly open to various children. We would like to have children that can work at becoming apart of our family and do not pose a threat to our current children.

The Hester Family Profile

We are open to children of all age range. We are open to boys or girls. We feel we can accommodate a sibling group of up to 3 kids. Any ethnic background will blend in with our family. We are open to children with many, many special needs. We do not mind having contact with the child\'s biological parents (by email or by phone or by mail or in person ) provided the parent was/is not abusive to the child. We do not mind having continuing contact with the child\'s former foster parents, by phone or by mail or in person . In general, We are fairly open to various children. We would like to have children that can work at becoming apart of our family and do not pose a threat to our current children.

Introduction

Our names are Jennie and Bryan Hester. Bryan goes by Matt I am currently 33 years old. Matt is currently 36 years old. We have 2 kids. Our children's names are Josiah and Emmalynn and they are 4 and 6 years old, respectively Like us, our children have a caucasian ethnic background. Matt enjoys playing golf and often takes the children with him to hit golf balls at the driving range. We enjoy family hikes at the mountains that are near our home. Emmalynn takes English riding lessons once a week and also violin lessons once a week. Josiah really enjoys cars, spider man and PJ Mask. The children enjoy playing with our neighbors who have children ages 5, 3, and 2. We like to go swimming regularly as a family. We also have a 4 wheeler for the kids and one for the parents. We enjoy riding these as a family, in addition to spending time at the lake; fishing and swimming. We take a trip each year to a beach nearby. This has become a family tradition that each of us look forward to. Jennie enjoys reading, scrapbooking and helping out at the Homeschool Co-op that our family is apart of. We like to go to the zoo and Children's museum in Oklahoma City. I am a stay-at-home parent and have a flexible work schedule. Matt works full-time for United Methodist Church as a Pastor and has a flexible work schedule. We believe that Jesus is Lord and the only way to heaven is through the gift of salvation that he offers. We can not earn this salvation. We enjoy our church community that Matt serves as a senior pastor. We take the youth on a mission trip each year to Eagle Pass Texas. This is time that we enjoy with our youth and that they get to experience people who live differently than them. We also are a Friendship Family for 5 Nigerian girls who are students at Cameron University. This has become a great joy for our family. Our kids look at the girls like family and enjoy the time we spend with them. We enjoy sharing love, family and American culture with the girls who are so far from home. We often do home crafts or topic studies to help the children understand how the Bible relates to their lives, even at a young age. Church on Sundays are difficult for Josiah with his diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. Therefore, we have learned that it may not always be feasible for him to partake in church services like his sister. It is our desire for our children to view church and the body of believers at our church as a safe and loving place. That is why we do not force Josiah to partake in anything that he is simply not able to handle. We believe in living our faith our through our lives and our children witness this through the way we care for each other, our friends, family and community around us.

Our family enjoys football. We root for the Pittsburgh Steelers and OU Sooners. We were gifted season tickets last year to OU. We enjoyed taking the kids to the football game and spending the day enjoying the atmosphere of the ball game. The kids enjoy PJ Mask, Power Rangers, Paw Patrol, Henry Danger, and Wild Kratts. Jennie and Matt enjoy Sherlock, Big Brother, Survivor and such shows. We tend to watch Disney movies and own quite a few. Josiah's favorite is CARS 2 and Emmalynn's favorite in Frozen. We listen to quite a bit of Kidz Bop. Josiah loves "shake it off" and is super cute to watch sing and dance to it. Emmalynn's favorite song from Kidz Bop is "Worth it." Jennie and Matt enjoy listening to the kids' music, as well as country and Christian radio. We have a dog and a cat that are special to our family. Jennie is a stay at home mom that dedicates her life to raising our children. Jennie home schools Emmalynn who is in kindergarten. She works with Josiah on letters and numbers. He recently has taken an interest in addition. The kids enjoy playing with the neighbor children. We have a 4 wheelers that they enjoy riding around. We also have a swing set and trampoline that keep the kids entertained. We tend to have friends from our church or community over for meals and games. We also host the youth in our home on Sunday evenings. This consist of a meal, games and a light Bible study. Bryan is usually able to come home for lunch each day. Therefore, we are able to share family meals twice a a day for lunch and dinner. Each evening we work together to pick up the house and then play as a family. Our evenings end with books, songs and prayers.

Home and Community

We live in the State of Oklahoma. Our home is a single family home. We live in a Country/Rural neighborhood. We are close to our neighbors. We have one dog and one cat .

We regular go on family hikes. We like to ride 4 wheelers together as a family. We go to the park, splash pad and pool together. We like to play soccer, and baseball as a family. We have "family jump" regularly on our trampoline. We also like to play golf, so we take the kids to hit golf balls. We visit the Children's museum and zoo regularly. Our public school and co-op offer a variety of sporting activities. Music lessons and riding lessons are also available. There is a park and swimming pool nearby. There are youth church groups that the kids can participate in. There is the home school co-op that offers a variety of extra curricular activities. This month we are visiting the local hospital and seeing how various areas functions. Later in the month we are going on a iceskating outing. We trying to participate in the actives offered by our home school co-op each month. There is a library and reading program for kids. We also have a local FFA that the kids may participate in. We have Sterling Public schools that are an option for any child in our home. It is a small community school that is involved with the children and their families. Many of the teachers and school employees attend our church.

Jennie currently home schools Emmalynn. She is working through a Christian curriculum called My Father's World, as well as using the montessori method.

Parenting Experience

Bryan and I have lived in the extreme situation that was living in the country of Azerbaijan. We learned how to care for our children in a county that everything was different. Josiah has Sensory Processing Disorder. This has been a learning experience for us. We have learned about the disorder and how in life there are many things that he "can't" handler do. It's not a matter of he "won't." We have experience with counseling and therapies with him. We have learned ways to help him thrive in the world around him. We have also learned how to protect him when he doesn't know what trigger him. Emmalyn was extremely sick for a couple of years. She has been diagnosed as gluten intolerant. This has been a learning experience as well, learning how we can teach Emmalynn to make wise decisions with food and eat food that will not cause her hard. Jennie home schools the children and find great joy in seeing our children discover the world around them. We are a bonded family. We always have been, but especially since we moved overseas. We learned that we needed to rely on one another and that it's important for us to support one another. Emmalynn is a loving and caring young girl with any one who comes into our home. Josiah is funny and entertaining for everyone. We believe that our faith is a strength and that we couldn't do what we do without the help of Jesus. We have a tight family with both parents being able to have flexible schedules and be apart of all the children's activities. It's a strength that Matt's schedule is flexible and he is apart of family activities and outings as much as Jennie. He is able to help in Emmalynn's home school co-op classes. He is also able to stay home with Josiah when co-op is too overwhelming for Josiah. Communication is a great strength of our family. We have gone through many trainings to improve our communications skills. We have a great deal of experience with transitions. We transitioned from seminary in Kentucky, to Oklahoma where we raised financial support to move overseas. We then moved to Azerbaijan and had to learn an entire to way to survive and live. We believe this has helped us learn to manage challenging times with the children that we may adopt. We have a great support system through our church and co-op. We also have a counselor whom is willing to work with us as we transition. She is already familiar with our family and Josiah's special needs. We have a great relationship with Sterling Public school and accessibility to their therapy services. We have families in our co-op and other friends whom have adopted through foster care that offer support to us, in a way that only someone who has adopted in the way can offer. We have completed all trainings that DHS requires and are open to any other trainings that would be beneficial.

Lastly, Matt and I were granted guardianship of my sister when she was 14 years old. She is currently 25. We understand the challenges that raising a teen can bring. We also see the value in investing in them. We are still a role model and parental "go to" for my sister. She experiences abuse and trauma from her home life prior to placement with us. She was also suicidal. She know works with the Suicide Prevention Hotline in Oklahoma. We believe that we had a strong influence in helping her find her value and worth in living. We have this unique experience to offer to other teens.

Support

As mentioned above we have therapies available for children that come to our home through Sterling Public Schools. These services are already offered to our son who has Sensory Processing Disorder. We also have a counselor who is able to help our family and the child/children as we need. She is currently working with our family to help us with Josiah. We have our church congregation, home school co-op, friends who have adopted through foster care, the local school, counselor, and DHS.

Motivation to Adopt

When we started to pursue adoption, we looked at many avenues. We chose foster care, as we believe the Lord has put in on our hearts to meet children where they are at in life from our culture. We believe that there are so many children in the US who deserve to have a loving family, that we do not need to seek international adoption. We want to make a commitment to our adoptive children in the same way we make a commitment to our biological children. We want them to know that we will walk this life with them until we die. We are here to celebrate life's mountain top moments, and stand together and support one another in life's darkest valley. We have learned through our struggles with Josiah that it takes a lot of commitment through struggles, but through that commitment comes strength and a deeper love for one another. We have seen the value in investing in my sister through her teen and young adult years. It was a struggle many days, but it has been a blessing to see the young woman she has become. We know that hard days, weeks, months and maybe even years can be ahead. We also know that it is ALL WORTH IT!