PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — On Tuesday, nine local children were permanently adopted during a National Adoption Day event.
One of the families that participated is the Turley family. They adopted 4-year-old Joshua.
“We have had him as a foster child for almost three years and today, making him an official part of the family is just wonderful It feels like the right thing,” said Pamela Turley.
Donald and Pamela Turley also have three other children of their own but say Joshua is the perfect fit for their family.
“They really love him. He is their baby brother and they love him and it would’ve been awful not to have gotten to today. That would’ve been unthinkable,” Turley said.
Looking back on their process within the foster system, Pamela says their journey was relatively easy.
“He had been in our home for a long time prior to that so the adoption process was about four months, five months and it really wasn’t that hard. The hardest thing was just the waiting,” Turley said.
With a great need in the area, the Turleys are encouraging more people to get involved.
“They need loving parents and they need a place they can call home and they need examples of what it is to have a loving family and so I would encourage anyone that’s ever considered fostering to please get to be apart of the system. Please step out on that ledge, it’s not so bad. Sometimes you have a very very happy ending,” Turley said.
Currently, about 40 children are in need of homes. To learn more, click here. You can also visit the organization’s Facebook page, here.
