The Wiltz-Martin Family Spotlight Here at Arms Wide, we understand a family’s journey doesn’t end after adoption. Emotional scars from the neglect or abuse that led the children to experience foster care in the first place can last years after being connected with a permanent family. Extraordinary amounts of love, nurturing and commitment are sometimes

A Leap of Faith: The Scarlatella Family Spotlight Tina and Anthony Scarlatella adopted from foster care with Arms Wide a decade ago. In this family spotlight, they share their journey of adopting through foster care and saying ‘yes’ even in the face of uncertainty. Beginning the Journey Tina and Anthony knew that adoption was the

Long Journey to Family: The Shalack Family Spotlight Tiffinie and Jonah Shalack wanted to adopt for nearly 20 years but never felt ready for it. Jonah’s dad was adopted so it was always part of the family story. Once they accepted that, like many parents to-be, they may never feel ready, they decided to become

Ministry of Parenting: The Muery Family Spotlight November 2023 marked more than just National Adoption Month for Kevin and Debbie Muery – they adopted for the last time, adding two girls to their family. As biological, adoptive, and foster parents, they have parented more than 85 children, including 13 adopted children. “We never intended to

From Mentor to Motherhood: The Bolling Family Spotlight Kenyetta Bolling always knew she had motherly instincts. She came from a community-oriented family and has played the role of mentor, auntie, and godmother. So when she came to a point in her life that she realized she was not going to have biological children, she decided

Becoming Forever Parents: The Phan Family Chiara and Tim Phan considered foster care adoption even before they were married. They saw it as a way to grow their own family while helping other families along the way. Their friend adopted from Arms Wide, and after hearing about their positive experience, Chiara and Tim decided to

Green Family Spotlight: Leaning on My Village Aronda first considered adoption after battling infertility issues. When she heard good things about Arms Wide from a colleague, she took the first step by attending an Arms Wide information meeting. From the very beginning, Aronda shared her decision to adopt as a single mom with those around

The Fontenot Family: Keeping Children at the Center In this Family Spotlight, Audrey and Nicholas Fontenot share their journey of adoption through foster care and their approach of keeping children at the center. Adoption had always been on their hearts when they thought about growing their family. Both Audrey and Nicholas were adopted as children,

The Couch Family: Open Mind, Open Heart Dewayne Couch, a single father, recently adopted teenagers Evan and Jacob. In this Family Spotlight, Dewayne shares his journey to adoption from foster care and why he chose to adopt teenagers. Beginning the Journey When Dewayne decided to start a family, adoption was already on his mind. He