The Tucker Family Feature

Sarah and Billy Tucker were already parents to two teenagers, but they had long felt called to expand their family through adoption. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they began seriously exploring the possibility and learned about Arms Wide’s adoption program through a friend from church. After many discussions and consideration, Sarah reached out to Arms Wide to learn more about the adoption process. She brought the information home to Billy and told him, “If we don’t do this now, let’s just shut the door on it.”

The pandemic created a unique opportunity for them to take on the time and commitment required to pursue adoption. With their children growing older and knowing they would not have this opportunity forever, Sarah and Billy decided it was time to take a leap of faith. They began their adoption journey with Arms Wide, opening their hearts and home to a child in need of a permanent family.

They began the training process with the intention of only pursuing adoption but began to change their minds when they started learning about the children’s circumstances and the urgent need for families to provide foster care. As a teacher and firefighter, Sarah and Billy are “helpers by default” and decided to open their hearts and home to foster care. After many family conversations, their teenagers also embraced the idea, supporting their parents’ decision to welcome children in need of care and stability.

“My son always talked about wanting a younger sibling and loves babies. He was very excited about the process,” Sarah recalled. “My daughter had a lot of questions, but we gave her as much information as possible and she came around to it.”

Welcoming Wally

After the Tuckers earned their foster care license, Sarah received a call about a seven-week-old boy, Wally, who needed a home after being discharged from the NICU. The family ran to the store to pick up baby supplies and met Wally in the hospital that evening. The next day, Sarah picked him up from the hospital to take him to his new home.

“It was so surreal to bring a newborn baby to our home,” Sarah said. “That’s not usually how it goes, you don’t drive yourself home from the hospital!”

The Tuckers immediately leaned on their village for support. They created and shared an Amazon wish list, and friends, family members, and neighbors quickly responded by delivering meals and sending clothing, baby supplies, and other essentials for their newborn. Sarah and Billy also turned to local foster closets for additional tangible support.

Throughout the journey, the Arms Wide team provided critical guidance and encouragement while also connecting the Tuckers with experienced foster parents who became a valuable source of advice, support, and reassurance. Together, these connections helped the family navigate the challenges and joys of welcoming a child into their home.

“I met one of my very best friends through one of the trainings at Arms Wide,” Sarah said. “We wouldn’t have been able to get through this experience without her and her family.”

Two More Tuckers

After a year, it began to feel as though Wally would be part of the Tucker family forever. Yet the path to adoption proved to be long and uncertain. “Everything that could have happened, happened,” Sarah recalled. “Parental rights being returned, appeals, decisions overturned.”

From November 2021 through early 2025, the Tuckers endured years of legal challenges and uncertainty, holding onto hope that they would one day be able to adopt Wally. After all, they were the only family he had ever known.

Several years into the process, Sarah received a call from CPS informing her that Wally’s birth mother had given birth to a baby girl, Charlotte, who needed a temporary home. Recognizing the limits of what they could take on at the time, the Tuckers made the difficult decision to decline Charlotte joining them. However, they were connected with Charlotte’s foster family so the siblings could begin building a relationship. Over time, the two foster families became close friends, arranging regular visits and creating opportunities for the children to know one another.

Ten months later, CPS contacted the Tuckers again with news that it was time to find a permanent family for Charlotte. By then, the Tuckers knew in their hearts that the siblings belonged together. They made the decision to welcome Charlotte into their family and pursue the adoption of both children, ensuring they could grow up side by side.

On National Adoption Day in 2025, after four years of worry, uncertainty, and perseverance, Wally and Charlotte became Tuckers in front of a very large crowd of family, friends, and caseworkers new and old.

Sarah said, “For us, we are finally able to just be mom and dad. And for our older kids, they no longer worry about Wally and Charlotte going anywhere.”