Focus

The Gift Of A Family

A week before Christmas,
Michael and Terri Hawthorn became
legal parents of seven children.
For years, they fostered many children
from horrible family situations.
The couple decided to adopt children when
they took home a 3-year-old boy from foster care.
One day, he got very sick,
and Terri had to rush to the hospital.
The doctor said he wasn’t doing well
until he heard Terri’s voice.
Then she realized the boy needed her.

Soon, Michael and Terri adopted the boy
and his little sister.
That was just the beginning.
Seven months later, Michael and
Terri decided to adopt seven more children,
including four twin sisters.
It wasn’t an easy process for the couple,
but they made it right before Christmas.
All seven children finally got the
same family name, Hawthorn, at a courthouse.
The couple’s four biological
children are over 20 years old,
and they all live in their own homes.
This year, they all celebrated Christmas
as one everlasting family.