Boy That Had Been In Foster Care For 6 Years Finds His Forever Family

It takes a special family to open their hearts and homes to foster kids. And Dominique and Kevin Gill are one such family. The couple, from Nashville, TN, had a son and baby daughter when they decided to open their home, just temporarily, to one more child. They were interested in fostering and helping a child but weren’t interested in adopting.

That is until they got to know Andrew. Andrew, just 10-years-old at the time, joined their home as a foster child in 2018. He’d been in foster care since he was 6-years-old and, as Dominique shared with TODAY, was the last of four siblings who’d all been adopted already.

Posted by Dominique Gill on Sunday, August 9, 2020

Understandably, Andrew wasn’t open to his new family and worked hard to push them away. He had a lot of anger and hurt feelings from his traumatic childhood. Dominique told TODAY that the first week he lived with them, he just sat in his room with the door closed and looked through old pictures. He refused to talk with them. But she saw beyond the hurt and recognized him for the great kid he really is.

Finally, a day came when Joc, Andrew’s foster brother, asked if he wanted to play video games. Andrew agreed and the rest is history. The two bonded over a shared love of video games and their favorite snack – Pop-Tarts.

The boys has been getting pop tart deliveries left and right! Today a sweet lady dropped off 13 boxes of strawberry pop tarts 🥰 Thank you sooooo much 🤞 WSMV News 4, Nashville
Posted by Dominique Gill on Thursday, September 3, 2020

Joc and Andrew continued to grow closer, and Andrew slowly began to let his walls down. During their two years together, Andrew was set to be adopted by other families. But twice, the adoptions didn’t go through for various reasons.

Taking the failed adoptions as a sign, Dominique and Kevin decided to ask Andrew to become an official part of their family.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, they asked Andrew to join their family permanently. And Andrew said yes!

Happy Adoption Day 💙💚This team here has helped EVERY step of the way for the last two years!! #GillFamilyOfFive #NewAddition #AdoptionDay
Posted by Dominique Gill on Thursday, July 16, 2020

Despite only planning to be a foster family for Andrew until he found his forever home, the Gill’s knew in their hearts they were a match made to be. They officially adopted him in July of this year!