Ernest & Gracie

DaMorte, now 6 years old, was 3 when he first visited Ernest and Gracie's home.  No one had informed the boy they were considering adopting him.  They spent the afternoon laughing and playing.  When DaMorte's foster mother came to pick him up, she told him it was time to go home.  "I am home," he quickly replied.  Ernest and Gracie knew they had found their son.

Gracie has wanted to adopt children since she was a little girl.  "When I was young, I decided I wasn't going to get married.  Just have a big house filled with children who needed a good home," she said.  Her plans changed when she met Ernest.  While mapping their lives together, they discussed having four biological children and adopting two.  Many of their youthful ambitions were put aside when they started having a family.  They had Alice, now 20; Lisa, 17; and Karen, 14; and were busy raising them to be successful young women.

A family friend who was a social worker reminded Ernest and Gracie of their initial plan in 1999.  The couple discussed adopting and agreed to complete AAAA's training and discuss it further.  By the time the training was over, they both felt called to adopt.  They discussed it with the family and agreed to begin looking for a child.  Ernest and Gracie quickly learned about DaMorte.  After discussing his health with his pediatrician and talking with his foster family they decided to meet the child.

"He seemed to be totally comfortable with us," said Gracie.  "After we adopted him he tested boundaries and we experienced sibling rivalry, but almost immediately we saw a change in him.  He became calm."  The girls love their brother - they cannot remember a time when DaMorte was not in their family.  When she is asked what the best part of adoption is, Gracie replies, "It's the joy of raising a child.  Watching him grow.  It's no different than parenting biological children.  He belongs to us and we belong to him."