The heartbreak of miscarriages and infertility is one that women never get over. A similar case was that of Alicia, an iron lady raising ten kids. For nine years, Alicia and Josh, after their marriage, continued trying for kids, but it always ended up breaking their hearts. Crying to sleep and questioning god, why was all this happening to them? It was a norm.
However, rather than losing hope and giving up on building a beautiful family, they opted for another way. The foster care system is widespread in the USA, and thousands of children are looking forward to finding a place called home. Thus, after all the necessary training and getting licensed, they started their journey as foster parents!
Although the couple was not experienced initially, everyone was hesitant until a call turned the tables for them. Alex, a four-year-old boy, needed them in his life. After a long process of 200 inquiries, they were chosen as his foster parents, but welcoming the boy home was lengthy; thus, it took more than six months.
It had only been six days since Alex became a part of their lives, and a life-changing moment occurred. Ten years of crying and trying, and Alicia was now expecting! The pregnancy was tough on her due to her condition; however, she did not give up, and they welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Zoey, in April 2012. They were sure this wouldn’t happen, but life has its way of surprising people.
When Zoey was around one, another case was reported—another red-headed child! Although they did have their biological child now, the couple did not hesitate, and James was wholeheartedly welcomed into the family a few weeks later. To their surprise, Alicia was pregnant again! 2014 was the year she gave birth for the second time.
All that was happening was miracles for the couple. After ten years, they had four children in four consecutive years.
The couple then decided to take a break from fostering as they now had the responsibility of four children. However, it did not last long. A year later, in 2015, twin boys with special needs needed to be taken care of for five days.
They said yes because it was not an extended period, and the couple could manage. The first twin, Jason, was in his recovery period as he had severe burns, while Jordan was malnourished. When Alicia held Jordan in her arms, her gut feeling screamed that the baby needed to become her son. So, the babies who came to live just five days ago would become an official part of the Dougherty family. Jason had to go through multiple surgeries, and after three years, the twins were now their kids on a very special day, i.e., World Adoption Day.
Alicia gave birth twice after the adoption of the twins. First, Bodhi arrived in 2016, and then Harlee arrived in 2018. After each pregnancy, Alicia’s condition kept worsening, so after Harlee was born, her tubes had to be removed. Moreover, as the growing family never said no to adoption and fostering their tiny home was full of laughter and love; they even changed their license to an agency.
At a random meeting at the agency, three siblings going through the traumatic process of separation were found, and the decision to keep them was made on the spot. Two siblings, Bree and Patrick, moved in with them, while another family adopted the third.
In nine years, the family had grown to ten children. The couple’s journey together was challenging and painful, but the destination was beautiful. All ten children share an unbreakable bond, and not just this, the love between the couple has grown immensely, too, as their story is about faith, hope, and love!
