Kevin and Dominique Gill decided to foster some kids in need while they were waiting to be adopted. When a child named Andrew came into their life, it was understood that he was supposed to stay for a brief period of time. But everyone in the house became attached to Andrew, and after 2 years, he officially became the Gills’ son.

The couple works in childcare and decided to foster kids after seeing that there was a big need for it.

In 2018, Kevin and Dominique got a call to foster Andrew, who was only 10 years old at the time, after he just came out of 2 facilities. It was his twenty-sixth foster home. They had previous experience in fostering kids, and Andrew was their third child. Dominique recalls the initial experience as starting off “rough,” but the family did not want to give up on him no matter what.

Andrew was set to be adopted twice, but both fell through.

The Gills wanted to do everything in their power to help the family who would decide to adopt Andrew, knowing how badly he wanted a family. However, that family decided that Andrew was not a good fit for them, and the agency sent him back to the Gills. Kevin and Dominique were worried about Andrew, as they knew this situation might affect him, that he would become more resentful and exhibit bad behavior. However, he was actually very happy to come back to them.

At the time, the couple had one son who was close to Andrew in age.

After 3 months, both the parents and Andrew were notified that the agency started actively looking for other people who might want to adopt him. During this period, Dominique noticed how well Andrew was getting along with her son, Joc, and it was obvious that they missed each other when they were apart. Dominique told her husband that she didn’t want to let go of Andrew once again, that her heart was telling her the right decision would be to adopt him. Her only concern was that Andrew did not explicitly express his desire to stay with the family forever, as he tried really hard to push everyone away.

The couple decided to tell Andrew about his adoption through a gesture.

Dominique wanted everyone to ask Andrew if he wanted to be a part of the family, out of consideration for him. She said that since he has seen a lot of faces in his life, some of which turned out to be only temporary, she wanted to let him know that there’s a village behind him and that this family wouldn’t give up on him. They took him for a walk in the park with everyone, and he was surprised to learn that the family the agency had been talking to was the Gills all along. Since then, Andrew gained a loving family, and his best friend, Joc, became his brother.

Andrew and Joc are still getting along well.

It’s been 4 years since Andrew entered the life of the Gill family, and 2 years have passed since he became their son. Both Andrew and Joc are now teenagers who have their own interests, but they play games together, and their rooms are just next to each other. They might have some differences, but in their mother’s words, they are still “the best friends they’ve always been.” The Gill family now consists of 6 people: parents Kevin and Dominique, and the kids, Joc, Andrew, Kynnedi, and KJ.

The family faces many social challenges, but they wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for anything.

When the family is out in public, people either assume that Andrew is not with the Gills, or they try to stir up a conversation about how exactly he could be their child. At school, Joc and Andrew also experienced situations when the kids wouldn’t believe that they were family, and Andrew had to show pictures for them. The family says that all their kids are equal and are treated with respect and dignity — nobody is less special to them. They own 4 businesses, and while they aim to promote black businesses, they also want their white kid to have the same opportunities as their other children, so they are open to supporting all businesses. The family is committed to inclusion and making everyone feel loved.