Never apologize for showing emotion. It is important for good men to be role models for showing healthy emotions.

When we got a baby from the hospital we took pictures and kept a baby book for the future adoptive parents with all the milestones they will miss. They really appreciated getting those and one reached out to us through the placement group we worked with after she became an adult and we still stay in touch 20 yrs later.

Your marriage is the marriage that can teach the world

As a 37 year old single mother of an 8 year old daughter and 10 year old son, I was getting licensed as a foster mom. Before my license was even approved, I received a call for a 6 week old baby girl and her 12 month old sister. I said yes, because I'm crazy! They were with us for 23 months. When their baby brother was born in April 2020, the height of COVID, we picked him up from the hospital. He was with us 7 months. They're all adopted together by an extended family member. All that to say, you have no idea what you can handle until it's handed to you. I had 5 kids at home full time: newborn, 1, 2, 9, and 11 and me working from home full time. I often ask myself how I survived it, but I did!

Hey, thanks for being vulnerable you guys. When Cole said “ it’s not the bio kids I want, I want to be a parent” I started crying… I’m adopted at birth. I have always compared myself to a biological child from my adoptive parents… a child that cannot exist. Thanks for making me realize it wasn’t about biological, even though my mom’s heart broke from miscarriages. It was about being a parent. My parents have given me something they never had, and I’m forever grateful.

Every time a man apologizes for crying I just feel so bad. I hate how society doesn’t let men have feelings; they’re perfectly human and if anything seeing my man cry would make me love him more. Never be afraid to say or show how you feel!

Congratulations you guys! Becoming foster parents was the best decision we ever made and led us to adopting our daughter 💕It's an emotional process but is so worth it and you're going to be incredible parents! If you ever have any questions or just need to talk, feel free to reach out to us! Sending you so much love!

Excited to see your journey! My husband is a T-3 paraplegic. Our famous last words, “we just want to be certified for one.” Before we were officially certified, we were presented with a sibling set of 3. We took a few days and said yes. Six months later we added their sister. Now we have adopted the 4 siblings! Ages started out as 18 months, 2 years, 9 years and 11 years old. Thankfully we were never discriminated against. Honestly the kids having a full time male figure was a complete GAME CHANGER for them. (I will say we are in Idaho though….know nothing about CA). Total time 2.5 years fostering and have officially adopted our kiddos for 2 years now.

I worked in a labor and delivery unit in a hospital in a low income area. We had babies that needed foster support when parents needed a chance to get themselves help and support to get their child back home. Reunification is a powerful blessing for the child and the parents. ❤. You both will be fantastic foster parents.

I “aged out “ of the California foster care system at 18. You have no idea how perfect you both are for being foster parents. Foster children are going to be winning the lottery living with you. Unfortunately I think you will be amazed by the amount of complex trauma you see. I’m excited for you both& the future kids you impact. ❤

As an educator, the hard part of dealing with children who have trauma is that they are not always receptive to your love. They lose the ability to trust. Keep that in mind. I wish you well.

I don’t know if you are continuing fertility treatments, but here is my story: after trying for a second child we tried IVF and the specialist said my eggs were damaged and gone. We signed up to be foster parents and also decided to do adult date nights-we signed up for a celebrity lecture series, a music concert series, and ballroom dancing! You know what’s coming next! Naturally conceived pregnancy. Of course it was the dancing!!!

The fact that Cole felt vulnerable enough to cry on camera and express his love for charisma is so amazing. I hope their family grows and they can share that love with a child(ren) ❤❤❤

Congratulations! As a licensed clinical social worker who works with children in foster care, I thank you for becoming foster parents.

This made my heart so happy to see. When I was 15 I had my first son. When he was 13 months the dr told me because I wasn’t living with my parents and my sons weight was considered failure to thrive, he had to call Children Services ( this was in Lancaster ). Luckily because I was underage they took us both. We went to a foster home for a few months and ended up in a bad situation but then ended up in a maternity home in Los Angeles called St Anne’s. It ended up being a wonderful experience and after 3 years they gave up on him gaining weight and realized there was nothing I was doing and he didn’t gain weight. He’s now 29, is 5 ft 9 and weighs 113. I am really grateful for the experiences I had especially all of parenting classes. I was really hoping you guys would foster so seeing this video just made my day. Thank you

when cole started crying “idk what happened” why is this me whenever i start crying 🤣 in all seriousness, this is so incredible of you guys. and also makes total sense as you are such lovely humans. so excited for this new chapter for y’all! 🥹🌷💫

That’s amazing! I’m a licensed foster parent. Take it one day at a time, it’s very rewarding, and heartbreaking. Some families still allow you to be in their lives via updates. Congratulations

As an adopted former foster child, Thank You for recognizing that the journey to parenthood by adoption/foster and biological children are different journeys. Not better. Not worse. Different. Thank you for giving yourselves time and permission to be honest about your emotions, wants, and motives. That work on your parts could prevent so much pain for future children in your home. I know many of us were made to feel like substitute solutions, or plan B. I think you both will be wonderful parents in whatever capacity comes your way.

As a former foster parent, you are not prepared for the heart ache/break but you will survive it. Give your self time to grieve as needed and have a good support group to join. Support is needed and should be with other foster parents that will understand your feelings and judge you less. I would not trade the years we fostered for anything because of our beautiful babies we adopted. I’m so happy you all are on this journey 🙏

I love the raw honesty of Cole's emotions. You both have so much love to give and I think this is just such a beautiful beginning to the journey you have ahead.

I can understand his emotions! He sees your giving heart and he know how good you are to him and seeing you want to give more love to a needed child. He said he want to be like you which says a lot! I know this will be a blessed home for the child.

I am raising thee of my grandchildren. The first 2 came home from the hospital with me-however, the third was in a state that handled things very differently. It took me 5 LONG and very scary months to get my grandchild home. My grandbaby was with 2 foster families after leaving the NICU-and I will be thankful to them for the rest of my life. These families loved on my grandbaby like she was their own. They communicated with me daily-sending pictures, text and videos. The answered my questions and concerns about her and doctor's appointments etc...My youngest grand is now going on two years old, and I continue to update those foster families on how she is and send pictures regularly. They were her first families-who kept her safe and loved while I fought for her to come home. You are doing valuable, selfless, and rewarding work. Thank you so much!

Congratulations, you two! Fostering has been the greatest joy of our life for the past 4 years. We’ve been certified twice and, 4 days after being re-certified in a new state, got the call for a newborn baby boy. Almost 11 months later and our sweet boy is still with us and is the joy of our lives. We have experienced the very heights of joy and the very depths of despair along the wild ride of fostering. It is so worth it, because these kids are worth it. The best piece of wisdom we’ve gathered is that it is our responsibility to do the hard things so that the kids don’t have to. We can handle the grief of loss in fostering - it’s our job to shoulder that so that these kids can be spared as much trauma and pain as possible. Praying for you two as you enter into this amazing ministry!

aww, any child would be lucky to have you two as parents. congrats

Congratulations! No one deserves it more. Those kids are going to be so loved.

My mother fostered children between 0 and 3 years old. Be prepared for some joy and pain during the foster care process. You're human and becoming attached is real. At the end she fostered two babies that were hours old. And those two knuckleheads will be turning 30 in a few years. I will always remember the joy we went through during their adoption process. Congratulations!!

I love hearing about the journey you went on from “gotta have bio babies” to “we will foster babies” to “we just want to be parents” ❤

Our youth pastor and his wife decided to do foster before they had kids. The first placement was a brand new baby. A day later 2 siblings 4 and 6 came. They ended up adopting them and never had biological kids. Now they have 3 amazing kids. You just never know God's plans for you. Watching your channel I see two amazing loving people who will make great foster parents.

I love how you two love each other.

Congratulations, it's an emotional roller coaster. Never apologize for that. My sister is a foster parent. She received an eighteen month little girl at one in the morning. She received four pampers and one sneaker. She is turning six in June and is finally up for adoption. Parental rights have been terminated.

I knew this was the announcement!!! I just had a feeling. I just closed our home as we were foster to adopt parents since 2015 and we’ve adopted five over that span of time. You’re going to be awesome parents.

I’m so glad you are becoming foster parents and realized that you wanted to become parents without the need to be bio parents. As an adoptee, I’m grateful that Cole, especially, has been able to open his mind to this option of family. I am sorry about your IVF challenges. I see you are in the perfect situation to live on the child(ren) that are placed in your home. My parents fostered over 40+ children in my first 15 years of life. I’m in an interesting way have been reunited with one recently after 35+ years. He was a foster brother with his two younger siblings. I remember how our family grew by three in an instant, but my parents wanted to make sure they stayed together. Since we were small people we could squeeze an infant and two children under 7 in our small home. I’m delighted of who my parents are who raised me and were pioneering adopting outside of race. Thank you for this episode. I love learning from you both!

SO refreshing to see parents online say straight up that they're not putting kids in their content. I wish you both the best in this journey!

Congratulations, guys. I fostered 3 siblings and adopted all 3. You'll love it. It's very rewarding ❤

I agree that your intentions are noble. When people say, "Protect your heart", don't dismiss it. Its not just the loss of kids that you've grown attached to, its also the system itself. You will want to burn the system down when you get into it. You will be joyful and angry all in the same day sometimes. Protect your heart. The idea of being supportive to the parent is a noble one, but not always possible. I've witnessed fellow foster parents get in trouble for connecting with bio parents of their foster kids in attempts to "support" the family better than child services. Remember, the kids were taken for a reason. No matter what story you're told, you don't know all the pieces so stay curious and non judgmental, even of child services. I fostered with a third-party organization and would recommend that to anyone. Having that extra layer of fellow foster parents to call on and support each other is important. Our organization gathered the parents together once a month so we got to know each other. I allowed us to support and offer respite to each other when needed with people you know are trained and are in the same context with you. It also means that if your child has to move (for whatever reasons...one of my kids had a 30 minute notice because of an error made in the court case with the type of home the kid could be allowed in by the courts), he still got to see his former foster parents because he had already made a connection with them and the separation wasn't so traumatic on him with the traumatic move. My biggest thing I learned was...KNOW YOUR LIMITS. You're not a bad person when you tell a case worker that you cannot take a child because of one of the factors in their case (e.g., enuresis and encopresis. YES Its real and may be tied to their trauma, pyromaniac tendencies). Don't forget that child services is charged to find children who are taken away a home. They won't always tell you everything for different reasons and what they tell may only be part of what they know or has been alleged. I enjoyed being a foster parent for 4 years and wonder if I will do it again when my bio kids get older. I was a single parent who fostered boys and mostly boys with known challenges (emotional or medically fragile). I still am connected to "my" two boys and many other boys who came through my home. I'm praying for y'all and excited to see how you all navigate this next part of your journey!

I have been a foster mama for over 20 yrs. If there is one thing I could tell you keep a life book on the child like name caseworker when the child came and left and who they went with pic's of 1st and last day.This book is just for you.

Something from my experience I have noticed kids in foster care, you can’t show them online. So just a reminder to people that they might be able to talk about their experiences but won’t have any foster kids in their videos. This is an amazing thing you are doing ❤

I am very excited for you. I am a foster parent. My biggest suggestion is find a group of other foster parents that you can talk too. I love it, however their is a lot of frustration with the system! Have a therapist you can do grief work if you have a child that either goes home or is placed else where. I think you guys will be great!

Foster/ adoptive mom here! What a joy it has been for my life. We have adopted 4 kids and one is disabled and uses a wheelchair and that's why I started following y'all! Full circle! Best wishes!

I'm crying with Cole. He's going to be an absolutely amazing person, Husband, and Father!!!!

More people like you guys are needed. I grew up in the foster care system. Having people who are caring and willing is so important.

Congratulations...I'm so happy for you all. ❤

Congratulations! Any child under your care will be loved and blessed.

Congratulations 🎈🎊🎉🍾 Cole and Charisma! You will be amazing parents 🙏🌺

As a family that fostered for 13 years, this is so awesome! I can tell you that these sweet kids are going to bring your life so much joy and you will be blessed by them just as much has you will be a blessing to them. We adopted 3 of our many foster babies we had. No it is not easy and there will be many hard days, but this will be the best journey you are about to begin! Congratulations!!

remember all kids deserve to be loved, when I was younger, my family ended up fostering 4 kids, 2 of them we adopted, and 1 we kept until she aged out, but we just excepted her as a blood sister. patients is the key. trying to understand their needs.

these children are going to be so loved and shown that it is okay to show emotions. you two are such amazing people and congratulations, you both deserve the world! thank you for sharing your journey and please NEVER apologize for being true to yourselves and showing emotions. i'm sure so many people appreciate how genuine and open you both are

I did foster care for 6yrs 0-5yr but had an 8yr one time. I had kids already so I was just being cautious about bringing in older kids. I took tons of pics of the kids and printed them for the parents. I had kids 24 hours to almost 2 years at times. I got planned placement,surprise pick up from a hospital, re-placed in my home..etc. They were all treated as if they were our own. (I hate hearing the stories of the mistreatment some fc kids experience!) My bio got Nike, fc got Nike, bio got a special lunch, fc got a special lunch..etc. We were very blessed that our families took them in as if they had been there all along. Family birthday's, Christmas, Easter all the stuff that comes along with it was the same no matter what. I actually had contact with a few parents. I actually have contact many many years later with one of them. I see them thriving and I love it! For all involved! There are so many kids that need a safe space until they can go home, get adopted or whatever is meant to be for them. (I'm hearing you talk about how many right now and I thought one at a time (since I had 2) but I usually had 2 extra kiddos. I did take on 3 once. I was a stay at home mom and my husband worked. I stayed busy.. Lol Keeping up with visits, appointments, home visits, child-parent preschool, sports... I heard so many people say that a lot of people do it for money but they make sure you are stable before you go into it so I was confused. Not to mention I was paid 575 a month (back then) for a child which went to diapers, formula/food, clothes, necessities even a semi private preschool. I didn't use resources like WIC or EBT. They were offered. It's just a lot to sign up for and maintain with kids coming and going. Their needs were met out of what I was paid. I didn't 'make money' off of the kids. It's sad that some have been known to do that.😕 I love that you're thinking ahead about what you can and can not do before taking a kiddo in. 🤍 It would be hard on them to have to move again right away.

This has moved me to tears…….And Cole, like I’ve always taught my sons….showing emotions through tears is a “manly” -- human thing. It has moved me because , so many children could be loved and cared for through fostering…… You both will be such wonderful parents and will help many children….specially children who really need what you both have to offer….(Our Canadian system is similar to yours) Our family spent 14 years, fostered over 40 children , and adopted 2 through the system….No regrets……I Plan to write about the Blessings, and will always encourage and introduce others to do …… One of the great Blessings, is how this experience has helped our naturally born children (3 boys) to become great husbands and fathers…..setting a great example for their youngest brother…….(who came to us at 2 days old)…….Our only daughter came at 4 years old…They’re now early thirties, late twenties respectively….. YOU HAVE DONE WELL……You will be guided and greatly Blessed by the Lord….

Fostering is so needed! I am so happy to hear this!!! ALL children, biological or not, are a blessing!!!! 🤍🤍🤍

Congratulations ❤❗ This is a great step forward🎉

You guys are amazing, such beautiful souls❤

as a public defender who represents so many parents working hard to get their kids back home, i really admire how much you respect the goal of reunification. yall rock and will flourish. thank you for what you are doing.

Aw. My Heart. YAY!! My heart is so happy for Y'all, & also for the kids who have Y'all as parents. I know You both will make Awesome Parents to every child who walks through your door, that's filled with so much UNCONDIONAL LOVE. You, & the children will be so blessed to have each other. We're so happy for Y'all. So a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Y'all!! I can already feel the UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, & JOY!! 🥰🤗😍💜💜

Gosh, he's so sweet...that was such sweet vulnerability to see. Thank you for not cutting it out we need more of this.

They have so much love & respect for each other, it’s admirable!

As an infertility patient who was unable to have a child, who with my husband became an adoptive parent, I am so excited for you guys! When your heart and home feels empty because you have this strong desire for children, life can be very unfulfilled. I could not have been a foster parent because the heartbreak of losing a child was more than I could bear emotionally. I am sure you will be wonderful parents because you have so much love to give. Best of luck and all God's blessings on your journey!

As someone that's adopted and been in foster care. This is so amazing. Congrats!!!

So my son and daughter-in-law got married in their late 30’s. She and him had previously been married. No babies. They tried for a year. No baby. So found out she couldn’t. They decided to foster/ option to adopt. Our first granddaughter was left at the hospital when she was 2 weeks old by her teenage mom. She couldn’t do it. THE most beautiful baby girl! And they also adopted a 13 year old teenage girl who was an ousted by her siblings. And the 3 small siblings that their parents were meth addicts. They have a precious family and we’re blessed.❤️❤️

Any child placed in your care will be so fortunate to have such kind people showering them with love. Wishing you the very best on your new life adventure.

This makes me joyous!!! I was a foster care social worker for over a decade and so many foster care youth are in need of safe, stable, nurturing homes ❤❤❤❤ thank you!

Congrats and welcome to the Foster Parent World you all!!!

iam so happy that this is finally happening, i got chills just listening. You two will make perfect parents and we are here cheering for you. love

Congratulations!! As a long time follower of your page and journey seeing this has me SO emotional, and over the moon excited and happy for both of you and your families!! Thank you for always being open honest and real!

My aunt and uncle fostered 6 siblings but ended up adopting all of them. The children all went through a lot of traumatic experiences and it has been hard to help them through processing and coping with their trauma but after 6 years they are all thriving. Being able for provide them a safe and loving home was the most important motivation for fostering. Seeing a 5 year old running around the house, being so excited to have his own bed, toys, food to eat is so emotional to witness. It’s so nice to see more and more people open to fostering, to protect and love children is amazing to see, so thank you ❤ You’re both going to be amazing parents ❤

Congratulations, any child will be blessed to have you two as their foster parents! They will be coming into a loving and caring home.

Prayers and blessings. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Congrats! Blessings to your new beginning.

We started out as foster parents with the goal of reunification. Life being the way it is, reunification didn't end up being possible, and there were no kinship placements, so 2.5 years after having our child with us as a foster child, we were able to adopt her! We struggled with infertility as well, but decided to go straight to adoption for our second child. Like you two, we wanted to be parents (again) more than we needed a biological connection with a child. We ended up getting pregnant while in the process of adopting our second child! You both will be fantastic foster/resource parents, and I know due to privacy of the child and bio family you won't be able to share too much information with us, and that's okay. Praying for you on this journey - it's such a fulfilling ride ❤

I was so privileged to have you share this with me last week Friday. It will not be easy but it can be rewarding and you two are very good people for it.

What a blessing you will be for the children and their families. Your life will never be the same and it will be so rewarding and will get better and better as time goes on❤❤ I’m so happy for you in growing your family in this way. Congratulations 🎉🥰 and I know you’ll have great success as you start this journey together.

oh you are such a lovely couple! So exciting news! God bless you both on this journey - these kids will get lots of love from you both❤❤

Thst is wonderful! Blessings to you two!

I’m so happy for yall, I was a foster mom & I really enjoyed it! These kids need so much love & a home that is secure

So excited for this new journey. Love y’all.

Congratulations!! I had a feeling this would be the big news!! I am a recent social work graduate still trying to find my path in this career, so I'm looking forward to follow along on your journey!! ❤

God's preparing y'all for your own babies! Please don't give up hope! God's faithful. ❤️🙏🏽🤗

I’m so happy for y’all! There are hundreds of children in my state that need a foster home. I think y’all will be awesome. Cole, you are so sweet, and you and Charisma are so in sync-it’s beautiful. ❤❤❤❤thanks for sharing a private moment.

This is Awesome! You all are also bringing Awareness to foster caring. Thank you!❣️❤️

Wow that’s amazing!! Thank you for doing this ❤

WOW!! .... Absolutely And Unequivicolly Super Happy To Hear This Fantastic News!! ... YAY!!! .. This Is Such A Momentous Time In Your Beautiful Life!! ... You Two Will Be The Very Best Foster Parents Ever!! .. BRAVO!! ... Cannot Wait To Hear More Uplifting News. .. God Bless You Both!! ... So Much Love Coming Your Way!! .. CC❤❤❤

Congratulations!!🎊 It’s going to be very rewarding to you and a child. The room looks amazing . Everyone needs love and support on both ends. Both of you (hearts) are amazing and you will be amazing parents. You have all of our emotional support , positive energy and prayers . Blessings upon blessings are come your way

I love y’all 🙏🏼 your love and communication between one another is amazing 🤩 so excited for your journey and your foster children are so blessed to have you🫶🏼

😢 I am so happy for ya'll! Such wonderful news! God bless your growing family!

Congratulations!!! The kids who are placed in your care will be so loved❤

Y’all got me crying over here. What an honorable decision and journey to embark on. That is something I have always wanted to do as well. Good for you both. I think Sofie will be happy about this too! Not to mention your whole loving extended family. Bless you both for wanting to provide a safe, loving home to someone in need. 🎉

This is wonderful! Best wishes on your journey!

You guys are truly such beautiful/ kind people and deserve all the things that bring you joy.

As someone who dealt with the child welfare system and continues to help others in the system at camp- this is amazing!! You all are the perfect couple to do so as well! Ensure you have a community around you that can assist with whatever it may be- bringing meals, respite care, donations, etc! Love you all!!

That was so sweet Cole getting emotional. The nursery is adorable especially the little animals on the wall.

This is absolutely incredible! You guys have so much love to give, I’m excited for your journey!

Helping parents and families heal is amazing!!! Well done!! Families and kiddos need you! Supporting parents in this time has been so rewarding ❤

I'm so happy for you guys. Any child would be lucky to have you guys as parents.😭❤

Congratulations 🎊 Cole& chrisma so happy for y'all wish y'all nothing but the best!!❤❤❤

Overwhelmingly fantastic happy news-filled video… you will both be superb parents, ‘your’ children will be blessed for the rest of their lives to have spent time in your care and feel truly loved, no matter what their age… Very, very happy for you, you are certainly absolutely ready! Bless you Cole&Carisma❤❤

Virtual hugs guys. Bless your hearts.

Congratulations you guys. I am super excited for you both.

This makes so happy!! I’m so excited for you!! ❤️❤️❤️

These two are beautiful souls together. They are fantastic. God bless this beautiful family.

I’m so excited to see you guys begin this journey. You guys are going to be such a phenomenal resource for a child/children in need if a safe space. We just attended the orientation to begin fostering in our area (Northern California). ❤ I’m nervous but hopeful we can make a difference. Wishing you all the best of luck!