TYLER, Texas — May is Foster Care Awareness Month and there are more than 1,000 children in the foster system right here in East Texas.
Adoption is a journey that comes with many hurdles, but lives can be forever changed with the right timing and patience.
Husband and wife Hunter and Dolores Price found their lives forever changed when they opened their hearts and their home to not one, but four teenagers in need of a family.
"It's just been an absolute joy to watch them grow and to watch them flourish," Hunter said.
The Price couple first became aware of the siblings through a mutual friend as they were getting licensed to be foster parents.
"We decided this is something that we wanted to do that we wanted to foster to adopt," he said.
Their journey was not without its challenges. From the heartbreak of miscarriage to the uncertainty of fostering, Dolores and Hunter faced each obstacle with unwavering faith and determination.
"In every bad situation that has happened to us, both of us have been very good about turning around and (saying) how can we use that to help others," Dolores said.
Hunter recalled supporting his wife after their miscarriage by keeping his arms around her and doing the best he could.
The heartbreak of losing a child is something Dolores and Hunter won't ever forget.
"I think God has a plan for everyone, and sometimes we have to get scars and hurt to be able to do something for someone else," Dolores said.
But with the support of their community and organizations like the Fostering Collective, Dolores and Hunter transformed their humble abode into a loving sanctuary for their newfound family.
"We couldn't have done it without them," Hunter said. "The Fostering Collective has just been so important to us. (It) has just been a huge blessing the resources that they have offered us the connections, the prayers, the care."
Now, those four teenagers, Aurora, Julio, Angel and Juan, are thriving. With hearts full of love and gratitude, they've blossomed into remarkable individuals ready to take on the world.
"I feel like God had a plan for us, because it was, like it all just happened like quick, you know," Aurora said.
Her brother Julio said the time he and his siblings have spent with the Prices have brought a lot of joy.
"Just by us being together and then being in our lives has made it even happier by providing things that we need and just spending time with us," Julio said.
Their story is just one chapter in a much larger narrative. Across the country, thousands of children need loving homes and supportive families.
Yet, the statistics are staggering. Seventy-five percent of sex trafficked victims were once in foster care. Seventy-eight percent of those who are in prison were once in foster care, and 85% of prison inmates were once in foster care.
"There's not very many people who will stand up and say, I'll take in four teenagers.' There's a lot of kids that are in care that we need to find forever homes for," said Fostering Collective Program Director Christi Sowell.
In Region 4, which is comprised of 23 counties in East Texas, around 1,200 children are in the foster system, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
"There's 100 kids that we are actively advocating for -- that parental rights have been terminated, that need forever families right here in our region," Sowell said.
Those kids are in the foster system just like Aurora, Julio, Angel and Juan once were.
This week, the Price family became a party of six. Inside the Smith County Courthouse, the family was officially granted their adoption.
"It is the most terrifying, rewarding thing you will ever do in your life is to do that is to take a child into your home," Hunter said.
But with love and determination, the lives of children in need can change for generations to come.