Eleven-year-old Luke Kissinger celebrated in a big way last month. The fourth grader was adopted after having lived in dozens of foster homes.
Luke entered the foster care system when he was six and went on to spend time in 25 different foster homes over the span of just four years. It wasn’t until the last one — number 25 — that he found the place he’ll stay forever, with his new parents Bradley and Cassie Kissinger.
“We opened in 2022, and we spent about a year just waiting to be matched without truly looking into trying to find a kid, and then when we saw his video in March 2023, we just kind of instantly fell in love,” Cassie said of being matched with Luke.
“He’s been passed on so many times, and if you meet him, you would never think anything like that ever happened to him; I mean, he doesn’t have an angry bone in his body,” Bradley added.
The adoption was made official during a ceremony on May 14. Luke’s fourth grade classmates watched the special event on a livestream while they were in school. “Everyone just started tearing up; the class was cheering, his teachers were there,” Cassie said.
“I think the best part of the whole thing was [when] the judge said, ‘Do you have anything else you want to say?’ And [Luke] was just [like], ‘I love you, Mom and Dad,’” Bradley noted.
Luke said that he is excited to officially belong to the family. “Just to have a forever family is just unbelievable,” he said. “That day was really special because now I don’t have to worry about moving around.”
“I felt really amazed because I knew that this was to be forever,” Luke told Fox News. “After four years of being in foster care, I never thought that forever was a thing anymore.”
He also said he was very excited about having a new brother and sister, Cassie and Bradley’s other children, saying, “They’re like one of the best brothers and sisters I’ve ever had.”
