Best Day Ever”: Becoming a Forever Koehn

Heather heard about a special little boy through her work at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.

“He was four, and at the time, his foster parents were a couple [in their 80s] who had fostered for 30 years,” Heather explained.  “[The foster mother] expressed that she could not continue to be his foster parent. She was getting to the point where she needed to close her home, and because of her age, she felt she was not a good adoptive resource for him.”

As Heather listened to this child’s story, she heard the Lord’s voice.

“The Lord really just spoke to me and led me to think, ‘I need to adopt this child.’”

At the time, Brett and Heather weren’t licensed foster parents, and they lived in Georgia. The little boy was in South Carolina, which would mean additional hurdles for Brett and Heather to jump over.

But God’s call was clear.

“In church, the sermon series we were going through was called ‘Time to Move,’” Brett explained. “It was not something we could ignore.”

The Koehns connected with other foster parents to ask questions and seek agency recommendations so they could open their home to this little boy. These conversations led them to Families 4 Families. 

Since the Koehns’ situation was unique, they approached Families 4 Families’ leadership to see if the agency could even accept their family as foster parents. 

“[Chief Compliance Officer] Lauren Garland and [Chief Operating Officer] Brette Safadi both said, ‘yes,’” Heather recalls. “It makes me emotional. They shouldn’t have said ‘yes’ because of how hard it was going to be, but they did.” 

Six months into the Koehns’ approval process, Heather had a dream.

“In the dream, [the little boy’s] biological mom was pregnant,” Heather shared. “That week, the caseworker called me and told me [the biological mom] was expecting in a few months. She asked, ‘Are you also willing to take his sister?’”

The Koehns felt the Lord’s clear call to not only pursue welcoming the little boy into their family but also his baby sister. 

This path, however, was far from easy. Through every step, Families 4 Families’ team stepped up to advocate for the Koehns and the two little ones in South Carolina. 

“For any obstacle that was put up, Brette would come up with a solution,” Heather shared. “When the state of South Carolina would say, ‘You have to follow this South Carolina rule that’s stricter than this Georgia rule,’ Brette would say, ‘Okay, we’ll make it happen.’”

From extra home studies to unexpected delays, Brette, Lauren, Case Manager Jessica Stanton and Eric and Erin Lairsey — Area Director and Community Connections for CSRA and Lake Country — tackled every new challenge with the Koehns.

“Without Families 4 Families, I don’t know if we would have been foster parents. We never would have adopted,” Brett said. 

After the Koehns were approved to open their home, their little boy was placed with them first, and after a difficult period apart, his sister left kinship care to live with the Koehns. 

As their family adjusted to foster care and continued pursuing adoption, the Koehns found community in Families 4 Families’ support groups. 

“One of the things we love most about Families 4 Families is the moms and dads support group nights where we can do life with other families and have conversations around the table, sharing and receiving wisdom,” Brett said.

They also found support in their church’s small group, especially through another attendee who was a family lawyer. Just like Families 4 Families’ team, he too partnered with the Koehns as they pushed through more paperwork and delays. 

“[Our son] would ask us periodically, ‘When can I be a Koehn?’ And I would say, ‘Well, it’s up to the judge, buddy,’” Heather said. “Then he wrote a letter to the judge in his little kindergarten scrawl asking, ‘When can I be Koehn?’”

After almost 20 months fighting to give these children their forever home, their little boy’s court date was finally set for May of 2025. His sister’s would be scheduled a few months later.

On adoption day, Families 4 Families gifted all the kids shirts with the words “Best Day Ever.”

“One of the things Joey will say here and there is ‘It’s the best day ever!’” Heather shared. “I don’t even think [Families 4 Families] knew that about him, but it’s his favorite shirt. He will tell everybody that his adoption was the best day ever.” 

In October of 2025, the Koehns went back to court to officially adopt their daughter. 

“When the day came for her adoption, [our son] woke up that morning, ran downstairs and greeted her in her highchair: ‘Are you so excited? It’s your adoption day!’” Heather shared. 

This day felt like just another day to his two-year-old sister, “but he wanted to make sure she had a special party and had family coming for her — all the things he experienced he wanted to experience with her,” she said. 

He’s also brought this excitement to two more adoptions for Families 4 Families’ foster families.

“He puts on his t-shirt, and he is one of the most excited people in the courtroom,” Heather said. 

Since their daughter’s adoption, Brett and Heather plan to keep their home open for respite care to help the foster families they’ve met through Families 4 Families. For now, though, they’re taking a much-needed break from fostering, focusing on their family and reflecting on the lessons learned through the almost two-year foster care and adoption process.

“We took a lot of detours on this journey, but God was so faithful and steady in His calling,” Heather said. “There were plenty of times when we wondered if we had misheard God and were not supposed to do this. 

“But I learned the amount of time [it was taking] had nothing to do with the reality of His faithfulness or His plans or our satisfaction or happiness.” 

For Brett, foster care has been a sanctifying experience, making him a better husband and father. 

“Frustration with the system could lead to despair, or it can lead to patience, fortitude and persistence,” he shared. “[Children in foster care] bring their own sets of psychological and physical problems. They don’t respond how your biological kids — kids who grew up in your house and know your rhythms and routine — would respond.”

This experience has also shed light on the need for support for biological families.

“In a perfect world, the need for foster care wouldn’t be there,” Brett said. “Our ministry is also to [biological parents]. We get the kids, and we are going to surround them with the love of Jesus while we have them — and in our case, they’re with us permanently. But it is also our opportunity to impact bio parents in ways that could change their future.”

Heather added, “The journey doesn’t stop when the gavel falls.”