The Brasfields take in a movie night. From left, Kason, Kimberly, Kenzie, Kaylee, Kamar, and Kameron. Oldest daughter Kari, a college student at Southern Arkansas University, is not pictured.

The Brasfield family is at the park on a sunny weekend afternoon enjoying the nice weather and some quality family time. To any onlooker the picturesque scene appears unremarkable—simply a happy and loving family who appreciate each other’s company.

Watching the kids enthusiastically tackle the monkey bars, you would never think they have lived a portion of their short lives in separate foster homes dealing with the uncertainty of their futures. And you certainly wouldn’t guess that the Brasfield family was just half this size less than two years ago.

Kamar and Kimberly Brasfield had one son, Kamron, and a daughter, Kari, and knew they wanted to have additional children. Both grew up without siblings and wanted to develop a larger family network for their children.

After struggling with infertility and suffering two miscarriages, they decided to grow their family through adoption. Kimberly had once worked for DHS and was well aware of the many children waiting to find their forever homes. Adoption was something they had discussed several times in the past, and they decided the time was finally right.

The Brasfields got in touch with The Call—a local Christian organization that encourages fostering/adopting and helps families through the process—and started filling out the piles of required paperwork.

Finding homes for sibling groups in the foster care system can be especially challenging. Limits on space, finances, and time tend to make prospective parents question their ability to care for multiple children who have already endured so much. Unfortunately, this leaves many siblings in the system for years and often only able to see each other during scheduled visits. It’s a rough situation for any child. Families who are able to open their homes to sibling groups, especially those with older children, face a challenging situation, but can increase their rewards twofold, or in the Brasfield’s case threefold!

And action! For the Little Rock Family photo shoot, the Brasfields hammed it up at the Chenal 9 Movie Theater, where Kamar and Kimberly often take the kids for family movie nights.

Like many adoptive families, Kimberly and Kamar did not initially intend to adopt a sibling group and they planned to adopt a child under the age of three. But after being shown a photograph, they were drawn to the shining eyes and smiling faces of Kenzie, Kaylee and Kason. Call it coincidence or call it fate, the siblings entered foster care the same day as Kimberly’s last miscarriage, which also happened to be Kamron’s birthday. And just like that a new family was born.

Suddenly doubling the size of your family certainly is no easy task and most families will never experience the massive changes of growing from four to seven overnight. The Brasfields felt up to the challenge and were accustomed to being surrounded by children—Kimberly through teaching Kindergarten and Kamar through coaching basketball.

Still, they had to make countless adjustments. The family has learned their routine together, from the small stuff, like getting out of the house in the morning and budgeting for groceries, to the big stuff, like juggling half a dozen different schedules and imparting family beliefs. A larger vehicle was definitely a must-have . . . and just like that the minivan gained another reluctant convert. Humor aside, Kenzie, Kaylee, and Kason had to adjust to new expectations, a new family dynamic, a new school, and—perhaps most exciting—new older siblings.

While 18-year-old Kari is attending college at Southern Arkansas University, 16-year-old Kamron takes his new role as big brother in stride and hopes to be a positive influence on the little ones. His new siblings cheer him on during his basketball games and he makes sure to return the favor by being front-and-center at their activities and special moments. Kamar and Kimberly made a point to talk with him about the adoption and include him in the process. They also worked hard to keep his life stable during the adjustment. Kimberly credits their family with being instrumental in making this successful.

Eleven-year-old Kenzie enjoys drawing and painting. She is a big reader, sings in the school choir, and is exercising her on-screen talents as an anchor for her school news. She recently got her very own spotlight moment when she won Miss Teen Promise Princess.

Six-year old Kaylee is a master of the playground equipment in the park. Asking her what she likes best about her new family, she replies with a simple and very sincere, “they’re nice.” Along with her sister, Kaylee attends Girl Scouts, sings in her church choir, and cheers.

The youngest of the group, 5-year-old Kason prefers staying home and playing with his toys to joining clubs and activities like his sisters. Though, like most kids he loves a good trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Much to his delight, sometimes his parents let him take a toy with him when they go places. For a 5-year-old, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Kamar, Kimberly, Kari, Kamron, Kenzie, Kaylee and Kason look forward to their many years ahead to live, love, and grow together. For the Brasfield family, this is just the beginning of their happily ever after.