Every single child deserves a family to call their own.

Too many kids, especially those with disabilities, are waiting for a home, forgotten in the foster care system.

But for one Wyoming couple, they are working to make sure that not only do they make a home for special needs children, but that they raise awareness about adoption.

For Sharon Pinkerton, her lesson in family began with her parents, who helped take care of special needs children by running a group home. So she said she understood not only how much love these children could add to a home, but how much need there was for people to step up and help give them a family of their own. 

In 2009, Shannon and her husband, Troy, began fostering Joey, a 10-year-old with Down syndrome. The couple had four biological children, all of whom wanted Joey to join their family permanently.

[“My son, Cody,] begged us to adopt him,” she said.

I’ve always had a heart for these kids.”

And from that first adoption, their family kept growing. Now, the Pinkertons have not only Joey, who is now 23, but five other adopted sons, all with Down syndrome: Devlin, 18, Julian, 20, Cameron, 23, Anthony, 25 and Tracee, 28.

The past 15 years of their lives have been full of love, joy and noise  – there’s never a dull moment, Shannon said.

The Pinkerton family and some of their children. Photo courtesy of the Pinkertons

The boys spend their time riding horses and helping raise chickens on the family’s 40 acres of land. 

“They are happy about being here because they don’t live a boring life,” says Troy, a coal miner. “They are either camping or going to Disneyland or riding horses. If they were maybe in a facility, they’d live day by day and wouldn’t get to do what so-called normal people get to do. But they are definitely on the go, these kids.”

Their whole purpose is to make sure the boys have a full and happy life.

“I want the boys to have life experiences they didn’t have [in foster care],” Shannon said. ”If you get to know them, you just fall in love with them. They don’t judge anybody on anything. They are so kind.”

The family also share the boys’ adventures on social media, something all of them enjoy.

“(Life is) very busy,” Troy said. “[The boys] make life exciting and bring a lot of joy.”

We just want to help them and give them a place to call their home.”

They hope that by showing how amazing the boys are, will highlight the issues with the foster care system.

“The foster care system is broken — especially for kids with special needs. They get placed anywhere, with people who aren’t qualified,” Shannon said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re doing this.”

@pinkertonboysadventures @People Magazine photo shoot #@RSVLTS @HEYDUDE #inclusion #downsyndrome #dwarfism #adoptfromfostercare #adoption #wyoming #famous #photoshoot #models #family #earlymorning #bigfamily #brothers #wyoming #bekind #endtherword ♬ original sound – Shannon Barrett Pinkerton

There is a desperate need for qualified families who are willing to open their homes to special needs children, she said. “Once we adopted Joey, the adoption agency, the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network, sent us a couple of older kids. And we found that everybody wanted a baby, nobody wanted the older kids – they just sat in the foster care system. So that’s why we take older kids.” 

Shannon said she and her husband feel blessed with their unconventional family. 

“I think every kid deserves a home,” she said. “I would love every kid to have a home and not be bounced around the foster care system, whether they’re a special needs kid, or one that doesn’t have special needs behaviors. I just think there’s a family for every kid.”

Watch below to see the family discuss adoption and their lives.

Sources: Today | People | Cowboy State Daily