When 29-year-old Barry Farmer decided that he wanted to be a foster parent eight years ago, he says he didn't expect to end up as an adoptive father to three young boys, WRIC reports.
Suggested Reading
“When someone calls you dad, you’re like, ‘Who, me?’ I just like taking care of children,” Farmer told the news station.
However, Farmer did believe that everyone deserves a family, and that being family doesn't mean you have to look alike.
Still, he acknowledges that he and his boys—14-year-old Darrell, 12-year-old Xavier and 6-year-old Jeremiah—did get a few stares when they went out together. Still, he says, they are just a typical family.
“In this day in time when it comes to family, and seeing color or seeing unity and belonging, and that’s what I was hoping to accomplish with my family anyway,” Farmer explained. “When I have them now, I can’t imagine them anywhere else, and it’s a typical family. We may not look alike, but it’s a typical family. I just want them to be someone that I can be proud of and they can be proud of, and that’s all it takes.”
And the boys say they see it that way, too. Farmer's oldest child, Darrell, recalls seven years ago when his dad asked him a very important question.
“Dad was like, ‘Can I be your dad forever?’ And I was like, ‘You already are,’” Darrell told the news station. "And that is how I came to stay here. I was in this dark spot at first and then he just comes in the picture. And everything’s all right.”
According to the news station, there are nearly 800 children in Virginia who need homes, and more foster and adoptive parents are needed. For those seeking more information, call 1-800-DO-ADOPT.
Read more at WRIC.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.