It was the empty nest syndrome at first. I missed having kids around the house.

She was nine when she came in, and we had her several months. Her home life was not the best. She was expected to be the mom - we had to teach her how to be a kid. She loved baking cookies with me.

I really wanted her to stay.

The mom still tells us how he's doing and gives us updates. That was a very rewarding experience for us.

You don't do it for the money. You figure it's less than 11 cents an hour. You do it to help the kids.

You can always see a child in school who has poor self-esteem. All you have to do is say 'Hi' and be friendly and you'll see that child go out of their way to walk by you the next day.