In Gardena, California, the Peters family is on a blossoming journey that they are encouraging others to embark on this Mother's Day.
For four years, Thomas Peters and his wife, Sharis, were foster parents to siblings Miles, Jasmine and Jade. And, in 2014, the couple adopted the siblings.
"We got the opportunity to be their forever family and be their forever parents, which is great," Sharis Peters told ABC News. "These are my kids. There's no two ways about it, these are my kids. They were meant to be my kids."
Sharis Peters, a former therapist who worked with children, and her husband, a Little League coach, had always considered being foster parents, she said, even before they'd met each other.
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"These kids changed my life in ways I couldn't imagine. I didn't know that I could love somebody so much. I didn't know that I could feel such love from somebody. ... I'm honored that they love me. I'm honored that I was given this opportunity," she said.
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"You don't have to be perfect to be a foster parent. You don't have to be perfect to be an adoptive parent. You don't have to be rich. You don't have to own your own home. You don't have to be perfect," she said. "You just have to be able to love somebody and accept their love. That's all you really need to do."
Damn.