With their children growing older, Elizabeth City couple open their home to foster children - and find a surprise A Nest Filled With Love

ELIZABETH CITY

Two-year-old Jasani Norris runs through her adoptive family's living room with the manic energy of a healthy, well-loved child, squealing and giggling with each step. She greets Mom and Dad with bright eyes and a wide grin, anticipating the approving smiles and loving pats she receives in return for her enthusiastic appearance at their knees.

"Gum!" she proclaims. "I want some gum."

Her plea for gum is sort of impish, as though she knows there is such a treat, but might not receive it anyway. The adults seem mildly baffled as to her repetitive plea for gum since none seems to be handy.

"I don't have any gum," her mother, Brenda Norris, tells her.

Jasani moves on for a few minutes, running and playing, and then returns to her mother.

"I want some gum," she repeats.

Eventually it's discovered that her 17-year-old sister, Cassie, is chewing gum. The mystery is quickly solved and Brenda Norris asks Cassie to give her baby sister a small piece.

Across from Brenda Norris is her husband, Barry, sitting comfortably on a soft loveseat. Not in the family's cozy, well-appointed living room is their oldest son, 21-year-old Kirk. He is away attending university.

This was a family of four until a couple of years ago, when Jasani came into their lives. She is their adopted daughter and has been in the family since she was 2 days old, a foster child appointed to them by the courts.

Three years ago, Brenda and Barry Norris decided to become foster parents -- a decision that would change both their lives.

At 40, they saw that they would soon be empty nesters, yet they decided to open their home to children whose families needed some time to get their lives straightened out.

"We got into foster parenting to help parents out," Barry Norris said.

Norris says it was a calling. He said he believes that in his relationship with God, he and his wife were called to reach out and help children and their parents.

"We love children and we're passionate about kids," Brenda Norris said.

The Pasquotank County Department of Social Services told them about classes available to people who want to be foster parents.

The couple took those classes, which included information about adopting children. Once they were certified, they were ready to take on the youngsters. Neither of them, however, was prepared for the emotionally taxing, yet immensely gratifying, experience that would lead them to the adoption of a small child.

"She won our hearts over," Barry Norris said of Jasani.

Jasani was the couple's first of three foster children. The child was 2 days old when they received the call.

Barry Norris said he was "a little bit antsy." But once Jasani came into their home, the family began to bond.

Bond though they might, the Norrises understood at that time that this was not a permanent arrangement. Besides, they weren't considering adoption at the time.

They spent the next year and a half working with social services to reunite the child with her biological family. In the meantime, they took on two more children.

One child was just an overnight arrangement, but another was a 2-year-old girl who was with the Norris family for six months. So with Cassie, Kirk -- who was away at school -- and Jasani, the family began to grow.

The 2-year-old girl, however, had a little brother who had been adopted by a family in a nearby county. She would be going to live with them, and that would prove to be a heart-wrenching experience for not only the little girl, but also the Norris family.

"The day we handed her over, it was like giving up a child," Brenda said.

Although they knew it was the best thing for the little girl, the emotional trauma weighed heavy on the Norrises. So when the courts had determined that Jasani would not be returned to her biological family -- and that she would be put up for adoption -- the decision to keep her in the family was not entirely out of the question.

"The memory of that played into adopting," Brenda Norris said, referring to the departure of the 2-year-old girl.

Barry Norris said they knew one family in Michigan, their home state, that wanted to adopt Jasani, but the plans weren't working out. Social services told the Norris family that it wasn't likely that she would be sent out of state when there were so many eligible families in North Carolina.

And one of those eligible families was Barry, Brenda, Cassie and Kirk Norris.

"We just looked at each other, said that this is God's plan," Barry recalls.

The couple submitted the court petition to adopt Jasani. On Dec. 8, 2008, the decision was made that they would adopt her, and last month the adoption was made official. Jasani is now legally -- and lovingly -- a member of the Norris family.

There was one hurdle to overcome, however. A hurdle that Barry and Brenda Norris had no problem with, but one that extended-family members had to get past. It is also an issue that the couple anticipate dealing with in the future -- race.

Jasani is black, and her parents and siblings are white.

"My family was not real keen on the idea in the beginning," Brenda said. But even they would eventually look past the color of the child's skin, knowing that love is what really matters here.

Brenda Norris said that the couple understand that as Jasani grows older, they will have to explain things more clearly to her. But in the meantime, she is also confident that love and a secure household can overcome questions of race.

"Our hope and desire is that she has a stable and loving family, and that nothing is missing," Brenda said.

So love is what matters in the Norris household, and Barry and Brenda Norris clearly have enough of that to spare. The couple are still open and ready to foster children in need, and although her husband offers up a hesitant chuckle at the thought of it, Brenda Norris says that another adoption would not be out of the question, under the right circumstances.

Both husband and wife say that there is a great need for foster and adoptive parents. They say that it can be an emotionally trying experience, but if someone has enough love to spare, then it's all a worthwhile journey.

"She is our child," Brenda Norris said. "We love her like our own (biological) child. No less than our own children."