Jamie Miller and her husband are foster parents who have worked closely with the clinic for three years. Since then, they have fostered 14 children. Most of their placements have been two or more children at a time.

“Jamie has the patience, flexibility and resilience that are crucial in her role as a foster parent,” said Elizabeth Popeck, a nurse practitioner in the Cook Children's Fostering Health program. “Her unwavering commitment for each child and their family is always astounding. Jamie has the capability to find joy and happiness in the care she provides these children every day even if it’s a small achievement for the child which makes her an exceptional foster parent.”

In celebration of National Foster Care Month, we spoke with Jamie about her experiences as a foster parent. Read her interview below!

What inspired you to become a foster parent?
We felt called to do this as a family ministry. God kept putting families in our path that had or were currently fostering.  We felt the need to help these children who had experienced trauma.  We believe that we could offer a loving and safe place to call home.

My husband and I truly believe that were called to stand in the “gap” and love children during the healing process. Through that belief system, that means that we are fully “rooting and reassuring” the biological parents as they work through their services. We send encouraging notes, pictures, text messages and sometimes even phone calls to show our support. We also believe that clothing and food should never be a hardship when families are reunited. It is hard enough finding a new rhythm and getting to know each other all over again. So, we send an abundance of clothing, diapers, and food home with each child that leaves our home.  If the parent doesn’t have our contact information, we share it with them to offer help, advice or whatever they might need. We want reunification to be as successful as possible!

What are some of the most rewarding moments you’ve had as a foster parent?
There are too many to count! Seeing children reunite with their family.  Being invited into the family of one of the children, as an actual family. Being able to help guide them to care for their child and the child being so supported by all involved. Seeing a child’s physical and mental well-being change in a nurturing environment. The way that it has impacted our family for the better and taught our biological son lessons in empathy and compassion that he wouldn’t have had otherwise. 

Can you tell us about your experience working with the Cook Children’s Fostering Health Program?
It has been wonderful! The Cook Children’s team is extremely knowledgeable and incredibly supportive of our family and so many others that we know. If any child needs a specialist, they make the appropriate referrals in a timely manner and continue to offer other services to benefit the foster families.

What message would you like to share with the community about the importance of fostering?
It’s hard. All of it is hard. However, we can all be a part of the solution in helping these families and especially these children. You can provide a meal to a foster family when they receive a new child into their home. You can donate gently used clothing to a foster closet.  You can become a babysitter or respite care provider.  There are lots of ways to love from afar, and even more ways to love from your home. It truly is the most rewarding and humbling job you will ever do!

Children entering the foster care system often have specialized health care needs. Through Cook Children's Fostering Health program, these children receive timely and thorough medical care. Learn more about the program here.

After trying to get pregnant for more than three years, the couple decided to seek help through a fertility specialist. But before doing so, Kriss was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and hypertension. The radiation pill Kriss needed for her treatment meant she would have to put the fertility specialist on hold.

“We started praying that wherever our child was that God put his arms around them and protect them until they could come home,” Kriss said.

Little did the couple know their prayers were waiting to be answered at Cook Children’s.

From the time she was 5 years old, Kriss dreamed of becoming a mom. She was devastated to learn that she was diagnosed with a severe polycystic ovarian syndrome as an early teen. Doctors told her then that she would have difficulty trying to conceive a child.

Kriss married Riley in March 1998. By Christmas 2003, the couple had tried Clomid and injectable fertility drugs but every attempt to have a baby ended with disappointment. Shortly after the holidays and much reflection, the couple decided to adopt.

In May 2004, Kriss and Riley made the decision of their lifetime … at least up to that point.

“During that week a friend of mine approached us and asked us to call a local fostering and adoption agency who handles children from child protective services,” Kriss said. “We thought about it and decided what do we have to lose. These are children who really need homes.”

That was the summer the Stewarts' prayer was answered with a phone call from CPS.

They were told a 5-day-old baby boy had been tossed from a second story apartment window and landed between two air conditioners and a railroad tie on the grass. The agency told Kriss and Riley the baby was fine and being cared for at Cook Children’s.

“When we first arrived at the medical center for our little boy after his fall they treated us so kindly,” Kriss said. “We were immediately seen as mom and dad to this baby. They helped me learn how to care for him since he had a seizure and brain bleed. I was allowed to go back for his CT scans and they allowed me to care for him immediately. When I left Cook Children’s I felt completely comfortable because of the time and teaching that was given. I still remember the neurology doctors sitting with me and going over the care and meds he would need.”

But because of all the legal ramifications involved with the child’s injury, he wouldn’t be legally available for adoption yet. Despite all of this, the couple decided to bring the little boy into their home.

“That in itself was a leap of faith and it was a scary, uncertain time,” Kriss said. “When I got home from work Riley was shouting for me to come to the living room because the story of our little boy was in the news. It was then they showed a picture of his sister.”

Her first reaction was, “It’s a shame we couldn’t have her too.”

Those words proved to be prophetic because the next day when Riley and Kriss showed up to sign paperwork for the boy they found out the state wasn’t going to split the siblings up. The couple was shocked. They took a moment to think about everything that was happening.

After years of trying to have a baby, they were now faced with the reality of taking home two children. They talked and prayed before deciding that their choice was an obvious one.

“What a blessing,” Kriss said. “That night we got up to go to Cook Children’s and see our son and hold him for the first time. It was the most emotional moment because it seemed so unreal. For him sustaining such a horrible fall, he had no bruising and no broken bones. He was perfect. It was as if God had cupped him in his hands and gently lowered him to the ground.”

They took their new boy, Brady, home first and then two weeks later they got to bring home Britney, who was nearly 3 years old.

Kriss and Riley fostered the two children for a total of 10 months before they could finalize their adoption. They became a “forever family” on Aug. 29, 2005.

And while this story is amazing enough at this point, there were more surprises awaiting the Stewart family.

Following the adoption of Brady and Britney, the Stewarts received a letter in the mail telling them that the children’s biological parents were pregnant and the baby was due in two months. They were asked if they would be interested in raising the baby with the other two kids. Because of a felony charge (injury to a child), the birth parents weren’t able to keep the child.

“When I first found out, I couldn’t help but cry,” Kriss said.

After much discussion, Kriss and Riley made the decision to adopt the third child. After working with CPS over the next two months, the family brought Benjamin into their family at only 30 hours old.

But the couple's story wasn't over. They  still had one more miracle awaiting them. Well, actually two more because in 2012 Kriss learned she was pregnant with twins. Barrett and Brennen Stewart were born on May 22, 2013.

Cook Children’s has helped with everything from Ben’s broken hand to taking Britney to Carla Morton, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, to determine her age equivalency for her delays, caused by physical abuse from her biological family. Dr. Morton has asked to continue to monitor Britney until she turns 18 to help get her services into adulthood.

“Cook Children’s has been super helpful in navigating our daughter’s long term brain injury. We are fortunate to live so close to the hospital. They have been with us every step of the way,” Kriss said. “We’ve been married 21 years. We are so busy living our lives, but sometimes when we stop and reflect on everything, we just go, ‘wow!’ We have been able to make sure our kids have had their needs taken care of and Cook Children’s has helped us meet those needs. I’m just so humbled to get to be the ones to raise these kids. All of them. Especially when I think about where they would be if we didn’t take them, especially with all of their needs.”