Meet the English family

In this blog post, we wanted to let the English family share their story about fostering and adopting during a global pandemic and how their Cleveland Angels Love Box group made a world of difference when they were in need of a community to support them. 

Emily and Justin English with their two adopted daughters, Liana and Hailo.

Emily English:
​"We have always been blessed to have a tight knit community in both our church and our small town. We had heard of the Cleveland Angels and thought they sounded like an amazing group, but we didn't want to take an opportunity away from a foster family who might not have had the community that we had. About a year and a half after we adopted our first daughter, Hailo, we decided to take in another foster placement. We picked up Liana from the hospital when she was two days old. After she had been exhibiting some concerning symptoms, we took her to the emergency room at two weeks old to find that she had a congenital heart defect and would need open heart surgery.

​Her surgery took place at the end of January and she came home from the hospital at the beginning of February. In just a matter of days, Covid-19 became a major headline in America and just a few weeks later, everything shut down. With the shut down came the loss of our community. Since Liana was just weeks out of surgery, we had to keep her home and safe. An energetic three year old and a medically fragile infant made for a long and stressful spring. Fortunately, that was exactly the time we were matched with our Love Box group.

Our incredible group swooped in and filled a need at the perfect time. They did our grocery shopping, played socially-distant soccer with our active preschooler, and put together crafts and activities to do with her since we couldn't go anywhere. Throughout the week we would receive texts, phone calls, and cards of prayers and encouragement. They became the community we never knew we needed. Although we finalized Liana's adoption in September, just two days before her first birthday, they still continue to have a friendship with us that we hope will last for many years!"