CALIFORNIA, USA — It takes a big heart to open your home to a child, and Pam and Gary Willis opened theirs to seven!
It all started on Facebook.
Pam, 50, was scrolling through her feed back in 2019, when she came across an article about seven siblings who needed a home. They'd been in foster care for more than a year after losing both parents in a terrible car crash.
“I can’t explain it — I just knew I was supposed to be their mom,” Pam, 50, told TODAY Parents.
Pam tagged her husband, Gary Willis, 53, in the post, and that was all it took.
“I thought Gary was going to tell me I was wacko — we were getting ready to retire,” Pam admitted. But Gary was on the same page.
"The couple, who share five adult children and live in Menifee, California, had been fostering kids for years, but they had never discussed adoption," according to TODAY.
“It was what God wanted us to do,” Pam said.
They reached out to the number from the article.
“We were told they’d already received thousands of calls,” Pam said.
Two months later, they were matched with Adelino, 15, Ruby, 13, Aleecia, 9, Anthony, 8, Aubriella, 7, Leo, 5, and Xander, 4.
But, it was not an easy journey.
Pam and Gary learned the kids had dealt with some trauma.
"Their late parents struggled with addiction and the family often lived in homeless encampments. Food was scarce," per TODAY.
Despite the challenges, Pam and Gary aren't going anywhere.
Last August, they adopted the seven siblings, and their biological children, Matthew, 32, Andrew, 30, Alexa, 27, Sophia, 23, and Sam, 20, attended the ceremony.
“It was awesome,” Pam said. “We brought a big TV screen out to the park so everybody could watch and cheer and be safe during COVID. There was so much love.”
The Willis' story has since made national headlines.
The entire family appeared on Red Table Talk's Mother's Day Special.
Actor Kristen Bell also shared their story on her Instagram page, after Pam posted a video called “Our life in 15 seconds!”
The clip starts with Pam and Gary meeting as teens and ends with the adoption.
“They’ve given us a second chance at parenting, we’ve given them a second Mom and Dad,” Pam wrote. “They are our Second Chance 7.”
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