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ROCHESTER — Kristi and Donald Penza wanted a bigger family. Well, certainly their daughters did. "One daughter," — the couple has two biological daughters, ages 15 and 13 — "would always ask me to have a baby," Kristi said.

"So I said, 'Well, what if we adopted a baby or not?'" Then the couple asked their daughters, what if they became foster parents instead? "They were very on board for the fostering," said Donald. "It was a more difficult transition when we start talking about the adoption thing, because then you're talking about really changing the family dynamic. So there was an adjustment period, for sure.



" On Monday, June 24, 2024, the Penzas made it official, adopting two boys — ages 9 and 1-1/2 years — permanently adding the half-siblings to their growing family. ADVERTISEMENT Kristi is pregnant again, with a baby due in October, meaning their family will go from two to four to five children in a matter of months. But adding the boys — the Penzas asked not to include their names — has been a process that started when the couple signed up to become foster parents in January 2022.

That led to months of paperwork, home visits and training before the Penzas were certified as foster parents in November 2022. The two boys finally came to them last spring, in 2023. The Penzas are not alone in adopting a sibling group.

Zach and Jarred Mattison are fostering five siblings, four of whom they plan to adopt, while the eldest of the group will turn 18 before an adopt.

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