“I knew right away that I wanted her to be mine.”
Myra and Eugene Lilly first met Chelsea at church. Myra took an immediate interest in the little girl and requested to take her home with her occasionally. Permission was granted. But it was a bittersweet feeling. As much as they would have liked to keep Chelsea forever, they couldn’t. Although Chelsea needed a forever family, Myra and Eugene weren’t her adoptive parents. They weren’t even her foster parents. But Myra stated, “I knew right away that I wanted her to be mine”.
“We did it for her.”
Myra and Eugene decided that visits were not enough. They wanted Chelsea to live with them. They wanted to be her parents. So, they enlisted the help of Necco Home Resource Coordinator Becky Adams so they could start the process of fostering right away. Becky was able to navigate the Lilly’s through all the steps of becoming foster parents. Myra and Eugene were determined to make Chelsea their own, stating “We were doing it for her.” On June 3, 2013, Chelsea, Myra, and Eugene's dream came true. Chelsea was adopted into her forever family with the Lilly's!
“Call Necco!”
Three years later, the Logan County couple has opened their home to two other little girls, Savannah (8) and Madeline (6). These recent adoptions have completed their family and the couple has truly found their calling. Myra jokes that when Chelsea sees a child in need, she immediately tells her mom and dad to “Call Necco!" Myra shared that Necco is a topic that Chelsea is very passionate about. She wants every needy child to be rescued by Necco, as she was.
“How Does Necco Build Families?”
Recently, ten-year-old Chelsea was tasked with choosing a subject for her social studies project. Chelsea thought of her mother, father and two sisters who love her. She thought about her new life and the happiness she gained when she finally became a Lilly. That was all she needed. She and her mother decided that her project would be titled “How Does Necco Build Families?” Chelsea went to the Necco of Logan office and interviewed the staff there. She asked them what they liked about the job that they do. Chelsea then created a colorful display board for her project that depicted all the wonderful ways that Necco Builds Families. Quite possibly the most significant piece of the presentation was how Necco built her own family. In Chelsea’s words, “I love Necco and I like how they saved me and got me into my mom’s home. Necco helps people to get a new home and mommies and daddies to adopt them.”
Licensing Specialist Becky Adams recalls the time when Myra and Eugene went through foster parent classes so they could foster young Chelsea. “Chelsea was a perfect match for them. She flourished in their home; it was like a whole different child. We could all see the changes in her. We were thrilled.”