In 2010, we already had a large family with eight children. We were happy, and we were busy. But for some reason, we felt like something was missing, and we decided to become foster parents. In August 2010 we received our first placement, a beautiful little girl named Yaretzie. And that was just the beginning of our adventures. A month later, we agreed to bring Yaretzie’s teenage mother Aura into our home. 

Then as we got to know Aura’s four siblings, an opportunity arose to add them to our family as well. As Aura and Yaretzie were transitioning out to a place of their own, we adopted Yarima, Jen, Natalie, and Dennis in 2011. Then, in 2014, when an opportunity came up to keep another sibling group together, we adopted Luis, Selena, Christian, Vanessa, and Alex. After we were sure we were finished, in 2019 we found…ANOTHER group of five children, and we added Gloria, Esveidi, Troy, Quinn, and Joanna!

And you know what? Now we can’t imagine life without all 23 of our children! As we have enjoyed the rich experience of combining two unique families, we have come to call ourselves…The Swirly Cone Family.

As our oldest children are venturing out on their own, we decided to create a weekly newsletter that would keep them updated on the latest adventures of our family, as well as providing an update to our adopted children's biological families as well.