31 Jan 2023 The Meeks say ‘yes’ to love

By Rita Halter Thomas

She said yes. He said yes. Then, they both said yes.

David and Naomi Meeks said yes when they married on Valentine’s Day 2009. They said yes when they opened their hearts as foster parents. They said yes again when they adopted not just one, but two sibling groups, adding eight children to their family. The Meeks family grew one “yes” at a time.

After David moved back to Conway in 2008, his search for a church led him to Bible Baptist Church. “My first night, I got there early and met the pastor,” he said. The pastor learned David graduated from a Bible college and invited him to the front. From the stage, a young woman caught his eye. “I looked around, and three rows back, there she was, smiling.”

The young woman was the pastor’s daughter, Naomi. When David said yes to an invitation to a group dinner after service, their love story began. “We met in May, were engaged by August, and married by February,” Naomi said. The couple tried to start a family, but after several painful losses, David’s sister told them of a young mother looking for a family to adopt her baby. “We went to Florida. She chose us, but about a month before the baby was born, she decided to keep the baby,” Naomi said. “That was hard.”

However, through that process, the couple learned crossing state lines to adopt is more complicated, so they began looking in Arkansas. That’s when they connected with The CALL, a nonprofit working with local churches and the Division of Children and Family Services. “We went into that meeting wanting to adopt only, but left wanting to foster sibling groups … My heart broke at the thought of kids coming into care and being separated from their siblings on the night of one of their biggest traumas,” Naomi said.

So, the Meeks said yes in 2014 and received J.D., Ben and Zach, ages 3, 2 and 14 months respectively. The boys were their first placement, and adoption was possible. The primary goal of foster care is the reunification of the family, but when that’s not possible, and children cannot return home safely, adoption becomes possible. However, nothing’s guaranteed. Despite the roller coaster of emotional unknowns, the Meeks opened their hearts and home to the boys, knowing at least one thing. They could love and make a difference in the lives of these children, no matter what.

Just over a year later, after navigating the long adoption process, a judge said yes in 2015, and the two became five. Though they successfully adopted, the Meeks’ home remained open to fostering. They welcomed 26 more placements, but when each child left the home, it became a trigger for the boys. “They were having a really hard time. We would explain, and walk them through it multiple times, but they still really struggled with kids leaving our home. So, we stopped fostering and reopened as an adoptive home,” Naomi said.

Meanwhile, the eldest, J.D., began praying for two sisters and made it known he wanted to remain the oldest. While discussing their decision with the caseworker, Naomi jokingly said they had room for five. And that was exactly the size of a sibling group in need, all within the desired age range with two girls. Plus, David and Naomi recognized them from their church bus ministry. They knew the children, and the children remembered them. Esther, Sarah, Matthew, Jacob and Noah entered their home in late 2017.

The second sibling group fit like a glove, and in 2018, a judge said yes again, and the Meeks became a family of 10, with “eight under 8.” And God said yes to J.D.’s prayers. He gained two sisters and remained the oldest by 10 days. In fact, each of the first set of siblings is slightly older than each of the second set, giving them a perfect “birth order” fit. Today, J.D. and Esther are 11, Ben and Sarah are 10, Zach and Matthew are 9, Jacob is 8 and Noah is 6. 

“It’s pretty awesome and all the kids get along … You know, we have moments when they fight like siblings do. Sometimes it drives me crazy, but sometimes it makes me a little bit happy knowing they act like the siblings they are,” Naomi said, smiling.

Homeschooling? Not for this Momma. They’re all in public school. “We have four in middle school and four in elementary, but for two years straight, we had seven in elementary,” Naomi said. “We had seven class parties, seven teacher conferences, seven of this and seven of that. I was everywhere,” she said.

The Meeks know adopting sibling groups is not for everyone but offer encouragement. “You don’t have to take in a sibling group to make a difference. If you foster one child, or two, or whatever … it makes a difference. It’s not just those who adopt multiples. Not everyone’s as crazy as we are,” said Naomi, laughing.

With a full house, one might expect the Meeks to say no to another child, saving all their love for their eight. However, there was one heart’s desire they had not experienced: to bring a baby home from the hospital. But God remembered. Their latest foster placement? A newborn they brought home from the hospital. Naomi had stopped praying for that, but God remembered and said yes.