Mother’s Day is approaching, but often adoptive and foster mothers are overlooked during the holiday.

For one group of children, celebrating Mother’s Day is most assuredly on their to-do list.

On average, children in foster care wait two years to be adopted. Right now, there are more than 100,000 children nationwide in foster care waiting for a lifelong family.

Bethany Christian Services of Western Pennsylvania works to bring families together and strengthen the bonds between parent and child.

“Our goal is for every child to have a strong, loving family,” said Linda Prevost, a post-adoption social worker.

Based in Wexford, Bethany provides training and classes in Cranberry Township and Grove City, as well as other locations. It is part of a global nonprofit organization that provides adoption, foster care and pregnancy counseling.

One family who benefited from Bethany’s services was the family of Michael and Michelle Fulk of Gibsonia.

“My husband, Michael, and I married six years ago knowing we wanted to adopt,” Michelle said.

The Fulks’ adoption journey began at Bethany Christian Services in Indianapolis, where they were trained as foster parents.

The training the Fulks received was specifically in therapeutic foster care, more in depth than the typical first aid and parenting courses foster parents usually receive.

“They taught us what severe abuse and neglect looks like and how not to be afraid of it and most importantly not to be shocked by it,” said Fulk.

Talitha Fulk (Tali), 12, is one of the lucky ones able to celebrate Mother’s Day in her own home with parents who are teaching her what it means to love and be loved.

“Our Tali and her birth siblings are widely known as one of the most severe abuse cases ever in Western Pennsylvania. Her trauma continued as a foster child through multiple troubling placements,” said Fulk.

Tali floated through the system for more than a year before the Fulks connected with her nearly three years ago.

During that time, she was at an evaluation in Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic when the children’s ward was evacuated because of a shooting.

“I remember watching it on TV through tears, not knowing that six months later one of those terrorized children would be calling me Mom,” said Fulk.

“By the time she came to us six months later, we were told by many professionals she would never be, well, never be ‘normal,’” she said.

“Because of the love of Christ and using the extensive specialized training we got from Bethany, we were able to do what no family, no school and no social service was able to do in stabilizing and reaching a very broken child,” she explained.

Today, Talitha runs 5Ks to raise money for charities, takes ballet, plays piano and has accomplished about four academic years of schooling over the past two years.

“You couldn’t pick her out of a crowd of happy children,” said Fulk. “We named her Talitha, after Jiarus’ daughter from the Bible, the little girl Jesus raised from the dead because she is very much a new person.”

She said the name change was a decision made as a family.

The Fulks give credit to their church that embraced not only their decision to adopt, but Tali as well.

“Tali wasn’t just adopted into our family, she was grafted into Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church,” she said.

The Fulk family is anticipating Mother’s Day this year but have a different focus because of their parenting journey.

“We try to honor all of the mothers that we know ... family, friends and even spiritual mothers because it is often these ‘other’ mothers who speak to us when our moms can’t,” Michelle explained.

“We are eagerly waiting to see if, like the rest of the holidays since the adoption last summer, Mother’s Day is wonderful this year,” Michelle said.

“We look forward to working with Bethany in the future with the hope of a sister for Talitha,” she added.

“Bethany Christian Services is now offering post-adoption services through the Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN). Post-adoption services are available free for families who need support through the uphill climb and bumps of that journey,” said Maureen J. Ticich, the post-adoption supervisor at Bethany.

Ticich is also an adoptive mother of seven children, so she personally understands the journey.

“Any adoptive family, whether they have adopted internationally, domestically or through the state foster care system, is eligible for these services,” she added.

“For more information on our groups, foster care, adoption, post-adoption services or upcoming events, please contact our office at 724-940-2900,” said Prevost.