Seeing people's face when you tell them good news are moments worth watching. A North Carolina couple has left their family and friends surprised when they shared the news that they were adopting four siblings.
"I didn't want to do the typical, 'Hey guys, we're adopting' Facebook announcement," 31-year-old Tammy Waltz said. "I wanted something I could always remember, and I wanted something that my kids remembered."
She and her husband, Drew Waltz, fell in love with a group of siblings after hosting them for the Christmas holiday and for five weeks over the summer.
"We decided in March that we were going to adopt them, and then told the kids when they came back for another hosting visit this past summer," said Tammy. She said the enormity of adopting four kids didn't really deter her or Drew. "Of course we initially had some hesitation, but once we met them we knew they were our children. Also, we kind of like the craziness!"
Tammy and Drew always knew they wanted to adopt even before they became a couple. They never imagined they would be adopting four children at once, but after meeting these siblings, they couldn't resist.
"They are so, so sweet. They're loving, extremely affectionate," Tammy said about the siblings. "They have their moments, but it doesn't deter us. They are awesome kids."
The siblings, of three boys ages 8, 9 and 11 and their 13-year-old older sister are from Eastern Europe and don't speak English. Instead the family uses apps to help communicate, but sign language which has created some funny times in the household.
"The first time they left after Christmas, they cried at the airport, but after the summer, it was really like they were leaving their mom and dad when they said goodbye to us," she explained. "Once they felt they belonged here, they started to invest. They started to help with the dishes and take out the trash. They became so affectionate toward us."
That's what finalized their decision.
The couple met them through Open Hearts and Homes for Children.
"We are thrilled that our program brought together this special family and these orphaned children and so excited for the impending adoption that will keep these children together," a spokeswoman from Opens Hearts and Homes wrote to ABC News in an email.
Starting in March, Tammy, who is a worship director at a ministry, started to record the reactions of her loved ones when they told them the exciting news.
Have you seen this announcement video yet? It went viral in our adoption community, and we can understand why. #adoptionrocks
Posted by Lifesong for Orphans on Friday, September 8, 2017
Once they finished the video, they shared it with the children.
"They were excited," Tammy recalled. "They had been asking us for quite a bit if we were going to do it, if they were going to stay with us forever."
Michelle Ziner, a friend of the couple and the North and South Carolina coordinator for Open Hearts and Homes for Children, appeared in the adoption announcement as well.
"You can tell there was a different relationship with everyone in that video," Ziner told ABC News. "I was thrilled because I saw them in action during our hosting and for a couple who had not parented before, they exhibited the most caring, gentle and kind yet firm parenting with the kids."
"When they came and were in the home, they operated like a [biological] family," she said. "I did not for a minute worry that they could not do it."
The family is hoping the adoption will be finalized in early 2018.
"Kids are worth the work," she said. "You are giving life to someone."
