HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio —

For Shannon Hughes and Jenn Arens, becoming parents to their baby boy, Ray, meant embracing a path that looks different from many families.

"We’re parents," Arens said. "It looks a little different than a lot of people's journeys, but in so many ways, it’s the same." Advertisement

The couple began fostering in 2022 and have since cared for three children. After a year of fostering Ray, they adopted him.

"Loving kids that aren’t biologically part of your family isn’t as much of a leap," Hughes said. "It feels easy to understand that love crosses all those different boundaries."

"We wanted to love a kid, and that was going to be different in our lives no matter what," Hughes said. Fostering has also deepened their ties to the community. "To meet these little one

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