Love creates faithful, happy family in many ways

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The Sullivan family, from left, John, Benny, Samantha and Susie enjoy time together in their home.

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On a Monday night, Jan., 11-year-old Samantha Sullivan proudly wore a pink chiffon dress with a gray, sparkling sweater and white sandals she had received as a Christmas gift. She was happy and it showed. She could not stop smiling inside the Corpus Christi home she shares with her brother Benny, 15, and her new parents, John and Susie Sullivan.

The Sullivans adopted the two siblings–who had been in foster care for several years–in November and the four of them became a permanent family.

"I liked their personalities. They were fun and they like learning with us," Samantha said of her new parents.

One of their first weekend outings after they met was to a museum where they saw a Samurai exhibit. Samantha liked wearing the headphones to learn about the Japanese warriors from ancient times. But her brother enjoyed learning all about the Samurai from John Sullivan, 51, who teaches martial arts in addition to being a chiropractor and a nutritionist.

"Who needs headphones when you have John?" Benny said with a laugh.

A sense of humor can come in handy when parents and children come together as an adoptive family, said Dr. Ray Guarendi, a clinical psychologist and father of 10 adopted children of all races, ranging in age from 15 to 27. He has written numerous books on parenting, and hosts a weekly television show on EWTN Global Catholic Television called, "Living Right with Dr. Ray."

"Child rearing is too important to be taken seriously–you must be able to keep a sense of humor," said Guarendi, who was in Corpus Christi to speak in January at the annual Ministry Conference, where the theme was "The Family Fully Alive."

He acknowledges some difficult times with his own children, who came from various challenging home environments. Guarendi advised any would-be adoptive parent that the journey "can be bumpy and long."

But he calls the Catholic Church "sky-high on adoption" for faithful, practicing Catholics. Guarendi mentioned two passages from the Bible's new testament to drive the point home. One from the Book of James, "to care for orphans and widows" and another from the Book of Mark, which says "whoever receives one child like this in my name, receives me..."

Susie Sullivan said it was the Holy Spirit who had always told her to consider adoption. She had volunteered with CASA of the Coastal Bend, whose mission is "to speak up for and find permanent homes for foster children in crisis…"

"I even called about being a foster parent while I was still single, but I wasn't quite ready, yet," she said.

The more Susie Sullivan learned about her Catholic faith and her vocation the more she wanted to adopt older children. And they had the room in their house, she said. She knew the first time she saw Benny and Samantha they were meant to be her children.

The family attends several churches in Corpus Christi, including Most Precious Blood, St. John the Baptist and the Corpus Christi Cathedral. Benny and Samantha attend St. John Paul II High School and Bishop Garriga Middle School, respectively.

Susie Sullivan credits many clergy in the city with influencing her Catholic faith, but the most important people who did so were her parents, Trinidad and Gloria Infante, who live in Corpus Christi.

"Her family has been such a blessing," John Sullivan said.

He also has a 27-year-old son, Ron, who lives in San Antonio and is a former Marine.
The clan, which also includes Susie Sullivan's sister and her family, turned out for a Mass a few days before Christmas at Most Precious Blood, where Benny and Samantha were baptized, received their first communion and were confirmed.

The children had a lot of questions about their new faith, so they became involved with two Catholic youth groups; Life Teen for Benny and Edge for Samantha.

"Our kids have the biggest hearts and they have been through a lot," their dad said.
John and Susie Sullivan adopted their children through the non-profit Spaulding for Children adoption agency, which has offices in Corpus Christi, McAllen and Houston. The couple first went to Spaulding in January 2013 to begin their long journey. The adoption of Benny and Samantha became final in November 2014.

"We went through tests–it was an arduous process," John Sullivan said.
They took classes in parenting and in self-defense; had physical exams; and a home study. Some of the classes had expired and had to be taken again because the process took so long, Susie Sullivan said.

There were no substantial fees involved, other than traveling to McAllen for training and a fee for fingerprinting, they said.

After the couple was approved, they saw Samantha and Benny's photo in a book, and traveled to where the children were living to spend Memorial Day weekend 2014 with them. The kids moved in permanently in June.

"It was definitely worth it," the Sullivans said about the process.