HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — Imagine going from a family of two - to a family of seven. That was the happy reality for Matthew and Keith Galantowicz when, after years of waiting, they were matched with five siblings who needed a family.
"It was just a dream come true," said Matthew.
The couple was married in 2012, and knew it wouldn't be the two of them forever.
"We knew we wanted a large family right from the get-go," explained Matthew. "We both come from bigger families."
The two started the journey toward adoption, eventually working with the Adoption Star "A-OK" Program, which stands for "Adopt an Older Kid."
The adoption process takes time and patience, but after years of waiting, they were matched with five siblings who were living in Texas at the time.
"Alvina is four-years-old. Keanu just turned six. Sky is 7, then we have Maddy and our oldest Jordan is 10," said Matthew. "We were in love with them the moment that we met them."
After a lot of paperwork and connecting through Facetime, they were finally able to meet in-person.
"They ran right up to us and were so excited. We went to the park. They were literally crawling all over us," said Keith. "I had a kid sitting on my foot here, and my other foot."
After visits back and forth, the siblings moved to Buffalo in October - just in time for some family fun,
"We rolled right into Halloween. So we had to do all the Halloween costumes - we went trick or treating which is great. We had a mini mouse and princesses," said Matthew.
The couple says life as a family of seven is busy, but feels natural to them. As they went through the adoption process, they say it was important to them to make sure the kids would always be together.
"These children have been in foster care for years. Waiting to be matched. and not always together," explained Matthew. "I think the big fear for them and other large sibling groups is that they're not going to be placed together."
They say often when people think of adoption, they think of infants. So they're hoping their story will change that outlook.
"This group is considered older children - and I feel like they're so little," said Matthew. "We are so lucky to have them. My hope is people will hear our story and be inspired to consider adopting older children."
The family couldn't be happier together, and Matthew and Keith are hoping to give the kids every opportunity. They started a Go Fund Me page to help pay for extracurricular activities and learning experiences for the kids. If you'd like to donate, the page is linked here.
Matthew and Keith say watching their family triple in size has been the experience they always hoped for.
"Almost in disbelief of how blessed we were and how fortunate," said Matthew. "One child would have been great but to have five children in our eyes is just wonderful. We're just so blessed."
"Life as a family of 7 is wonderful. It really is." said Keith.
