In this house, there’s always room for one more

THE PARENTS: Denise Perkins, 51, and William Perkins, 48, of Southwest Philadelphia

THE CHILD: Azuri Alanya, 5, adopted Jan. 13, 2021

AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT: In May, several months after the Zoom hearing that finalized Azuri’s adoption, Denise picked up a revised copy of her birth certificate bearing her and William’s names as parents.

In Denise’s grandmother’s two-bedroom house, there was always room for one more child. That included Denise and her six siblings, raised by “Gram.”

Denise remembers two sets of bunk beds snugged into one room. She recalls Sunday ice cream treats and how Gram insisted on ironing everything, even the pillow cases. Mostly, she remembers the love.

“You could never be on the streets while [my grandmother] was alive. She always took people in. She always cared for people.”

William’s childhood had rough edges, including abuse and his parents’ separation. “But because of me going through what I went through, it made me the person I am. I love kids. I feel no child should have to endure what I went through, coming up.”

So when the two met in 1997, through their siblings — William’s sister is married to Denise’s brother — it was friendship at first sight. Denise was raising a daughter, a baby born just after her 18th birthday, and William had his son, then 3.

“She’s a strong woman. Understanding,” he says of Denise. And she was drawn to the same qualities in him. “He had this soft, subtle peace about him,” she says. “He had a big heart.”

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Slowly, they built a blended family — one that included Denise’s youngest sister and William’s infant daughter, whose mother couldn’t care for her. Later, a nephew of William’s joined the clan. “I was cautious,” William says. “Not knowing how to bring a family like that together — I didn’t want any type of friction. I wanted [my kids] to be accepted.”

Denise had concerns, too: Would her daughter feel resentful about her stepsiblings? “I was just talking to my [oldest] daughter recently, hoping she didn’t feel slighted. She said, ‘Mom, everybody who came to live with us needed you all for stability.’ We just kept kids. It was crazy. I don’t know how we did it.”

Routines helped: Saturday morning chores; constant encouragement to do homework and get through high school; family discussions around the dinner table. And, Denise says, the recognition that “each one has their own personality. All of the kids are different. All of them need a different kind of love.”

Five years ago, they learned of another baby who needed them. Their son, convicted of robbery, was about to go to prison when he told them that his girlfriend was pregnant. The baby, Azuri, was born less than a week before his sentence began.

“Ever since then, we used to get the baby every weekend, from Thursday to Sunday,” Denise says. “She kind of filled the void of my son being gone.”

After Denise and William threw a first birthday party for Azuri, they couldn’t get in touch with her mother to return her. So the toddler just stayed with them. And stayed. “That wasn’t in my plan. It was just me and my husband, and I thought we were going to be living our best life,” Denise says. “But God had a different plan.”

Eventually a judge terminated Azuri’s mother’s parental rights; Denise and William pursued adoption. But when their son returned from prison in the fall of 2019, he requested a DNA test to determine whether he was, in fact, Azuri’s biological father.

» READ MORE: Getting to know their baby

At a court hearing in December, Denise and William learned the results: negative. Azuri wasn’t genetically related to their son, or to them. But by then, she was inextricably part of their lives.

“The judge said, ‘Do you still want to adopt her?’ I said, ‘Of course. She doesn’t know anybody but us.’” The child called Denise “Mom-mom.” She called William “Dad.” Their son, to Azuri, is “Man-man.”

It’s not easy. Azuri is a restless sleeper and has bursts of hot temper. She loves costumes, dancing, and animals. She uses a plastic butter knife to cut bananas for the smoothies William makes. She likes to crack the shells off Denise’s hard-boiled eggs for salads. She begs to help wash the dishes.

Denise and William have changed since their first rounds of parenting. They’re more financially stable. More experienced. They’re doing this as a team. At the same time, the world has changed — in the direction of danger, Denise says. She doesn’t let Azuri play outside in front of the house — only on the deck, where she can see her. Because they’re more comfortable financially, they’re able to give Azuri more, but that also means teaching her about sufficiency, restraint, and the value of money.

Their house is still the hub for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is the place that shelters family, including William’s mother, who lived with them before she died of cancer in 2020.

“God said this baby needed somebody to love her,” Denise says. “And at the time, God said I needed to love somebody so I wouldn’t be locked up with my son for three years. And this baby came. Once she got my heart, that was all it took.”

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For William, Azuri is the answer to a longtime prayer. “God granted us another child because we weren’t able to have one together on our own,” he says. “I love all my kids. But this one here is something special.”

Adoption proceedings crawled through the court system. The pandemic slowed the process further. But on Jan. 13, Denise and William became Azuri’s legal parents. They hosted a celebration — aunts, uncles, cousins — with a theme of puzzles. Denise ordered a custom-made puzzle with family photos on it, and another one whose pieces each held a relative’s name, with the word “family” across the top.

At some point in the party, Denise called all the guests to the basement. “I wanted to thank everyone for making her feel included.” Then they cut the cake, decorated with puzzle pieces and a heart bearing Azuri’s name. “It was just letting her know: You’re loved. We chose you.”