Oklahoma Adoption Story

Bringing Clara home
EDMOND — Sitting on the floor with a variety of baby toys, Harrison Pierce is trying to talk about his 1-year-old sister Clara. The only problem is Harrison is a little distracted by Clara’s continuous efforts to tackle him.

“I just really wanted a sister, so I kept on begging them,” he said. “I’m glad she’s here.”

Having their 10-year-old son prompt Joe Pierce, the principal of West Field Elementary School, and Joy Pierce, a nurse, to add to their family may seem a bit extraordinary, but Clara’s life to this point is extraordinary as well. Abandoned in front of a hospital in China when she was 2 months old, she spent much of her life in an orphanage until the Pierces adopted her. Although Harrison is their biological child, the Pierces chose to adopt this time.