It’s hard keep a straight face when you’re talking to a puppet, so 16-year-old Nelly is all giggles while building a hand puppet at Puppet Pie, a wondrous workshop operated by Stacey Gordon, who portrays Julia, a 4-year-old female Muppet with autism, on the children's television series Sesame Street.

Creating a puppet character checks a lot of boxes for Nelly – it’s creative, it’s crafty, it’s fanciful and it’s fun.

Nelly loves doing arts and crafts projects, listening to music, dancing and learning to ride a horse named Princess.

Now that she is a teen, Nelly likes being a contributor to the household.

Nelly would fit into almost any family – single parent, two parent, older siblings, younger siblings – as long as it is a house filled with patience and unconditional love.

For more information on children eligible for adoption, call Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) at 602-930-4900, or visit www.aask-az.org.

Editor's note: Mr. Williams  was a family resource development specialist  at
AASK - Aid to Adoption of Special Kids. AASK will be submitting articles regularly to the Daily Independent at YourValley.net in hopes to find children forever families.