Single Woman Became a Foster Parent at 39. After Fostering 10 Kids and Adopting 4, She’s Hoping to Pay it Forward (People Mag Exclusive)

When Darcy Olsen was almost 40, she became a foster mom. And that one decision helped to shape the rest of her life.

Olsen always thought she’d become a mom in the typical way. She expected an engagement, a wedding and eventually, a baby — and she believed this so deeply that she bought an SUV to fill with her future kids. But as time passed, Olsen grew less and less sure it would happen.

“I was almost 40, single, and running a growing organization,” she tells PEOPLE. “One night I was watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and a caption flashed across the screen: ‘single mom fosters brothers and sisters.'”