RACINE - Unable to have children, Jason Hempel finds joy in foster parenting.

Hempel, 36, of Racine, is thankful to be a dad to children in need.

Jason and his wife of 15 years, Lisa, became foster parents in 2008.

They had put off having kids while she pursued a master's in business. By the time they decided they were ready to be parents,

Jason found out he had testicular cancer.

He was diagnosed in 2007. Now he is cancer-free.

Unable to have kids, the couple decided to help foster children.

"They don't have to be just like us to be our kids," he said.

Now they are foster parents of two boys, ages 4 and 5, and trying to adopt the 5-year-old.

Despite cancer, Jason had a positive attitude, said his wife.

"He had the best attitude out of anybody I've run into (with cancer)," said Lisa. "I was a basket case but he did very well. A lot of that positive attitude is what has cured him now - if he had a poor attitude, I don't think he would've come through as well."

Jason thinks it's because of the way his parents raised him. He remembers their house would always be open to their friends in need - whether they were kicked out of the house or hungry for a meal.

They're blessed, Jason says, to be able to give.

As foster parents, they make memories with their foster children, like taking a 5-year-old girl to see a movie at a theater for the first time in her life. Or when they saw her excitement at seeing Christmas lights at the Racine zoo for the first time, they were reminded of the joys in the small things that are often taken for granted.

Jason and Lisa are thankful to be able to make small differences in children's lives by helping them with homework, teaching them good hygiene habits, instilling good manners and just showing them love.

They hope, at least while the kids are with them, they will pass on their positive attitudes, giving mindset and thankful hearts.

"We're not here to replace the parents but here to help out until they get back on their feet," he said. "And make (the kids') lives just a little bit brighter."