Family Stories
The Weaver Family
After giving consideration to both domestic and international adoption, I was having difficulty coming to a final decision. Finally, I decided to apply for foster care to continue exploring adoption. The training provided by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources was full of resources, but also daunting in the realization of the issues that a foster parent can be faced with when caring for children in foster care. After much prayer and thought, I felt that foster care was the right route for me. My heart and mind felt comfortable with this decision. It was many months before I received my first placement with two amazing little men who were 4 and 18 months at the time. I was absolutely terrified when I realized the state worker was going to leave the 3 of us alone and I would be temporarily responsible as their sole provider. Almost immediately I fell in love with their beautiful smiles and the way they accepted me. Over the next year and a half, we worked together to become a family with the help of the team from the WV DHHR who provided hands to hold, shoulders to lean on and referrals when needed. Our family was formalized in the fall of 2006 and each day we have together is a Blessing.
God Bless the Broken Road is a song all 3 of us recognize as a description of our path from our broken lives to the completion of our family. People often say that I am a remarkable woman to take in 2 rambunctious boys through foster care and then adopt them as my own. They do not realize that these amazing little men are the ones in our family who are truly remarkable in their flexibility and desire to shower me with unconditional love and acceptance. It is through them that I have grown and found what is important in life.
The Anderson Family
Photo by Heather Kessler of West Virginia Imagery and Design
Hi! We would like to say that we love adopting older children. They are already potty trained and old enough for you to know who you are getting, and what they are like.
Our two oldest biological children (then 12 & 14) came to us after Thanksgiving 1997, and said, "We know what we want for Christmas." We replied in unison, "You can't have a trampoline." They laughed and said, "We don't want a trampoline. We want Mom to have a baby." Dave and I looked at each other and, again in unison, said, "You can have a trampoline." They smiled evilly and said, "We are going to pray you get pregnant." Well, it took me two months to figure out why I was SO sick. The best little surprise we ever had arrived after a rather hard pregnancy and delivery. We did not want her to be an "only child" since the others were so much older, so we pursued adoption when she was four. We had previously done foster care for over 15 years, but as the kids had grown up we had gotten out of it.
Well, adopting a four year old girl turned into adopting a sibling group of four, then taking two siblings on emergency placement, then the boys needed another boy, then the new boy saw a friend on the internet, so we got her and her sister. We have now adopted nine children. There is always someone to play with, fight with or borrow clothes from. The back of our van says, "No they are not cheaper by the dozen, but they are more fun." And we definitely believe it!
The Boyles Family
Bob and Rita became certified for foster care in 1989 after their youngest biological child left for college. Their first foster daughter was placed December 22, 1989. One month later they received placement of two brothers. Bob states: "We were ready for something. Life has been good to Rita and me, and we wanted to share some of what we had. We don’t need a whole lot, but there are a lot of children who are neglected and abused. We want to extend our help to them."
Since 1989 the family has cared for over 75 foster children. They adopted their daughter (the first child ever placed with them), a son, twin daughters and are in the process of adopting their youngest foster daughter. Additionally, Bob and Rita raised three biological children, two of whom have also adopted children. Three sisters who were originally placed with Bob and Rita were adopted by their biological son and his wife, thus becoming Bob and Rita’s grandchildren.
Bob and Rita keep in touch with former foster children who have been adopted by other families. Although it is difficult to see children leave their home, Bob explains their perspective: “‘Our job is to instill values in them. Once you do that, we’re firm believers that that child has the foundation to build on those values. Hopefully, sometime during their life, those values will play a role in helping them turn into productive and happy people."
The Bailey Family
Photo by Teresa Moats of Moats-Art Photography
We have been doing foster care now for about seven years. We got into foster care when our two children left home and got married. Our home seemed so empty and quiet. Before long, we had adopted a little girl, Ashlynn Grace, and eighteen months later, Jayse Robert came to us at seven months old. Now we are back to four in our home again!
Ashlynn was born at 25 weeks and weighed 1 pound, 9 ounces and was eleven inches long. Even though she has a few health issues, she is a very cheerful and happy child who loves to be outside and on the go! She is very social and active. Jayse is just the opposite, he is reserved and quiet most of the time. He is mostly a home body!
Together, they are still a team though, and care about each other. As our two oldest children have seven children of their own, our family has grown considerably over the past eight years! Our daughter Corri has three, two of which are a set of twin girls. Our son B.J. has four including a son who has Down Syndrome. So, overall we have a big diversity of complications and blessings to deal with constantly. A challenge, but, met with lots of love and hope.
The Krajewski Family
We have always said, “There are two ways to have a child. You can go through the physical roller coaster of pregnancy, or you can go through the emotional roller coaster of adoption.” We were still undergoing infertility treatments when we met a little boy named Hayden who needed a home. We were unsure if we should continue with treatments or pursue adoption, and so we prayed for a sign to know which way to go. The next day we were driving down the interstate when we saw a giant billboard saying, “Choose adoption”. We laughed. Our decision was made. It took many months before Hayden came home to us. He lived in Ohio and their department was hesitant to place him with an out of state family. He was moved 31 times before his mother said she would surrender custody if the department would guarantee her he would go to us. He was placed in our home when he was 23 months old and eight months later we finalized his adoption.
Shortly after Hayden turned three he told us we needed to be foster parents. He said it was important. And so we began our journey as a foster family. We fostered on and off for five years, all the while praying for another child to become a permanent part of our family. Hayden prayed the hardest of all.
Finally, on March 22, 2007, we had the phone call that would once again change our lives. I had called our homefinder to ask a question and was told there was a newborn that needed a home. A baby boy had been abandoned at a local hospital under the Safe Haven Law. I called Leo and gave him the details. Then, as we always do with a placement, we knelt down separately and prayed to see if this child was meant to join our family. I heard the words in my heart, “And thou shall call his name Michael.”
“Ok,” I thought, “so his name is Michael. But is he my baby?”
There was a pause and the same thought came again.
“And thou shall call his name Michael.” I began to cry and I called Leo back.
He had received the same prompting. We called the homefinder back and left a message, We’ll take him. And his name is Michael.”
The fun part about adopting like this is calling all your family and friends and telling them you are getting a baby in less than 24 hours! My mother and I met Hayden at the bus stop and gave him the news. He dropped his jaw and his book bag and started screaming. He was overjoyed!
The Winters Family
Our names are Rick and Julie, we have been foster parents for twelve years and have 4 beautiful children. Jessyka is sixteen, Natasha's fourteen, Matthew's twelve, Edward is ten. We have fostered approximately forty-eight children and have done regular and special needs care. Rick and I became foster parents after our daughter Jessyka as born with medical problems and were unable to have any more children. We were introduced to foster care by friends and thought we would be great parents to children in need of loving and nurturing homes. After careful consideration and a lot of research we did all we needed to do for DHHR and have never regretted a day or moment of being foster parents.
