4 Siblings Adopted
The Browns’ Adoption Story
My husband and I were licensed in April of 2019. Towards the end of the licensing process, our ADOH licensing specialist at the time, Alicia Novell, let us know that there was a family who was closing their home, and she thought the two children currently placed with them would be the perfect fit for our home. Shortly after, Joseph and Nevaeh moved in with us. They were four and two. We didn’t generally attend family visits, as they usually occurred during the workday, but we were aware the kids had four other siblings in the system, and we knew their names and had seen them a few times.
Fast forward to September of 2019—one day, out of the blue, I decided instead of going to our regular church, I would drive the kids about an hour to the church where my husband used to run sound on Sunday morning, where his brother was a pastor.
After the service was over, I went to pick up Joseph from his class. Before he left, he hugged a little girl goodbye. I instantly recognized it was his sister, Hannah! I knew she was in a foster home in Zephyrhills with another sibling, Mae. I couldn’t believe it. I texted my brother-in-law, and he knew exactly who their foster mom was because he and his wife led her to the Lord three years ago. To see how God works on behalf of these children is amazing! He introduced us, we exchanged phone numbers, and we organized several play dates and weekend sleepovers.
Fast forward with me again to April of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic is at its height, and Hannah and Mae’s foster mother is feeling crushed by the responsibility of virtual schooling. By this time, we’ve formed a friendship, and she tells me she’s planning to disrupt the girls because she can’t do it anymore. I immediately reach out to the case manager and GAL and let them know that we don’t want these girls to be sent to live with another stranger who may or may not be open to sibling visits. We explained we only had a two-bedroom house, but if they would let us, we wanted to give the girls a home. (I didn’t share at the time that I was also about six weeks six pregnant!) I knew if God wanted us to take in these kids, he would make a way. And he did.
When the parents’ rights were terminated in September of 2021, we were devastated for the children and afraid for the future. What did it mean? Where would the kids end up? We were fond of the kids, but did we love them enough to commit to them forever? Were we up to the task of parenting five children? We weren’t sure on either point, but we knew one thing—we did not want these children to have to go live with yet another stranger. We knew they were attached to us, and we couldn’t bear the thought of them having to start all over again with who knows who.
Adopting four children was not what we had planned for our foster care journey AT ALL. But per usual, God had different plans. And as he provided the finances to add two bedrooms, a dining room, and a bathroom onto our house and my job provided me with the ultimate flexibility, my practical reasons to say no were eliminated. So, we moved forward with adoption, despite our occasional doubts.
As we approached the adoption, we both began to feel more certain of our decision. After the adoption was finalized, people asked me how I felt. I searched for the right words, eventually landing on “at peace.” I know I am doing what God has asked us to do. I know I am their mom in every sense of the word. And now, I’ve been given the legal authority to lay claim to that title. To get them the medical care they need immediately without navigating weeks of judicial red tape. To say, “Yes, they’re all mine,” when asked without providing any other qualifications or explanations. To take them on a weekend trip out of state if the whim grabs us. Most of all—to know that they will never have to learn another set of house rules or wonder if they’ll have to uproot their lives all over again.
I know that adoption is not by any means an instant, magical happy ending or the end of the story. It’s just the beginning of the story. Please pray for us as we navigate this new normal and consider whether or not God would have us continue to foster in some capacity or another. Pray for our adopted children, because the adoption is both a blessing AND a loss for them. And please pray for their two older brothers, who are not in adoptive placements, and whom we could not adopt for several reasons.
Thank you so much for what you do and have done for us ADOH—especially Alicia Novell and Sarah Richards! God bless you for what you do on behalf of foster children in the Tampa Bay area.
“I will not leave you as orphans.” – John 14:18
Photos courtesy of: Alicia Pesco Photography