Twists and Turns to Coming Home

Most toddlers only have one set of parents and have maybe lived in two homes.

But not these two. These brothers, by their third and fourth birthdays, had been in three foster homes. They had three different sets of parents who were not their own, three different places to lay their little heads at night that changed without warning and three different sets of rules and toys. Three new everything.

The stress of these disruptions on their little lives affected their physical bodies in the form of rashes and other skin problems. When they arrived to their FaithBridge home, John and Kristen, their foster parents, worked hard to restore them to better health and were successful. It was also while they were in this home that the courts decided that the brothers would never return to their biological parents. At that point, the John and Kristen began the adoption process. Balls were rolling and falling into place smoothly. It looked as if these boys would no longer have to wake up in a new place with new faces. They had arrived home.

Or so they thought.

The story took a drastic turn when the boys’ biological cousin appeared on the scene, genuinely wanting to care for and raise these two young boys. What was a traumatic blow for the foster parents was a blessing for the relatives of these boys. These boys had been loved so well during their time in care, and their relatives were looking forward to being their forever family.

Transition can be tough in situations like this. Preschool-aged children do not understand the complexities involved in such a decision, and they certainly don’t know what is happening when they keep moving abruptly from place to place.

Fortunately, the friendship forged with among the adults allowed for a smooth and gradual transition. They even discovered that they had mutual friends, despite the miles between their home addresses. And when it was finally time for these two little boys to step permanently into their new world, their new home and their new forever family, their foster mom and new adoptive mom held hands and prayed.

 


 

*Details have been changed to protect the identity of and for the safety of these children and the privacy of the family.