I am one of 50 kids--in ONE FAMILY. I was adopted 4 years ago, when I was 9; I was adopted because my parents died when I was six. I had lived with an uncle, but he died when I was 8. I spent one year in an orphanage.
My parents had had 3 kids of their own, but all died when they were small--two of them while still babies. So I never got to know them. My father and mother were, understandably, devastated by their loss, so they decided to adopt kids nobody else would want.
Kids who were considered "special-needs". Kids who were handicapped or kids who were older than the age of 2. Or kids who were part of a sibling group that couldn't be separated.
First came Johnny and Ronee'. They were adopted when they were just about 3 months old. Johnny was from Germany, and Ronee' was a dark-eyed Cajun beauty from Louisiana. Both had been born premature, and one (Ronee') had serious health problems. (Johnny's health problems would come later.)
Secondly came Richard, Dwerlina, Lightning, Camey and Tammi and their older sister Summer Song, Jodie, Gemini, and Anh Kim.
That swelled the family tree from just 2 children to 11.
Yet that wasn't enough. Mommy and daddy wanted even more children. Others joined the clan: Debbie, Starlight Melody and her younger twin siblings Sunshine Lee and Andre', Jeraldo, Mario, Jo-El, Tri Tich Anh, Sun Hee, Monica, Michael and his older sister Steffi, Enriquesa, Heather, Danita, twins Louise and Elise, twins LaVella and Loueva, Roberto, Jameela, Todd, Kwame', Sergei, Pu Li and her twin sister Mai Li, Dianna, Melizza, Sylvie (Sylvia), Rhiannon, Christiana, myself (Barbara), and Porter were among those who now became a part of their International Family. These kids came from all over the United States and from places like China. Vietnam. Korea. India. Mexico. Central America (Guatemala). Africa. Russia. Iran. Canada. Bosnia-Hergozavina (spelling?). Malaysia. Yet, desite our different racial and ethnic backgrounds, we were now a "forever family".
Some of the kids were raised in loving, stable homes (like me), but some were abused or abandoned before they came to the family and now had serious emotional problems to deal with. Some of the kids were born physically disabled with heartbreaking disabilities, and two (Jodie and Todd) were born with BOTH physical and mental disabilities. Some (like Johnny and Ronee') had serious health problems shortly after their births (Ronee' had serious breathing problems, and Johnny seemed slow in comparison to other kids his age), and others (like myself, Kecia and her sister LaGloria, Porter, Steffi, Dwerlina, and others) had no health problems to speak of.
But despite everything they've been through in their young lives, my brothers and sisters have triumphed over all odds placed upon them by doctors, teachers, peers. Like Jodie, for example. She may not be able to talk or walk, but she knows how to receive love and give it back to us. She can tell you how she feels by making her noises or by laughing or crying. Or Todd: he is the same way, but if excited he wriggles around more than usual (and he is already a little wriggleworm!). Or Johnny and Ronee': both have survived numerous serious illnesses, surgeries, and lengthy hospital stays, yet they remain happy, delightful children with bright minds and exuberant (spelling?) personalities.
All of it was mommy and daddy's doing. They gave these unwanted, abused, or abandoned kids love and guidance, and they have blossomed into happy, well-adjusted kids who now have a purpose in life--and, perhaps, most importantly of all, a FAMILY OF THEIR OWN.
Well, maybe NOT ALL mommy and daddy's doing--I think God had a Hand in it. He blessed them with children nobody else would even consider adopting.
Now look at us. We are a family. A "Forever Family."
And a VERY HAPPY FAMILY, at that.
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Reviewed by Jonathan Reed
5/13/2002
Great work, and great take on life. I too was adopted (but only into a family of one), and I know that God had a hand in that as well. Give thanks for such wonderful people.
Winner of two 2020 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Ebooks Category:
Best Illustrations: 2nd Place
Picture Books Ages 6 and Older: Honorable Mention
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