Brothers Adopted By Different Families Got Chance to Grow Up Together
Brothers Adopted By Different Families Got Chance to Grow Up Together
Successful adoption stories are always beautiful, but this story goes beyond the average adoption. Elijah was only 17 months old and had been in foster care for 389 days. If you care to do the math, that means he was in foster care for over 12 months of his short 17 months of life. This sweet little boy also has three older brothers who were in foster care as well. This tear-jerking story is truly amazing.
Jay Houston was a 31 year old woman living in Southern Georgia with her husband and five children. Three of their children are adopted. Houston had always had a heart for adoption because she herself was adopted as a child. Even as a young girl she had the dream of adopting when she was married and ready to start a family. Little did she know how crazy her adoption journey would become after she had already adopted three of her children.
Jay Houston had a close friend who lived down the street named Julie Washington. The Washington’s had been pursuing adoption through foster care for a little while and had been placed with three little boys. The Washington’s quickly found out that the three little boys they were planning to adopt had another younger brother. Although it can be very hard to do, the foster care system really tries to keep families together. It’s hard enough to have to leave your parents and be taken away from everything you’ve ever known, never mind adding in that you are leaving some of your little siblings behind. In most cases the older siblings have been helping to care for their younger brothers and sisters despite how young even the oldest child is. Julie Washington knew all of this and was explaining the dilemma to her friend Jay Houston. Washington knew Houston’s heart for adoption, but never imagined what would come next.
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Houston went back to her family and talked to her husband about the Washington’s situation. They both decided they needed to look into the possibility of adopting Elijah. Six months before Elijah was adopted, the Houston’s brought him into their home through the foster care system. They became his foster parents and loved on him like he was their own child for the next six months.
On March 9th, 2016, Elijah was adopted into the Houston family. As if this story wasn’t heart warming enough, it gets even better. Houston and Washington are not only friends, but they live right down the street from each other. While the Washington’s were getting adjusted to the three new little boys who joined their family, the Houston’s were welcoming Elijah into their family right down the road. The two families have decided to stay close over the years for the sake of those four boys. While they may not be able to live in the same house, they will be able to grow up together and see each other as often as they would like. Not only did they offer one boy a better life, but they made a promise to him that he would always have a relationship with his brothers as well!
