Four siblings from Kansas have had a very rough period behind them. Alisia, Bradley, Cody, and Emma were abused in their childhood and needed to put up for adoption. However, adoption processes with siblings usually end up in them splitting up, and those chances were especially high for the four of them.
They didn’t know anyone else and only had each other.
If they were to be separated, it would leave them absolutely heartbroken.
The children were 17, 16, 15 and 11 at the time of adoption and were looking for a new home, but didn’t think that they’d all end up together under the same roof. They’ve already gone through the most likely scenario that sisters Alisia and Emma would go to one adoption home together, while the brothers Bradley and Cody would be sent somewhere else.
Luckily, two heartwarming people decided to step in just in time.
Eric and Phyllis Watson from Gardner were proud of their licenses to become foster parents. They also had the potential to adopt. When the adoption agency called the couple with a first adoption case, Eric and Phyllis were first introduced to these four siblings who only had one wish: stay together.
“We were thinking one foster child at a time. Maybe two? We weren’t thinking four at once,” Eric recalls.
“The turning point for me was they were going to be split up and I didn’t want to see that.”
“And when he woke up, he said, ‘We’re gonna take the kids,’” Phyllis told. “Eric had thought things over, and couldn’t imagine separating the siblings.”
Even though both Eric and Phyllis have full-time jobs, they weren’t sure if they could care for four children at the same time. However, after a good night’s rest, the two decided that these four couldn’t get separated and decided to meet them. They all clicked wonderfully!
Eric and Phyllis happily adopted 17-year-old Alisia, Bradley, and Cody who are 16 and 15 respectively, and the youngest, 11-year-old Emma. The Watson family tripled in size.
The adoption had to be made official in court, and the newly expanded Watson family was more than happy to oblige.
“Do feel you’ve developed a mother-child relationship? Have you the financial capacity to provide a proper home? Do you understand there are no give-backs here?” the judge asked the new parents, after which they replied with “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Phyllis and Eric did admit that there were a little bit scared when they decided to adopt all four of them, but they all quickly got used to it. The family built a bigger house for all of the children, and they also got a bigger car where they could all fit in.
The children’s original grandmother Susan Bustamente said that Alisia, Bradley, Cody, and Emma were always well-mannered, and she especially praised Alisia for being such a good big sister to her other siblings.
“She’s been a mother to those kids since she was three years old,'” their grandmother said. “They’ve had a hard life but they’re strong,” she added.
The four siblings were the victim of a couple with substance abuse and they were neglected by their biological parents – but now they finally had a future again.
This case was very special for District Judge Kathleen Sloan, who was even brought to tears by this heartwarming adoption.
“Welcome to the very best hearing that I get to have in this courtroom,” the judge said at the adoption hearing. “The very best hearing that any judge gets to have in this entire courthourse, the very best hearing that any judge gets to have in the entire state of Kansas, the very best hearing that any judge gets to have in the entire United States of America.”
“There is nothing better than an adoption; in part because you all came in here happy and I get to let you leave happier.”
Clearly emotional and inspired by this heartwarming act, the judge even ordered the entire courtroom to give the newly expanded Watson family a standing ovation.
“It’s not what I had planned, but it’s so much better,” Phyllis concluded. “I love them like they are my own.”
What a wonderful story!
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