If you have plenty of love to give, this couple knows the perfect place to put it.
In Hamilton County, Judge Ralph Winkler hosted a different kind of family. Tobias and Karen Thompson sat in his courtroom with two sets of twins flanking them on both sides.
But who they got here goes way back to the couple’s high school love story. The two of them were studying at Taft High School and were teenage sweethearts.
They didn’t end up together, however, but they carried on with their lives and raised families of their own.
When their marriages ended, the two reunited and finally decided it was their time.
That’s when Tobias met Karen’s niece and nephew. William and Wilmya are twins. They also went to the same high school where the two met.
However, they also found out that the twins have younger siblings who were actually twins as well. It was then that they decided to form a new family.
“No sense splittin’ ‘em up. Keep ‘em all together,” Tobias Thompson said to WCPO, “Show ‘em a lot of love. That’s all they need. Love.”
The family then started the process of adoption to make things formal and final.
Together with their caseworker, Judge Winkler reviewed the family’s case and showed his full support for the family’s decision to stay together.
Maybe, in an effort to explain the situation to the children, Judge Walker shared that even superheroes get to be adopted – like Superman who was adopted by farmers, Batman who was raised by his butler, and Spiderman who Judge Winkler compared to the family’s situation.
Moreover, the children expressed their gratitude and love for their adoptive parents.
The teenagers fondly call their parents Gigi and Papa. One of the younger twins said that she loves Karen so much and has been wanting to live with her since they got to the couple’s house.
Wilmya, meanwhile, shared that the first thing Tobias told her when she and her brother moved in with the couple was that she didn’t have to be scared and that he and Karen will look after both of them.
The caseworker also had good things to say about the couple. Amber Sawyer, a Hamilton County Job & Family Services adoption caseworker, said that the one thing she noticed was how Tobias and Karen gave importance to “family.”
And while things are now signed, sealed, and delivered, Karen acknowledges the challenges.
“It’s not easy,” Karen said about raising a family. “But it’s not hard either. And if you’ve got a lot of love, go ahead and give it to the children.”
The Thompsons welcomed their four youngest kids and added them to their big family of seven adult children, 27 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. It just goes to show that Tobias and Karen’s love knows no limits.
In presiding over the case, Judge Winkler hopes that through this adoption, people will be encouraged to live by the example that the Thompsons have set. In his words, “No matter how it’s built, it’s still your family.”
And the Thompsons will always strive to be family.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
