What defines a family? Is it DNA? Is it love? Is it a community or group that makes you feel safe and protected? The truth is – there is no real definition of family. It can be many things, and for the Bonura family in Texas – their family can just be defined as ‘awesome’.
Eleven years ago, Andi Bonura was told that she wouldn’t be able to have any kids, but today – she and her husband (Thomas) have 8 – 3 biological and 5 adopted siblings.
Let’s start toward the beginning of the Bonura family’s fertility journey. The couple first became pregnant with twins and gave birth to Joey and Eli. Sadly, Eli passed away at 5 months old.
“When we lost Eli, we were told we couldn’t have any more children, and we were devastated,” Bonura told CBS News. “And we actually started looking at adoption then, but for some amazing reason, we had two more daughters that were a complete shock.”
After giving birth to daughters Sadie and Daphne, Andi was advised to not get pregnant again as it could be dangerous.
Devastated by the news, the Bonuras weren’t going to give up hope of having the big family of their dream. So, they decided to become licensed foster parents. First, they fostered two babies that eventually went back to their biological families.
“Then they told us to come pick up our now 2-year-old Bryson,” Andi said. Bryson came to the family immediately after leaving the NICU when he was a newborn. “We didn’t think we would have him forever or anything. We were there to love him for now. But we found out he had siblings,” she continued.
It wasn’t long before Andi and Thomas met Bryson’s four siblings but learned that they would all be placed into separate foster homes. That news completely broke Andi’s heart and she asked if she and Thomas could take in as many siblings as they could – they were approved for three of the siblings.
“We still weren’t thinking we were going to have them forever. We were just happy they were together,” she said.
After they began fostering the three other siblings, the Bonuras received a call that all five of the children were up for adoption.
“We had already been meeting with the twins, who are now 8, and we just loved them. They were constantly asking when they were going to move into our house,” she said.
Knowing in their hearts that the siblings belonged with them, the Bonuras began the process of adoption for all five of the kids. They were soon approved to foster all five and two years later – the adoption was finalized.
Andi and Thomas are now parents to 8-year-old twins Thomas and Carter, 6-year-old David, 4-year-old Gabrielle, and 2-year-old Bryson.
Given the pandemic, neighbors planned a car parade to help celebrate the incredibly momentous occasion. Andi says that the emotionally straining process of adoption was totally worth it and is so glad that all of these kids have a safe and loving home. She might seem like a superhero with 8 kids, but Andi says that she owes credit to other strong moms.
“The only reason I made it through all of this is because of the other foster moms and the support we have for each other,” she said. “Honestly, I’m nothing special. If anything, it’s the other moms who encouraged me.”
The Bonuura family has been using the downtime in quarantine to bond and get to know one another and they said they’ve been having a blast.
Watch more about this incredible family in the video below.
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