The New Year brings new hope for Adopt 8 children, still waiting to find their forever families and to inspire families to consider expanding their families through adoption. And for the start of 2011, here is an Adopt 8 success story. Meet a local couple that felt called to adopt. They now have two beautiful daughters who are thriving, since finding the love and stability they deserve.
The sweet sounds of girls giggling now fill this family's days, which is a whole lot different than the quiet and simple life parents Jon and Jenetta used to live.
"We went from just being about us and the things that we like to do and the places we like to go to being all about them. So it's been a huge change," said Jon.
Now, this couple is singing children's songs and enjoying their two precious daughters. But things weren't always this happy for six-year-old Ohana and five-year-old Lynn Ann. When these biological sisters first came to live with Jon and Jenetta, the girls were just three and four years old, but they had already endured a lifetime's worth of disappointments.
Ohana's had six placements. The sisters had been shuffled around so much, that Ohana especially was constantly testing her new parents to see just how far she could push them.
"What can I break, what can I destroy, what can I…how can I act and see if you're going to send me away or not," explained Jon.
It took about a year for the girls to finally grasp that they would never be abandoned again.
"And then they just kind of relaxed. It was like they had, like you could just see a physical change in them. It was really good," Jon continued.
Jon says the change happened right around the time their adoption was finalized.
"When we went to the judge we asked them, what do you think this means? And they, Ohana said it. She said, ‘that means no one can send me away,'" Jon noted.
It's now been almost two years since this family was formed.
"We felt called to do it. This was our choice of how to have our family," Jenetta said.
They encourage others to go through San Diego County Adoptions and if you're even thinking about it to just explore the option.
"I think some people are like, this is what we're going to do, this is what we want. For us, it really took us a while. I think it was meant to be, she wasn't even born when we started thinking about it," said Jon. "So it's alright that we took our time, because it was for who we were supposed to get for our kids."
If you are interested in adopting from foster care or becoming a foster family, call 1-877-I-ADOPT-U to learn more about getting started. The County of San Diego offers monthly orientation classes.
