Foster To Adopt Process: Amber’s Story

The foster to adopt process varies from person to person, here is a look at Amber’s Story. Amber, who is a mother as well as a foster/ adoption advocate, shares her heartwarming adoption story with us.

Amber’s adoption journey began in January 2014. “I was at the end of a year and a half long placement. My two boys were being returned to their mother and my home was going to go back onto the openings list for placements. My agency worker recommended that I only accept newborns because one of my boys was seven years old and has cerebral palsy. The physical demand in caring for him has been high. She felt I could use a break and so I followed her advice and went on the list for newborns.”

On February 13th, Amber got a call from her social worker. The news would forever change Amber and her family’s life. “She told me that she knew she had recommended I take newborns but a case had come to her and she couldn’t shake the feeling it was meant to be for me. She followed by telling me about a 22-month-old little boy and a ten-month-old little girl. They’d been in care since January first and were already on their second foster home. My worker asked me if I would accept them as a respite placement for the weekend and see if I believed that we could be a good fit.” So, Amber decided to take them in.

Amber expresses that on February 14, 2014, she received the best Valentine’s Day present ever. “The foster parents brought Ben and Aubrey to my house, and the minute I laid eyes on them, I knew with everything inside of me that these were my children. The following morning at 7:30, I called my agency worker and left her a message that I would be keeping these babies and that the foster parents could bring me their stuff any time”.

Over several months,  Amber built a relationship with Ben and Aubrey’s biological mother. Amber goes on to say, “ I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to help them get their children back.” During this time, Amber learned that their biological mother was expecting another child. Months later, Harper was born. Three days after her birth, Amber returned to the hospital to bring baby Harper home. For Amber, “Visits continued for several months until their biological parents’ rights were terminated.”

On November 21, 2015, Amber finalized the foster to adopt process. She finally adopted Ben, Aubrey, and Harper. Amber also decided on that day that she would put a pause on fostering. Amber states, “I had loved being a foster parent. However, I now had my biological son and three little ones to divide my attention between. Closing just felt right.”

After almost a year, Amber got a call from a friend of hers from her foster/adoption support group. “She told me that the Attorney General was trying to get in contact with me. I asked her what that could be for. She then said, “Maybe mom had another baby?”

To Amber’s surprise, her children’s biological mother was indeed expecting another baby. “I was floored when she told me that mom had indeed had another baby, a little girl born on October 26th. They were looking for a  placement for her and since I had all of her siblings, closed or not, I was the ideal placement. She asked if I would take a few days and think about whether I would be willing to accept her as a placement with the understanding that it would likely turn permanent.” After the call, later that night, Amber went to the newborn intensive care unit and met baby Annie for the first time. A week later, the hospital released Annie and she “came home to a house full of little people that she would grow to look just like.”

Amber concludes, “Not a single day goes by that I regret saying yes to Ben, Aubrey, Harper, and Annie. Siblings belong together and these four little souls have made my home, my life, and my heart so full.”

Thank you, Amber, for sharing your story with us. If you are in the process of fostering to adopt, we’d like to help you photograph your adoption day. Check out our Framing Forever program for more information. https://www.togetherwerise.org/framing-forever/