An American couple has made the amazing and brave step of adopting 7 Filipino siblings who had been forced to live apart for over 2 years.
Chris and Jessica Milam of Denton County, Texas, adopted all 7 children as a way of keeping them all together. The children age from 5 to 12 years old had lived across the state of Texas and had limited interaction with each other due to their separation.
Jessica told Fox 4 News:
"From the moment I read their profiles, I said, 'Oh, these are the kids for us.' They loved animals, they loved to craft, they loved plants. We had an empty house we just moved into. We built a house to fill with kids, so we knew we had the space. We're self-employed, so it makes it a little bit easier to take care of seven kids of various ages."
After 8 months of rigorous legal process, the family officially adopted the 7 children on the 8th of June. The judge saying:
"I'm going to find that it is in the best interest of these children that the adoption take place. I will grant the adoption, grant the name change, and seal the record. Congratulations."
Jessica added:
"All of them were like, 'Can we just come home with you today, can we just come today? They were trying to negotiate coming sooner. So, they were just so excited to really be together, but also to have parents that were just going to be their parents forever. They were arguing about when they will be able to come."
One of the adoptees told the reporter covering the story:
"It means we're going to be there forever. We're going to have a family to take care of us until we're adults and can take care of ourselves."
There are almost half a million children in the United States in the foster care system, most of whom are in need of a strong, stable home environment.
[Based on reporting by: Positive Outlooks]
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