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Home is where the family is
  
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By JENNIFER SUMMER
After trying for years to have children, Pete and Rosina Thomas decided to open their house as a home for foster children.
Months later, the Atascocita residents traveled to Wisconsin where they met a family whose daughter was having a son that was going to be up for adoption.
“We both felt this was what we were being called to do because I was adopted and we wanted to have children and provide a safe home for them,” Pete said. “We adopted Zachary and continued to serve as a foster home for children.”
Soon after Zachary joined the Thomas family, they adopted another boy, Jacob, and not long after, Rosina called Pete and had found a girl, Alison. Rosina soon learned that Alison’s birth mother was pregnant and the Thomases adopted her sister, Jessica, when she was born.
“It was pretty amazing to go from no children to two children and then four the next day. We could not have asked for better children. We have had our trials and tribulations but this was the Lord’s plan,” Pete said. “We call ourselves Team Thomas.”
Pete and Rosina now work with other families that are going through the adoption process and teach other families what they can expect.
The Thomases went through a long process to become an adoptive family with a center like DePelchin Children’s Center, which focuses on providing families with children in the welfare program.
“Many of the children we work to place in homes have endured abuse, neglect or have had to deal with some form of loss,” DeJuana Jernigan, director of Child Welfare Services for DePelchin Children’s Center, said.
“That is why it is very important for us to do a complete background check and screening of adoptive families to make sure their intentions are good and they would be suitable for the child.”
Jernigan stresses the importance of adoption and the need for more families to adopt, especially children in the system with siblings, disabilities and the older children.
“November is National Adoption Month but it should be more like adoption year because we are always in need of more families like the Thomas family,” Jernigan said.
In Pete and Rosina’s situation, every day is a challenge and they have had some problems along the way, but the positive has outshone the negative.
“When we first got both of the girls in our home, they were there for about 14 days when the birth mother decided she wanted them back,” Pete recalled. “It was very tough when they left and hard to overcome but the situation with the birth mother did not work out, so they were returned.”
Pete mentioned they had spoken with families who had adopted children whom the birth mother wanted back and the children ended up not coming back.
“There is always a risk involved but as with everything, there are always challenges involved and this is worth it,” Pete said.
The foster-to-adoption process the Thomas family went through is the same that at least half of the families per 100 adoptions must go through.
There are some families who just want to stay as a foster home and those who fall in love with the children they are fostering and decide to adopt.
“We go to support group meetings and we always discuss that a few of these children do come with baggage, but I have never felt such a sense of pride when it comes to my children. It has been a blessing for us,” Pete said. “Adopting these children has made our empty house a home.”
Currently there are more than 1,200 children in the Houston area who are available for adoption and DePelchin Children’s Center encourages anyone interested to contact them and get involved.
“I absolutely recommend adoption because it has changed our lives. There was one point in time where I thought I wouldn’t be a parent, but now I love being a parent,” Pete said. “I get to watch them grow up and the reward is awesome. It has made me a better person.”
DePelchin Children’s Center
For more information, log on to http://www.depelchin.org or call 713-730-2335.
Months later, the Atascocita residents traveled to Wisconsin where they met a family whose daughter was having a son that was going to be up for adoption.
“We both felt this was what we were being called to do because I was adopted and we wanted to have children and provide a safe home for them,” Pete said. “We adopted Zachary and continued to serve as a foster home for children.”
Soon after Zachary joined the Thomas family, they adopted another boy, Jacob, and not long after, Rosina called Pete and had found a girl, Alison. Rosina soon learned that Alison’s birth mother was pregnant and the Thomases adopted her sister, Jessica, when she was born.
“It was pretty amazing to go from no children to two children and then four the next day. We could not have asked for better children. We have had our trials and tribulations but this was the Lord’s plan,” Pete said. “We call ourselves Team Thomas.”
Pete and Rosina now work with other families that are going through the adoption process and teach other families what they can expect.
The Thomases went through a long process to become an adoptive family with a center like DePelchin Children’s Center, which focuses on providing families with children in the welfare program.
“Many of the children we work to place in homes have endured abuse, neglect or have had to deal with some form of loss,” DeJuana Jernigan, director of Child Welfare Services for DePelchin Children’s Center, said.
“That is why it is very important for us to do a complete background check and screening of adoptive families to make sure their intentions are good and they would be suitable for the child.”
Jernigan stresses the importance of adoption and the need for more families to adopt, especially children in the system with siblings, disabilities and the older children.
“November is National Adoption Month but it should be more like adoption year because we are always in need of more families like the Thomas family,” Jernigan said.
In Pete and Rosina’s situation, every day is a challenge and they have had some problems along the way, but the positive has outshone the negative.
“When we first got both of the girls in our home, they were there for about 14 days when the birth mother decided she wanted them back,” Pete recalled. “It was very tough when they left and hard to overcome but the situation with the birth mother did not work out, so they were returned.”
Pete mentioned they had spoken with families who had adopted children whom the birth mother wanted back and the children ended up not coming back.
“There is always a risk involved but as with everything, there are always challenges involved and this is worth it,” Pete said.
The foster-to-adoption process the Thomas family went through is the same that at least half of the families per 100 adoptions must go through.
There are some families who just want to stay as a foster home and those who fall in love with the children they are fostering and decide to adopt.
“We go to support group meetings and we always discuss that a few of these children do come with baggage, but I have never felt such a sense of pride when it comes to my children. It has been a blessing for us,” Pete said. “Adopting these children has made our empty house a home.”
Currently there are more than 1,200 children in the Houston area who are available for adoption and DePelchin Children’s Center encourages anyone interested to contact them and get involved.
“I absolutely recommend adoption because it has changed our lives. There was one point in time where I thought I wouldn’t be a parent, but now I love being a parent,” Pete said. “I get to watch them grow up and the reward is awesome. It has made me a better person.”
DePelchin Children’s Center
For more information, log on to http://www.depelchin.org or call 713-730-2335.
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