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This story is originally from March 2016
Adoptions can be one of the greatest days in a kid’s life. After living in orphanages and foster homes, nothing could make a child happier. Actually- there was one thing- and 17-month-old Elijah was lucky enough to have it. In 2016, the infant had been adopted in the same neighborhood as his three biological siblings. Jay Houston from Southern Georgia broke this news to ABC News after she had taken the infant into her home.
Incidentally, her friend Julie Washington had also adopted the older brothers. Speaking about this, Houston stated, “They all know they’re brothers and get to grow up together. They don’t live in the same house but live in the same town. Knowing I get to be his mom forever, it’s an awesome gift and I’m really thankful for it.”
To put their family in perspective, Houston is a mom of six children. Of these, 4 of them are adopted- including Elijah. In fact, she had taken Elijah six months before his adoption was actually finalized.
“I’m the youngest of seven kids and I was adopted. Growing up, that’s always something I wanted to do. It was immediate (adopting Elijah). His former foster mom sent us a video of him laughing, smiling, crawling and I knew he would fit right in,” Houston said.
Houston had done the entire route- as she got him from the Children’s Protective Services. This allowed her to adopt the infant.
Read: No, Our Family Doesn’t ‘Match’ But Thanks to Adoption, It’s Filled With Love
Kid Moves Into Adoption After Spending 1 Year In Foster Care
The happiness surrounding Elijah’s adoption would definitely pave a healthy life for the child. Houston mentions, “Kids in foster care come with such a negative stigma attached to them. These kids are kids and they just need love and I can’t explain how much these kids have changed my life. My husband and I are the lucky ones.” Elijah’s older brothers were all adopted by Julie Washington- who was Houston’s neighbor.
Washington stated, “When I found out about Elijah we were still in the process of bringing our boys home. We went from having two to five kids and one has special needs. We weren’t sure if we were able to take in another child. I knew how important it was to Houston to keep siblings together. They said they were open to having another child and we made a pact to keep them together so it kind of just fell into place.”
Although Washington had already taken in the three older brothers- she simply couldn’t take in Elijah. “It broke my heart, but I just didn’t feel we could do it. We’d already gone from two kids to five- one with special needs. I felt we’d be overwhelmed and somebody wouldn’t get the attention they deserved,” she said.
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Jay and Julie had to make the pact- because they simply couldn’t bear keeping the lone brother out of the family.
“I know what it feels like to look at your family and not see anybody who looks like you. It’s true that love makes a family, but it’s undeniable that biology does, too. It shouldn’t be a privilege to grow up with your siblings, and I wanted to give Elijah that chance,” Jay said to PEOPLE.
B.J. Washington- Julie’s husband and a research assistant at the University of Georgia- mentioned, “The adoption of all four boys has joined our two families for life. Our main goal is to make sure they have the bond that brothers would have in a traditional family.”
George Houston, Jay’s husband, and a training director for the restaurant chain Zaxby’s, also reiterated the same sentiment. “Our lives are infinitely better because these boys are a part of it. I’m so glad that we decided to grow our family this way. People tell us often that our kids are lucky, but the truth is, we’re the lucky ones. We are the ones who have been blessed.”
Jay also added to what her husband believed in, “When we decided to grow our families through adoption, there was no way we could have known the way that everything would work out. We just had faith that it would. We’re committed that our boys will grow up knowing and loving each other. Just like brothers should.”
The Washingtons adopted Elijah’s three brothers- Michael, Jess, and Camden, and they joined the company of Reid and Ryan. On the other hand, Elijah shared the familial space of Sarah Jane, Timothy, Caleb, Raleigh, and Joseph.
Keep Reading: She Lost Her Husband, then Found the Son She Placed for Adoption 3 Decades Earlier
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