A Florida woman has adopted four children, all siblings, after taking them into her care at a foster home, having previously fostered 56 other children.
Her story has served as an inspiration for several families considering adopting.
Teacher Melissa Servetz received Jade, the oldest of the two and a half year old siblings, Destiny who was one year and four months old and the other two siblings Mathew and Emerson who were just three days old, according to what she told the Good Morning America program on the ABC chain.
"I raised the children since they were born," the teacher assured.
The woman said in an interview that she always wanted to be a mother and that "there was no possibility" of adopting one of the children without her siblings.
"She was single and I said to myself, 'Why not? Let's do it. Let's try to help kids who don't really have a safe place to call home,'" she recalled.
Her work as a foster mother began in 2015. The 56 children she cared for were mostly under the age of 5, and
the last four children she took in became her children.
According to her, the minors were exposed to drug abuse by their biological family, but she has made sure they go to therapy.
"This is very important to me," she added.
"Matthew is the happiest kid you'll ever meet. He was born happy. I've had him since he was 3 days old and he's rarely upset. He loves dinosaurs and trucks and Paw Patrol (...) They're all super funny and super active and just so much fun to be around," Servetz said.
[Babies react from the womb to what their mother eats: they smile at carrots and frown at cabbage]
His first meeting was with the older girls Jade and Destiny.
At first she picked her up when she found out that she was living with a relative and they were going to be evicted.
She met her in a parking lot with her case assistant.
She then she received Destiny.
"I remember those days like it was yesterday, picking them up and carrying them," she said.
Although she feels satisfied in her new role, the teacher assured that "it is not easy" to venture to be a foster or adoptive mother.
"There's appointments, there's travel, there's case managers and... a lot of people coming in and out of your house,
but if you can look past that and say, 'Hey, you know what, I really want to help and I want to give a child or children or siblings, whoever, a loving home,' we need you," he emphasized.
Now Jade is 8 years old;
destiny, 6;
Matthew 4;
and Emerson, 2. She defines them as happy children who have "a great future" ahead of them.
"There are so many great things about being a mom, but... knowing that I've made a difference and given them a life they never would have had before is the most satisfying thing," she said.
