In their own words...
Hi, I’m Tawnee. I am 11 years old. I was put in the children’s home when I was 7. I was very sad and mad at the time. I wanted my mom. My mom left me forever when I was 8. My brother was with me at the children’s home. I was very glad I could talk to him. I lived at the children’s home for 2.5 years.
Then my therapist told me that I had a new family. I felt sad because I didn’t want to leave the children’s home. It felt like home to me and was safe. I don’t like changes. I asked a lot of questions so I knew what was happening.
I found out my new family was a nice forever family that would never leave me. When they visited me I found out I would have a mom and a big sister who was also adopted. I visited them on weekends all summer. When school was starting, I came to live here and spent some weekends at the children’s home. It was hard to make new friends, but I was glad I had a new family. Now, I have been here with my family for over 2 years, and I have made a lot of new friends.
We live in the country and have lots of pets. We have 2 big white dogs. My brother still lives at the children’s home, but I still get to see him. He comes and spends time with me sometimes on weekends. He comes for holidays too.
He even came for my adoption. My adoption was in April the year after I came. It was fun. We went to the courthouse. My family, cousins and friends came to the courthouse. The judge gave me a stuffed bear when we were done. We had a party at school and one at home that night.
Sometimes I used to feel like I would never have a family. Now I have a family I love and that loves me. Be confident that someday you’ll have a family and you’ll be all right.