Couple Have a Lot to Be Thankful For

Your Thanksgiving Day editorial “They Wait” was very timely and a matter of deep reflection in our home.

Two years ago, during the holiday season, we learned of the plight of two abused, “hard-to-place” children who were wards of the county and in need of assistance. Their widowed maternal grandmother, designated a foster parent, was working full time and not able to give them the immediate attention and family environment they so much needed and deserved.

She certainly wasn’t prepared to take responsibility for them over the long term. It looked like the half-brother and -sister, ages 4 and 3, would be split up and sent to separate homes.

This past spring the dedicated people at the county Social Services Agency placed them in our home, under a preadoption agreement, with our natural-born son and daughter, ages 14 and 11.

During this period, we have watched our children grow immeasurably in their love for these adoptive children; but, more important, we have seen a quantum leap in our new children’s spiritual growth, demeanor and emotional stability.

Needless to say, it’s been an additional financial burden and, at times, a test of patience; but on Thanksgiving Day, our family was truly able to say that we’ve been blessed with these two new lives in our home.

SHERMAN ROODZANT

MARTHA ROODZANT

Santa Ana