A single mother of two from Wisconsin became a wonderful mom of eight when she adopted six boys last week.
“They give me purpose,” said Jessica Benzakein.
Jessica Benzakein was only 12 years old when she first went to foster care. It was devastating for her when her own mother surrendered her to the state. Aside from this, she was also separated from her brother.
“He said, ‘If adoption is your plan A, you are too old. And he wasn’t saying it to be mean. His point was, if your plan A is to be adopted, you don’t fit what people are looking for,” said Ron, Jessica’s case worker.
She knew what Ron meant. She was alone, sad, and she longed for a family. For years, young Jessica spent her life in foster care until she was able to go to college.
She knew what it felt but she didn’t expect that this experience will help her to help others.
“In Wisconsin alone, we have over 7,000 foster kids,” Benzakein said in her interview with Today. “The number of sibling sets is crazy high, and they’re often broken up.”
That’s the reason why she signed up to foster siblings. She didn’t want these kids to be separated. She knew it was hard.
Will 18 years old, Carter 14 years old, Sidney 13 years old, and Markell “Buddy,” who is 8 years old, are all siblings by blood. She also took in Kendrich who is 6, and Terrel “T.J.,” who is 4. They are also biological brothers.
These 6 beautiful children were embraced by Jessica’s biological children Eli and Brenna. Together, since 2015, their house became happier. TJ or Terrel was still a baby when he came to Jessica’s home.
Though, she always knew she needed to finalize everything. She wanted it to be legal. That’s the reason why she finally decided to adopt all 6 children so they can finally have a forever home.
“Everybody tells me how lucky these kids are and what a good thing I did,” Jessica Benzakein told TODAY Parents. “But … I’m going to cry … they grounded me. I went through my 20’s thinking I didn’t really need a family. But I did. They give me purpose.”
For Jessica, these children are her blessings. They made her whole, they made her family happier and complete. To her, seeing these children together, having a family to call their own is also her happiness.
This is something that she longed for when she was in foster homes, and now, she was able to give it to these children.
“We have fun here. It’s total chaos in a good way,” she said to Today. “They have a safe place where they can screw up and make mistakes and laugh and joke and poke fun of each other.”
These children now have a family to call their own. A home together with their siblings and that they will never have to feel lonely again.
“We’ve been living like a family for a long time,” Benzakein happily said. “But now, no one can tell us we’re not.”
In her Facebook account, Jessica notes that she is a mom to 9, meaning she has added another blessing to her beautiful family!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
