Family adopts seven siblings separated in foster care

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Friday, July 14, 2017
Family adopts seven siblings separated in foster care
A Florida couple is keeping seven brothers and sisters together who have been divided by four different foster homes.

Florida couple DaShoan and Sofia Olds always knew they wanted to adopt kids, but they didn't think they would adopt seven at once.

The Olds first heard the story of seven siblings who were separated into four different foster homes on TV on Thanksgiving Day.

Once Sofia saw a photo of the kids, she knew they were "the children she was meant to mother."

"It's just something you had to do," DaShoan Olds told ABC News. "My wife and I were blessed with a house that was too big for us. That would be so selfish of us to have the space [and] for us not to offer our home to them. I always felt that when you are blessed, you'll be a blessing."

On June 2, the Olds brought the seven siblings, four boys and three girls, to their home. Necia, 12, Eric, 10, Erica, 10, Zavian, 9, Dava, 8, Keyon, 5, and Reggie, 4, were reunited after spending two years in different foster homes. The Olds expect the adoption to become official in September.

"This is a very unique opportunity that will change the lives of seven children today and a family for a lifetime," said Mike Watkins, CEO of Big Bend Community Based Care. "We can only imagine the possibilities that await the Olds family, while we laud their devotion and strength."

"Looking at those faces, I could see the sweetness and the kindness knowing anything that happened in their lives wasn't their fault and if I can do anything to keep them together, I will," said Sofia. "It was no question."