Foster parent Chinishe Ray adopts twin brothers to add to her two previously adopted brothers on Natonal Foster Care Day. They celebrated the day at the park with games, toys, and bubbles.
In 2015, Chinishe Ray became a foster parent through Youth Villages. Her first foster placement was short-term but her second placement is what really changed her life.
In December 2015, two young boys – brothers – came into her home. Four years later, Kobe and Kaleb, who are now 8 and 10 years old, were officially adopted by Ray, in 2019, on National Adoption Day during November’s National Adoption Awareness Month.
For Ray, the holiday season has always been hard. Her brother died in December several years ago and his son came to live with her and her biological son. Her nephew is now 19 and her son is 25.
“I'm so blessed that God stepped in that day and changed my life forever,” said Ray of the day that Kobe and Kaleb were placed with her.
The boys had also experienced a family loss, which is how they made their way to Ray’s home. The timing of their adoption, while emotional, also was cause for celebration and a good remembrance of Ray’s brother.
“Our family traditions kind of stopped when my brother died,” Ray said. “But with kids in the home, we’ve brought those traditions back and have started new ones. Having little people at the holidays changes everything.”
But Ray’s story gets even better. Earlier this year, Ray adopted twin 3-year-old boys, Jace and Jaxon, after she fostered them since infancy. This year marks the first time Ray will have four adopted boys in her home.
“We’ll hang stockings with the boys’ names this year and place gifts in each,” Ray said. “Watching bright, little eyes light up brings Christmas back to life.”
Ray said she plans to talk to the boys, even the toddlers, about traditions they’d like to start in their new family. One tradition they all have enjoyed is making and decorating Christmas cookies with Ray’s family friend each year. “The twins were so young when they came to me,” she said. “They didn’t have family traditions yet.” Her biological son and nephew have welcomed the new brothers, taking it all in stride and offering support to the kids and Ray.
According to Ray, she hopes her story brings a light to the need for more foster care and adoptive parents. On any given day in the state of Tennessee, there are more than 8,000 children in foster care with nearly half in need of a foster family. Youth Villages currently has 534 children in foster care across the state and wants to provide placements for 600 more children in 2022. Last year, Youth Villages helped celebrate 80 adoptions. Ray also gives credit to Youth Villages for its role in helping grow her family. “Youth Villages is so helpful,”
Ray said. “I can’t express enough thanks for all the support they give in the foster and adoption arenas and how they move the process along. Youth Villages has been instrumental.
“In our home, we celebrate the formation of our new family while we also honor the landscape formed by family members who are no longer here to celebrate with us,” she added.