The girls were adopted by Brian and Katie Woodruff, of West Chester Twp., who already have five children, who range from 8 to 24 years old. As the Woodruffs told Butler County Probate Court Judge Randy Rogers, two of their children have left the home, so they had two empty beds.
Now they’re full.
The girls’ attorney and guardian, Tracy Washington, who has overseen their foster care since they were 1 year old, said when they lived in Hamilton it wasn’t a “safe and stable home.”
Then Washington added: “This is a good day. They’re in a stable, positive family the rest of their lives. They have a wonderful beginning.”
The girls have spent about 60 percent of their lives in foster care, the Woodruffs said.
They were introduced to Kiyanna and Tiyanna on Dec. 26, 2012. They figured the girls would stay for a few hours, then return back to foster care. Instead they spent the night, and the next day — their birthdays — they were taken to Chick-fil-A for the first time in their lives.
Now it’s one of their favorite restaurants and where they wanted to eat Saturday to celebrate the adoption ceremony.
Kiyanna, an eighth-grader at Liberty Junior School, said even before she and her sister signed the adoption papers, they already felt part of the Woodruff family.
“This is where we belong,” she said while standing in the lobby. “We are loved.”
About one year ago, the Woodruffs thought the girls were going to leave and they were concerned the girls may never return.
“That would have broken our hearts,” said Brian Woodruff, a district manager for Lowe’s. “I can’t imagine our lives without these girls.”
His wife, an intervention specialist for the Lakota School District, added: “We never knew what God had in store for us. But these are amazing girls, so strong, so loving. They are part of our family. It’s so meant to be. They love each other; they fight with each other. They fit right in.”
But the Woodruffs know there will be challenges, even more than most parents face raising two teenage daughters. There aren’t many families with white parents, five white children and two black children. People stare. Point. They can be cruel.
Katie Woodruff has a family portrait that hangs in her classroom. One of her students asked her about the people in the photo.
“Those are my children,” she said.
“Even the black ones?” the student asked.
Brian Woodruff said when people see him with the two black girls, then meet his wife, they’re confused.
“There are looks,” he said. “One plus one doesn’t equal two.”
“We are learning from each other,” his wife added. “They are part of us.”
The girls certainly have been embraced by the Woodruff family and West Chester Twp. community. The courtroom was full during the adoption ceremony. The girls received roses and embroidered blankets. One of those who spoke was Sandy Greis, their grandmother. She told the court that the girls were her 10th and 11th grandchildren.
Later, she said, “Those girls needed a grandma and I get to be their grandma.”
In the United States, there are more than 100,000 children in foster care who need permanent families, and many of these kids have been waiting years to be adopted. In Ohio, more than 3,200 children in foster care are waiting to find families they can call their own.
Eighteen children were adopted Saturday during National Adoption Day hosted by Butler County Children Services. Adoption supervisor Ami Faig said 18 set a record for one-day adoption in the last 20 years. She said 51 children were adopted during 2013, and so far this year 51 have been adopted. She said more adoptions are planned in December.
She said about 65 to 70 children are waiting for a “forever home.”
The adoption of the twin sister was ideal, she said, because the girls were kept together.
“There has to be a connection,” she said. “They need that to be successful.”
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