Is there anything you wouldn’t do for your family? You see stories all the time about people going above and beyond for those they love. But one woman has opened her arms, and her heart in the most beautiful way by moving heaven and earth to adopt the baby of her husband’s ex-wife.
Setting The Benchmark High.
And Baby Makes Seven
Five years ago, Wesley and Christie Werts met and fell in love, and decided to marry. When they got hitched, Christie, 48, brought her two children, Megan and Vance into the family, and Wesley, 45, added his two, Austin and Dakota.
In January, the Ohio six became seven when they adopted two-year-old Levi, the baby of Wesley’s ex-wife.
Sounds Like A Midday Movie
It’s not something you hear about often because movies/TV and society have almost trained us to hate our partner’s exes, usually for no good reason. But Christie Werts shows it doesn’t have to be this way.
She had already started the process of adopting Austin and Dakota, and the new family was in the planning stages of going from “Brady Bunch’ to “Yours, Mine, and Ours” by looking into fertility treatments. Then they got a call from Wesley’s former sister-in-law informing them Wesley’s ex had died after giving birth at 33 weeks, due to complications due to her drug addiction and Covid. The family had no idea she was even pregnant because they hadn’t heard from her in over a year.
The baby was a ward of the state with no name, no birth certificate, and no one to love him.
@cjthemom5 A little long, I stink at edits. But emotional to make. #adoption #adoptionstory #storytime #loveyou #foryou #fyp #bonding ♬ Dream Away – Ramol
Strange Situation
Christie recalls thinking her husband knew she was going to say they had to take him in. Not only is Levi a sibling to two of their kids, but Christie was raised in the foster system and even though her experience was good, she knows that isn’t always the case and couldn’t allow that to happen to Levi.
During the time the couple was looking into fertility treatments, Christie kept having a recurring dream.
“For three months I kept having this dream. Sometimes he was a baby, other times a toddler,” she said.
When she flew to Texas to meet with Child Protective Services, she had no idea if she was even going to be able to bond with him. But she had to try.
The second she set her eyes on the blue-eyed, blond-haired Levi, she knew he was meant to be her son. She recalls how her daughter, Megan, was delighted to point out Levi had a button nose, just like her.
A Big Move That Followed
It wasn’t an easy process either. Levi still had a father who had substance abuse issues and Levi couldn’t be adopted until his rights were terminated.
So, the family sold their home in Ohio and moved the family to Texas and began a long process that would enable them to adopt Levi.
In January 2023, after sixteen months including 40 hours of adoptive parenting classes, CPR classes, tuberculosis tests, two home inspections, hours upon hours of interviews, financial checks, and background checks, Levi officially became part of the Werts clan.
Awkward
This whole situation was odd for Wesley. At one point in his life, he had been in love with Levi, Austin, and Dakota’s mother. It felt strange to him to be adopting the baby his ex-wife had with another man.
The family has no intentions of leaving Levi’s mum out of the picture. “We have no interest in erasing her,” Christie said. “Of course, he will know about her, and her memory will be a part of his life, and we’re still in contact with the aunt and grandfather.”
Christie summed it all up with:
“I think we took a bad situation and turned it into a love story. We did it all for the children, for Levi, and we wanted our children to have their sibling.”
1 Comment
Is the father of the girls’ children paying child support for their children?
If the couple get married and the father isn’t paying child support and can’t be found the guy may be able to adopt her children and them all have the same surname.
Kid can be cruel and my help stop bullying.