Melissa and Scott Groves were like many couples.
They got married and immediately thought about having kids. Melissa had a daughter already from her first marriage, and she too looked forward to having another sibling. But unfortunately, after a doctor’s visit, it was revealed that Melissa and Scott were not able to conceive together. Nevertheless, they decided to go the adoption route.
Melissa and Scott Groves were like many couples.
They got married and immediately thought about having kids. Melissa had a daughter already from her first marriage, and she too looked forward to having another sibling. But unfortunately, after a doctor's visit, it was revealed that Melissa and Scott were not able to conceive together. Nevertheless, they decided to go the adoption route. They got the word in April of 2004 that their dream of having kids would come true. A 3-year-old and his 22-month-old brother were in need of a new home.
Melissa gives this account of her expectations and the experience that followed:
"We did not know quite what to expect, they felt the same way and they were afraid. But we have learned from each other and they have conquered our hearts. Even after a week we couldn't imagine living without them."
Then a surprise call comes in. It turns out the mother of the children is expecting another child. The Grove's take that child in as well.
"As a premature baby born with a cleft palate and being already exposed to drugs in the womb, this little guy had a long way to go," says Melissa. "But he was just about us as his other brothers; of course, we have said âyes.'"
It doesn't stop there. Three others follow. Whenever the biological mother of the existing adopted boys became pregnant yet again, the Groves were there ready to take them in due to the drug addicted mother's inability to care for them.
"Scott and I never had a discussion about it. We always said yes." The last baby is Zayn, who is now 1 year old and was born with Down syndrome. He was officially adopted last year with his 7 brothers."
The parents were certainly getting more than they bargained for, and people began wondering if they were crazy for continuing to take in kid after kid.
"At this point people were starting to doubt my state of my mind. And there were quite a lot of times that I was overwhelmed by how quickly our lives turned upside down. But something in me always told me that these kids need to stay together," explains the new mother.
She doesn't hold a grudge at all against the biological mother, and in fact keeps in touch with her on Facebook.
"She's not a bad person I know that she loves her children still. I can not imagine what she's going through."
Melissa's original daughter who said she had looked forward to a new sibling, could likely never have imagined that she would be getting 8 of them in 11 years!
This family felt so strongly that all the brothers should be together in this world, that they never hesitated to take another one in once they found out yet another was on the way. Eight new kids in just over a decade! Pretty incredible and kudos for this couple for keeping the brother bond strong and allowing these kids to grow up alongside one another.
