The Blessing of Becoming a Mom
Donation protected
In the home stretch........ filed and off to the Investigator!!
Eric Houston, what can I say? His reputation precedes him. A loving child with the gift of being able to make you smile, roll with laughter and shake your head with disbelief all at the same time! He will make his grand entrance in a Zoot Suit complete with top hat and shades, jeans with his dress shirt pulled out just so highlighted with a contrasting tie and a newsboy cap or simply looking like your average everyday nine year old in shorts and a t-shirt. Eric is a boy with a flair for being independent, creative and different from the rest. I always wanted a child to share my life with, especially a son. I wanted to be able to share the fun and explorations I had with my father and to share the nurturing kindness I had with my mother. I was blessed with both in Eric Houston. He changed my life profoundly from his first breath. I knew that my life would never be the same and that I would have all that I had prayed for. I was a mom. It took nearly four years to hear the word “Mommy” due to his developmental delays, but it melts my heart today just as it did the first time I heard it.
I am not Eric’s biological mother. But, I am his mother in every other sense of the word. We are a family. I have spent his life knowing that, if something happens to me, he will become a “ward of the state” because I, nor anyone in my family, have any legal standing over his life and future. I am unable to appoint a Conservator for his future as I have no legal standing other than that of a caregiver and Legal Guardian. I have provided for Eric from the day of his birth, January 5, 2006, with an unwavering love, but there has always been a huge parental void from the inability to provide security for his future when I am gone. As his Guardian and not his birth mother, he is ineligible for continuation of my State employment health benefits and retirement. Various circumstances have prevented me from completing Eric’s adoption before this. Long overdue, now is the time to make it happen.
Eric is a special needs child, diagnosed with Autism and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FTA). Over the last nine years, he has blossomed from a little non-verbal firecracker, flying here and there, to an independent, imaginative, eclectic young man. As I’ve watched him grow, my greatest hope and desire is that he will be able to care for himself independently as an adult. However, this may not be a reality. Adults with Autism and FTA often cannot manage their own housing and finances. As you can see, Eric’s situation is not a selfish wish by his mother to adopt him to make him her own. There is a compelling need to create a secure present and future life. Eric has huge wings and has flown far; my job is to create a secure, legal landing pad.
They say it takes a village to raise a child and Eric is blessed to have one of the biggest and most caring villages in the world: his family, his church family, his friends, his teachers, his teammates, the list goes on. Working together, we can help to secure his future.
I have come to the point where I need to make this happen for Eric. It is not comfortable for me to ask for assistance in my life and my finances, however, the costs involved for a Guardian to adopt a child in California are extremely expensive. I have paid the attorney the retaining fee to start the process and she has been working diligently with me to make this a reality. The bulk of the adoption cost for a Guardian goes straight to the California Department of Social Services for an investigation into my fitness to be a parent. This fee is $4,500.00 alone and must be paid up front. The balance, $5,500.00, is for filing fees, investigators to locate and serve the biological parents, litigation fees and of course attorney costs. As you can see this is a substantial sum of money and a complex process but donations of any size can make this happen. Please consider helping us take the final step to becoming a legal family and ensuring the secure, legal landing pad that Eric deserves. Eric and I will be eternally grateful for your consideration and donations.
Eric Houston, what can I say? His reputation precedes him. A loving child with the gift of being able to make you smile, roll with laughter and shake your head with disbelief all at the same time! He will make his grand entrance in a Zoot Suit complete with top hat and shades, jeans with his dress shirt pulled out just so highlighted with a contrasting tie and a newsboy cap or simply looking like your average everyday nine year old in shorts and a t-shirt. Eric is a boy with a flair for being independent, creative and different from the rest. I always wanted a child to share my life with, especially a son. I wanted to be able to share the fun and explorations I had with my father and to share the nurturing kindness I had with my mother. I was blessed with both in Eric Houston. He changed my life profoundly from his first breath. I knew that my life would never be the same and that I would have all that I had prayed for. I was a mom. It took nearly four years to hear the word “Mommy” due to his developmental delays, but it melts my heart today just as it did the first time I heard it.
I am not Eric’s biological mother. But, I am his mother in every other sense of the word. We are a family. I have spent his life knowing that, if something happens to me, he will become a “ward of the state” because I, nor anyone in my family, have any legal standing over his life and future. I am unable to appoint a Conservator for his future as I have no legal standing other than that of a caregiver and Legal Guardian. I have provided for Eric from the day of his birth, January 5, 2006, with an unwavering love, but there has always been a huge parental void from the inability to provide security for his future when I am gone. As his Guardian and not his birth mother, he is ineligible for continuation of my State employment health benefits and retirement. Various circumstances have prevented me from completing Eric’s adoption before this. Long overdue, now is the time to make it happen.
Eric is a special needs child, diagnosed with Autism and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FTA). Over the last nine years, he has blossomed from a little non-verbal firecracker, flying here and there, to an independent, imaginative, eclectic young man. As I’ve watched him grow, my greatest hope and desire is that he will be able to care for himself independently as an adult. However, this may not be a reality. Adults with Autism and FTA often cannot manage their own housing and finances. As you can see, Eric’s situation is not a selfish wish by his mother to adopt him to make him her own. There is a compelling need to create a secure present and future life. Eric has huge wings and has flown far; my job is to create a secure, legal landing pad.
They say it takes a village to raise a child and Eric is blessed to have one of the biggest and most caring villages in the world: his family, his church family, his friends, his teachers, his teammates, the list goes on. Working together, we can help to secure his future.
I have come to the point where I need to make this happen for Eric. It is not comfortable for me to ask for assistance in my life and my finances, however, the costs involved for a Guardian to adopt a child in California are extremely expensive. I have paid the attorney the retaining fee to start the process and she has been working diligently with me to make this a reality. The bulk of the adoption cost for a Guardian goes straight to the California Department of Social Services for an investigation into my fitness to be a parent. This fee is $4,500.00 alone and must be paid up front. The balance, $5,500.00, is for filing fees, investigators to locate and serve the biological parents, litigation fees and of course attorney costs. As you can see this is a substantial sum of money and a complex process but donations of any size can make this happen. Please consider helping us take the final step to becoming a legal family and ensuring the secure, legal landing pad that Eric deserves. Eric and I will be eternally grateful for your consideration and donations.
Organizer
Teri Houston
Organizer
Irvine, CA