The A Team is big. The A Team is lively. No, not the 1980s television show! The new A Team is composed of parents Alejandro and Alicia, plus their three adopted children, Angel, Abigail and Aaden, along with Avah, whose adoption is nearly finalized. Alicia and Alejandro met in choir class in high school. “My husband says when he saw me, he knew I would be his wife,” Alicia says. “It took me a little while longer.” They married in 2009. Having both grown up with a lot of siblings, the young couple wanted a big family. They could not have biological children, so they turned to Wayfinder to adopt.
The first boy they fostered with the hope of adopting went back to his biological parents. “It was really hard,” recalls Alejandro. “We were so attached to him.” They worried that children they hoped to adopt in the future would return to their biological families.
After counseling and support from Seana Aylen, Wayfinder’s director of foster care and adoptions and an adoptive mom herself, Alejandro and Alicia got past the fear. “We were going to be there for the kids and do whatever we could to make them happy and comfortable,” Alicia says.
Alicia and Alejandro’s children are two pairs of biological siblings.
“Keeping siblings together will build strong connections,” Alicia says. “I don’t want them to feel that they don’t have blood relationships.” All four children were born drug exposed. They took Angel into the family when he was seven-and-a-half months old, followed by his sister Abigail when she was 3 days old. Aaden came next, only 3 days old, and later his baby sister Avah at 2 days old. Because the siblings pairs are of different ethnicities, “My daughter likes to call us the rainbow family,” Alicia laughs.
Along their journey, Wayfinder has supported the family. “Seana always answered our questions,” Alejandro says. “She would explain the possible outcomes of our court dates, and that put us at ease.” Alejandro and Alicia started a YouTube channel to pass along what they know about foster-to-adopt to other couples. For anyone considering fostering or adopting, Alicia has a message: “Open your hearts. Don’t be afraid. At first, we were scared, but we wouldn’t have it any other way now.”
Update: Avah’s adoption was finalized in November! Congratulations to the A-Team!
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December 16, 2020