Plant City mom adds foster sons to family on adoption day

She cradled them as infants and watched their first steps as toddlers. So in her mind, Linda Barefoot always thought of the 2-year-old boys as her sons.

Today, as Hillsborough County observed National Adoption Day, a judge made it official.

"Everything appears in order," Circuit Judge Katherine G. Essrig said. "I've signed the order…making Jabari James Barefoot and Olbin Jason Barefoot legally the sons of Linda Barefoot and the brothers of Kenneth Barefoot."

The courtroom, filled with parents waiting to finalize adoptions, burst into applause. About 30 families appeared in court today for the ceremony.

"I love them," Barefoot said of the children, who came into her life through foster care. "I just can't part with them. I fell in love."

Jabari, 2, and Kenneth, 5, are biological brothers. Barefoot, 60, has taken care of Kenneth since he was born and adopted him about three years ago.

"The brothers have to stay together," Barefoot said as she picked up Jabari and bounced him on a knee.

Barefoot, who never had children of her own, couldn't let 2-year-old Olbin go either.

"He always called me mama," she said.

Barefoot first became a foster parent when Kenneth was an infant. The three boys she took in as her foster children have now legally become her sons.

The guardian ad litem who oversaw the case said Barefoot's demeanor toward the children won her over.

"The thing that comes through is her total devotion," said Merrilyn Crosson.

Kenneth's biological mother was a drug addict, Crosson said, so Kenneth was born withdrawing from drugs. He had breathing problems as an infant. Barefoot never left his side.

"She is there for them night and day," Crosson said.

Barefoot's age won't affect her ability to raise the boys, the guardian ad litem said. "From the first time I met her, she had a back-up plan. She has a lot of family support."

Barefoot, who is widowed, has a large family in Plant City and relatives help raise the children. Some, like her sister Betty Woolever, joke that Barefoot has "bitten off more than she can chew" by choosing to raise three high-energy boys who enjoy playing with trains and running around in the yard.

"I have two of my own and eight grandchildren," Woolever, 57, said. "I've been down this road before. But they're in good hands with her. She loves these kids."

Barefoot said she knows there will rough days. She frequently gets puzzled looks from strangers while on family outings because she's white and the boys are black.

And Kenneth's classmates have teased him about it.

"The kids will tell him, 'That's not your mama. She's not the right color for you,'" Barefoot said. "But I tell him, 'It doesn't matter. I love you. You love me. You were chosen to be mine.' "

Olympic track and field athlete Reese Hoffa, the keynote speaker at today's adoption ceremonies in downtown Tampa, empathizes with Barefoot's situation. Hoffa, who is black, was adopted by a white family in Kentucky when he was 4 years old.

"I struggled to fit in," said Hoffa.

But his parents weren't afraid to admit they didn't know everything about raising a child of another race and talked about the differences — and Hoffa's needs — openly, he said.

The 2012 Olympic hopeful, speaking to the adoptive families, urged communication and understanding.

"Parents, the journey you're on will be hard. But the good days will outnumber the bad by a mile," Hoffa said. "To the kids, please, give these parents a chance. Let them mold you. Never be afraid to dream big."

Barefoot said she just wants to instill good values in her sons.

"I want to make sure they do things right, stay on the straight and narrow," she said. "I hope for the best. They'll be alright."

Crosson, the guardian ad litem, said she has faith in Barefoot. At the hearing, Crosson testified that Barefoot has the passion and resources — including a cozy three-bedroom house in Plant City with a large yard — to steer the children to success.

When asked by an attorney if she was ready to be a mother, Barefoot replied, "Forever and ever."

Essrig, the judge, smiled. She gestured the three Barefoot boys to approach the bench. In front of her was a row of teddy bears and told them they can each take one.

Barefoot didn't have any special celebration plans for the children when they got back to Plant City. The boys, she said, just wanted to get out of their matching dress shirts and sweater vests.

"They just want to play outside," she said, walking out of the courtroom with her sons holding their stuffed animals and each other's hands.