'Forever and ever'

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.

On Friday, 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 Friday 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. Linda Barefoot, 60, has taken care of Kenneth since he was born and adopted him about three years ago.

"The brothers have to stay together," she 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.

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

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," Merrilyn Crosson said.

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, Crosson said.

"From the first time I met her, she had a back-up plan," she said. "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," said Woolever, 57. "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.' "

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.

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 she told them they each could take one.

Barefoot didn't have any special celebration plans for the children when they got home. 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.

Since 2000, National Adoption Day has helped finalize 4,800 adoptions in all 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. There are about 408,425 children in foster care in the United States and 107,000 are waiting to be adopted.

The average child waits for an adoptive family for more than three years; about 11 percent, or 43,000 children, wait five years or more.

In Florida, 7,824 children are available for adoption. Last year, 1,339 children in Florida never were adopted or became too old for foster care.

In Hillsborough County, 2,000 youth have found adoptive homes during the past three years. There are 306 children available and waiting for adoption and 180 youth over the age of 11 available for adoption.

Local families interested in adoption can call Hillsborough Kids, Inc. at (813) 643-5437 or visit www.heartgallerytampabay.org.

For information about adopting a child in the United States., call the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption at (800) 275-3832 or visit www.nationaladoptionday.org.