A Pasco County couple has adopted six children.
- Pasco couple has adopted six children
- The couple tried to have children but were not successful
- They have a foster and adoptive parent support group at their church
Ben and Naomi Shari’s house is full of lots of kid energy every day. “We spend almost every afternoon on the trampoline getting their energy out,” Naomi said.
The couple tried for several years to have children, but they were not successful. They decided to go the adoption route and started by becoming foster parents.
Some of the six children are siblings who were adopted at different times. The couple wanted to keep the siblings together.
However, trying to integrate all the children has had its challenges.
“It’s a lot of work,” said Ben. “The behaviors were extreme at times and we didn't know if we could handle it.”
Some of the children who were not adopted as infants had issues because of their previous family situations.
Ben and Naomi have gotten lots of good advice from a foster and adoptive parent support group at their church. They have also gotten advice from Lakeland family therapist Ed Shoemaker.
Shoemaker has helped them come up with strategies for correcting bad behavior.
"But you have to go back and start from square one and build a relationship with that child,” Shoemaker said.
Raising six adopted children requires a lot of hard work. But Ben and Naomi said it is worth it.
“I can’t imagine my life without any of them,” said Naomi.
“But they have grown on our heart,” said Ben.