Seven siblings finally reunite after being adopted by a family on Mother's Day

In December 2021, Angela and Elliott Turbeville had a special Christmas gift waiting for six siblings aged 7-14. When they were at their Green Island Hills home, they told the kids that their status would change from foster to an adoptive family. It would happen after they go to the downtown Columbus courtroom for the hearing. After the hearing, Angela even reflected on the legal battle she fought to attain the status of an adoptive parent. “I feel like I’m almost at the end of a marathon,” she said, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Finally, in the Easter of 2023, this marathon was over, and, Turbevilles crossed the finish line together. And they informed the siblings of this good news with another surprise. This time, they were seen at the Marion County farm, about 30 miles east of Columbus. Their Easter baskets had a sweet message inside a plastic egg that had a strip of paper that read, "William Turbeville coming soon!" The next day, they would leave for the Colombus courtroom again and finalize the adoption of the seventh sibling and conclude the four-year-long struggle to legally unite these brothers and sisters into a complete and loving family. 

Elliot is an associate director of quality assurance at Pratt & Whitney in Columbus. Angela was a teacher and tutor. Now, she runs their business, Red Barn Farming and Rabbitry. They sell eggs, poultry, rabbits, goats, and other livestock. Their biological children had grown up and been raised when the couple was in their 40s. Therefore, the couple could not give birth to more children. But their hearts desired it. There were other options, such as in vitro fertilization, but fostering and adoption suited them well. “There are just thousands of kids in that need,” Elliott told the L-E. “So we figured, instead of going through all of that with her body and trying to make more of our own, why not just help kids already out there and need help?” They officially became foster parents in 2019. In October of that year, Hope Foster Care & Adoption, the child placing agency of the Methodist Home for Children & Youth, asked them: if they were interested in fostering four siblings.

The couple realized they already had the experience of raising three children and it would be just one more. One of the boys also had Elliott's deceased mother's birthdate. Also, the couple later learned that these four siblings had three more siblings who lived just a few hours away. Soon, they decided to adopt them as well and asked for a month to get their house ready with rooms and bunk beds. They were also able to accommodate the pandemic, “Luckily, I was a schoolteacher, so I did homeschool,” she said. As for their adoption story, the children constantly asked to be adopted. In 2021, Angela and Elliott found that the juvenile court in Georgia County had taken away the parental rights of the neglectful parents of the six oldest siblings. It allowed them to start the adoption process and get the rights sooner. After the adoption, the family shares responsibilities and chores. They live together and raise farm animals. “They love their animals,” Angela said, “and they got to experience baby goats being born this spring.”