Awesome - 2 Years After Her Husband's Passing, Widow Receives A Life-Changing Phone Call
Life-changing moments can happen in an instant — just ask Bobbie-Jo Floyd. All it took was a phone call for her life as she knew it to come crumbling down. She'd barely picked up the pieces when her phone rang again, but this time, with news of a much different variety. Just when she thought she'd never find her life's meaning ever again, she got a reminder in the form of six little miracles...
False reality
Bobbie-Jo, her husband Andre, and their children, Jeremai and Elyjah, were the exact definition of a loving family.
The stay-at-home mom thought she would spend the next 20 or more years raising her two boys with Andre by her side. Her reality changed in October 2014.
An evening ride
Bobbie-Jo and Andre hoped to add another Floyd to their family, but their hopes were dashed one day in the late fall. Like many other evenings, Andre decided to take a spin on his motorcycle. This time around, however, his ride was anything but smooth.
October 19, 2014
During his outing, Andre lost control of his motorcycle. When the hours passed by and he hadn't returned home, Bobbie-Jo knew that something awful must have happened to him. Unfortunately, she was right: the accident ended in tragedy. “October 19, 2014, my husband passed away,” Bobbie-Jo said.
The aftermath
With Andre’s unexpected early passing, Bobbie-Jo became a widow and single mom. She was responsible for Jeremai and Elyjah’s needs while trying to navigate her own sea of grief. In the months after Andre’s death, Bobbie-Jo struggled with her new reality. She couldn’t accept Andre’s absence.
Empty home
"I curled up in a ball on the floor," Bobbie-Jo said. “I was petrified of moving forward without him." Bobbie-Jo and her sons struggled without Andre. His missing presence made Bobbie-Jo feel empty in her home. About a year into being a single mom, Bobbie-Jo knew she needed to figure out a way to bring meaning back into her life.
Impressive timing
And Bobbie-Jo felt especially passionate about helping children. That's when she decided to submit her application to become a foster parent. She didn’t hear anything from the agency for months, so she focused on taking care of Jeremai and Elyjah. Finally, on the two-year anniversary of Andre’s death, she received a surprising phone call.
Two big moments
The Floyds went to Penn's Landing in Philadelphia to release balloons to honor Andre’s uplifting spirit. After a successful memorial service, the family returned home — and Bobbie-Jo’s phone rang. The social welfare team knew Bobbie-Jo wanted to be a foster mom, and they just so happened to have an unusual opportunity for her.
Fostering opportunity
The social workers had two sisters who needed placement. They wanted to keep the girls together and thought Bobbie-Jo’s home could be a great fit for them. Almost immediately, she agreed to foster the sisters. She and her boys hurriedly prepared their home for the arrival of their new foster sisters!
Rapid opening
Bobbie-Jo didn't have to wait long for the girls to arrive. "October 19, 2016, I decided to become a foster mother, and I got children that day," Bobbie-Jo said. The welfare team made sure the children weren’t waiting long for a new place to live.
Surprise guest
That evening, Destiny, 11, and Serenity, 7, were driven to Bobbie-Jo’s three-bedroom home in Philadelphia, but they weren’t alone. Along with the accompanying social worker, the girls brought another little boy with them — their 9-year-old brother, Lysander. "They were going to drop him someplace else," Bobbie-Jo said.
Is it possible?
Bobbie-Jo had prepared for two foster kids, but three? After everything she'd gone through — Andre's death, becoming a single mom, waiting to become a foster mother — she wasn't sure if she had the emotional space to care for five kids, let alone actual space in her home.
Room for one more
But when she saw the siblings together, there was no question what she had to do. Bobbie-Jo knew she had to keep them in the same home. "I asked, 'If I can get another bunk bed, can he stay?'" Bobbie-Jo said. She didn’t like the idea of them living apart from each other, so she stepped up.
Space and patience
"When I realized that they were going to be separated, I knew that I had the space and the patience to take them all in," Bobbie-Jo said. She knew exactly how it felt to be separated from a loved one, and she wasn't about to make those kids go through that pain. So, her family of three turned into a family of six.
Double-sized family
Once her family doubled in size, Bobbie-Jo and her sons quickly adjusted to their foster siblings. "We had a lot of fun with them,” Bobbie-Jo said. “I just wanted them to experience life and have fun at our house. They just wanted love and attention and they were the happiest kids." Slowly but surely, the Floyds started to heal.
Renewed home
Bobbie-Jo's foster daughters and her unexpected but welcomed foster son brought joy back into the Floyd home. Bobbie-Jo realized she was right about fostering; caring for the three new children renewed her zest for living. She still mourned Andre, but being around the kids was therapeutic — and chaotic, as she soon discovered.
Positive distraction
“I never did really get over the pain, I just became really busy, and realizing I wasn’t crying as much because I was so busy with the children,” Bobbie-Jo said. She’s maintained a structured environment for all the children in the Floyd house, even through the inevitable highs and lows of life...
Committed to care
Bobbie-Jo was committed to providing her kids with consistency and unconditional love. After the trauma they had all experienced in their young lives, they needed patience and love more than ever. What Bobbie-Jo didn't know was that even more surprises were in store for the family of six.
Three more surprises
After Destiny, Serenity, and Lysander moved in, she learned they had three more siblings in the foster system: Honesty, Adrian, and August. Bobbie-Jo was relentless in persuading social workers to let her foster the remaining siblings. "I was begging, 'I'll do whatever I have to do,'" she said.
Relentless persuasion
"I got to get these kids together," Bobbie-Jo said. And she did! She successfully fostered all six siblings under the same roof. One of Bobbie-Jo's foster children, however, wasn’t as happy with the arrangement as she seemed. It wasn’t long before she approached her foster mom with a heartbreaking request.
Serenity's request
"I didn't want to keep going to the system and travel to different homes...so I asked her, 'Can I be adopted?" Serenity said. Though she was taken aback by the request, Bobbie-Jo was far from disappointed. In fact, she was ecstatic that Serenity wanted to be her adopted daughter. But what about the other foster kids?
Officially Floyds
Luckily, the other foster kids also wanted to be official Floyds! Bobbie-Jo and her sons were eager to have them as official members of the family, and Bobbie-Jo happily started the long process of adoption. Though she's shown incredible strength in the years leading up to the adoption, Bobbie-Jo has just one person to thank for her achievements.
A sign
"I believe this was all Andre giving me a sign," Bobbie-Jo said. "He knew what would keep me going.” Even now, Bobbie-Jo feels a strong connection to Andre. "It's amazing that my husband has been gone since 2014 and he's still blessing me with Floyds," she said.
Happy family
Finally, in 2020, Bobbie-Jo officially adopted her six foster kids! The newly-adopted kids combined with her two OGs made for one giant loving family. "I think we saved each other's lives," Bobbie-Jo said. This isn't an exaggeration; Bobbie-Jo had rescued those six kids from what had been a dark past in the foster care system.
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