From Foster Care to a Forever Home
Friday, September 30th, 2022, was a joyous day in the eyes of Bender Commercial, Broker Isaac Jorgensen, and his family. The Jorgensen family was finally able to adopt the last three children in their family: Junior, Faye, and Jacoby. The initial courtroom was too small for the group of people that came to support the Jorgensen family, so there was a last-minute change to move the adoption hearing to a larger room. It was such an awesome feeling seeing all the individuals who showed up for this loving family.
A little backstory on the Jorgensen Family: When Isaac and Chelsea got married, they knew they wanted to do foster care. Initially, they didn’t start foster care in hopes of adopting their first placement, but rather be a temporary home as the biological parents did what they needed to do so they would be able to get their kids back. “It’s bittersweet, but our kids’ biological parents weren’t taking those steps and ended up losing their parental rights. We knew we weren’t going to hold any love back with our placements, even with them potentially leaving someday, so when parental rights were terminated and we had the opportunity to adopt them, there were no questions. We loved them like they were ours from the onset, and now it’s forever,” said Isaac.
Isaac and Chelsea have two friends (two different homes) who adopted Junior, Faye, and Jacoby’s older five siblings between the two of them. When their biological mom got pregnant with number six, Junior, – Child Protective Services (CPS) knew he would go straight into foster care. CPS called the Jorgensen’s in hopes of them taking him in when he was born so that all six siblings could stay connected. Isaac and Chelsea ended up picking up Junior from the hospital two days after he was born. Six months later, they got another call that mom was pregnant again, and CPS asked if they wanted to take that baby in. Fast forward two months, Isaac and Chelsea got another call that informed them that the “baby” was twins. After a week of discussion and prayer, the Jorgensen’s decided to take the twins in, Faye and Jacoby.
Isaac expressed that this adoption was one of the “top three best days in his life”. Alongside the day he got to marry his wife, Chelsea, and the day they got to adopt their oldest, Aiden. “There was a lot of unknowns from the day we got the babies to when we adopted them. Those unknowns led to some anxiety and fear that I had never experienced in my life. The thought of the three of them leaving our house, the home they knew from birth, and being placed with someone other than back with their biological parents (if healthy) was the scariest thing I’ve experienced up to this point in my life,” stated Isaac.
To the Jorgensen family, adopting all four children is hard to put into words. They are ecstatic, thankful, and beyond excited. “It’s a big weight that has been taken off our home and family. It’s a liberating feeling to think about watching them grow up without any doubts that the view could’ve been from the outside looking in,” expressed Isaac.
The family had no clue what to expect when starting foster care. They knew they had plenty of time, energy, and resources that they could share with some kids so the choice to start was easy. A common response they get from people is, “I couldn’t handle it if they left,” or “I would get too attached”, but really, that’s the point. Isaac said, “These kids are in the positions they are because of the choices that other people make. They need love, not just some of it, but full love. Chelsea and I knew that there was a possibility that we would be heartbroken beyond what we could really comprehend, but we also knew that we had the access and ability to use resources that could help us heal from heartbreak if it ever came. These kids don’t have that. They don’t have options or choices to deal with their situation. I would highly encourage anyone who is feeling a nudge, or has ever thought about foster care, to reach out to me or The Foster Network to learn more about it and to not ignore that feeling. I believe any step out of our comfort zone to share love with another person, especially children, is a step in the right direction.”
When the adoption was finalized, Isaac expressed these touching words, “Everyone says how lucky the kids are to have us, but really it’s how lucky we are to have them.”
It goes without saying that the courtroom was filled with big smiles and happy hearts! Isaac and Chelsea are amazing parents. We are overjoyed to see the Jorgensen family expand, and the Bender team feels blessed to be a part of their special day.
