Christina and Christopher Sanders met when they were only teenagers… but it was love at first sight.
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The duo married right after High School and got to work starting a life of their own. Soon after their marriage, Christiana became pregnant with their first son. The Sanders’ continued this trend until they had 5 children of their own. Christopher was content with their family of 7… but Christina wanted more.
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One evening Christina approached her husband with a life changing question, ‘Do you want to be a foster parent?”
Though he was hesitant, Christopher consented and the Sanders signed up to be foster parents. “I can say this – my wife’s been doing this way before this. Her heart is huge, and it’s starting to rub off on me.”
Little did they know, their first charges would change their lives forever.
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December 3rd, 2014 the Sanders’ got the fateful call, “there are four boys here. It’s an emergency… can you come now?”
As the Sanders’ settled in with their new charges Christopher worried the boys wouldn’t accept the word of ‘some big black guy’ but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
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It was clear that the four boys wanted nothing more than a family, and the Sanders’ gave that to them. Then the boys’ sisters started coming over to the Sanders’ house every weekend… Christopher and Christina couldn’t bear the thought of splitting the siblings up, so they petitioned for the girls’ care as well.
“We were going to do whatever it took to make sure they could stay together.â€
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6 months into their stay, all the children were calling Christopher and Christina ‘mom’ and ‘dad.’ Soon after the older children asked the parents if they’d adopt them officially, and the Sander’s jumped at the chance.
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And so, a family of 7 became a family of 13. With the knock of a gavel, Chloe, 9, Carson, 10, Caylee, 12, Caleb, 13, Christian, 14, and Coby, 16, became part of the Sanders family forever.
Then the judge asked 12-year-old Cayley what she was thinking. She replied with, “I’m happy that I’m here, because everything is wonderful.”
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There was not a dry eye in the courtroom that day. The judge even commented on his admiration for their inspiring service saying, “They serve as an example … to how people can change the community one child at a time. Or, six children at a time.”
But the Sanders admit they have received backlash online for the adoption, but they don’t let it deter them.
“People on social media will say ‘With so many black children in need of adoption, why not adopt black children?’ ”Christopher told People. “But it has never been an issue for me and my wife. We just don’t respond, because we love our children, and race isn’t an issue for us, God says we are all the same.â€
Christina Sanders
And while raising 11 kids may seem daunting, Christina always makes sure she shows each of their kids how equally loved they are by carving out “Mommy time.”
If you feel called to help this close-knit group, you can donate to their 15-passenger van fundraiser on GoFundMe.
Check out the adorable little family on adoption day and the Sanders’s awesome heart in the video below!
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