Photo Courtesy of People/ Robert Carter
Thirty-year-old Ohio dad, Robert Carter, officially made one year as a family with the five siblings he adopted from foster care.
In an interview with People, he spoke about the joys and troubles of adopting the children.
“It’s so beautiful to be able to see them grow together,” Carter said of his sons, Robert, Giovanni, and Kiontae, and daughters Marionna and Makayla.
“They’re bonding a lot more now. They fall asleep watching movies together; they sleep in each other’s rooms,” he added. “They just motivate me. Everything I do now, I think about them first and how it’s going to affect them. That keeps me on the straight and narrow.”
Carter hopes that more folks will be inclined to adopt after hearing his story.
“As long as they have the love in their heart, the time, and the means to take care of these kids that need forever homes, then I feel like they should step up and do it,” he said. “If it’s in your heart, then it’s obviously meant for you to do it, as long as it’s in your heart for the right reasons.”
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According to the outlet, Carter was also a foster child himself and felt the urge to reunite the five siblings after he had gone through the same experience, having been separated from his own eight siblings when he was 12.
Carter fostered three boys in December of 2018 and embarked on his journey to find their two sisters. By June, he was able to reunite all the kids after they spent half a year apart.
“The first time they saw each other after six months, they all cried,” said Carter. “After that moment, that’s when I knew that they should be together forever.”
In January 2020, Carter welcomed all five kids with open arms into his home, and by October, he was officially their adoptive dad.
In the year they’ve all spent together, Carter said he and the kids have been “making memories,” which includes moving into a bigger house in Cincinnati where he owns a salon, adopting two dogs, hosting Halloween parties, and starting their very own YouTube channel.