A special Mother’s Day. Seven siblings finally united in one loving Columbus area family

In December 2021, Angela and Elliott Turbeville gave six siblings, ages 7-14, a surprise Christmas gift.

At their Green Island Hills home, they told the kids, instead of going to school that morning, they would drive to a downtown Columbus courtroom, where their status would change from foster to adoptive family.

After the hearing, Angela reflected on the legal hurdles they had to leap over to reach that moment. She emphasized they still were trying to adopt the seventh sibling.

“I feel like I’m almost at the end of a marathon,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer then.

Fast forward to Easter 2023, when the Turbevilles joyfully ran through their marathon’s finish line. And they broke the news to the siblings with another surprise, this time at their Marion County farm, about 30 miles east of Columbus.

In their Easter baskets was this message, written on a strip of paper inside a plastic egg:

“William Turbeville coming soon!”

Yes, the next day, they would drive to the same Columbus courtroom to finalize the adoption of the seventh sibling — and the four-year struggle to legally unite these brothers and sisters into one loving family finally would be complete.

Who are the Turbevilles?

Elliott is associate director of quality assurance at Pratt & Whitney in Columbus. Angela, a former elementary school teacher and tutor, runs their business, Red Barn Farming and Rabbitry. They sell eggs, poultry, rabbits, goats and other livestock.

By the time their three biological children were raised and living on their own, Angela and Elliott were in their 40s. Their bodies wouldn’t allow them to have more kids, but their hearts and minds yearned for them.

They considered other options, such as in vitro fertilization, but fostering and eventually adoption better fit their mindset.

“There’s just thousands of kids in that need,” Elliott told the L-E then. “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 became certified foster parents in 2019. That October, they received a call from Hope Foster Care & Adoption, the child placing agency of the Methodist Home for Children & Youth: Would they foster four siblings?

Angela and Elliott figured they had raised three children, so this would be just one more. Sealing the deal for Angela was when she noticed one of the boys has the same birthdate of Elliott’s deceased mother.

The Turbevilles were the third foster home for the four siblings in eighth months.

That week, Angela and Elliott learned the four siblings had three more siblings in a foster home 2-3 hours away. After a period of Saturday visits over the next few months, Hope Foster Care asked whether the Turbevilles would take in the other three siblings as well. They agreed, but Angela asked for 30 days to get the house ready. That meant rearranging rooms and buying bunkbeds.

Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic started in spring 2020, the Turbervilles hunkered down in their house with their seven foster children.

“Luckily, I was a schoolteacher, so I did homeschool,” she said.

That gave Angela time to help the children who were below grade level catch up. All the children ended up on the honor roll.

“They’re smart,” Angela said then. “They understand where they came from. They understand where they are. … Their mom was a foster child, so we’re trying to break that cycle. My goal is to get them educated, keep them out of jail and be productive citizens.”

Adoption

The children repeatedly asked Angela and Elliott to adopt them. In the spring of 2021, the Turbevilles learned the juvenile court in another Georgia county had terminated the parental rights of the neglectful mother and abusive father for the six oldest siblings, allowing them to start the adoption process.

After the December 2021 adoption, the Turbeville’s started building their new house on their Marion County farm. They spent the summer of 2002 living in a 32-foot camper, cooking meals outside. They built fences and planted gardens. The house was finished a week before school started.

Now, the family raises rabbits, chickens, goats, pigs, ducks and geese. The children have daily chores requiring them to feed and water the animals on the 42 acres.

“They love their animals,” Angela said, “and they got to experience baby goats being born this spring.”

In October, Angela and Elliott attended a trial for a judge to decide whether to terminate the biological father’s parental rights for the seventh sibling. They won their case in February and finalized the adoption in April.

“It has been a very long road,” Angela said. “The children come with years of trauma and very abusive past. Therapy appointments with all them is very demanding. Getting them extra help in school was also important. . . . All the children are currently on grade level now.”

Angela figures the farm work is therapeutic for the siblings as well.

“The children enjoy having all of the animals and spending time with them,” she said. “I believe it actually helps with their healing. Now that all seven siblings are officially adopted, the real healing can begin without fear of being split up again.”

‘A zoo’

A custom-made doormat welcomes visitors to the Turbeville farm with a friendly warning: “HOPE YOU LIKE Animals & Kids BECAUSE IT’S A ZOO INSIDE.”

Elliott clarified with a smile, “It’s a zoo inside and outside.”

During the Ledger-Enquirer’s visit, Zander, 14, described his new home life this way: “It’s fun. You always have something to do, so it’s not boring.”

Zander then recalled that Easter surprise, when he and his siblings learned their youngest sibling also would be adopted.

“I was very excited and happy we all would be together forever,” he said.

Brooklyn, 11, the only girl among the seven siblings, explained what the news about William’s adoption means to her: “He can’t be taken away.”

Living on the farm together, Brooklyn said, has been “crazy, fun and happy. Everybody has to do something every day, and it can be complicated sometimes.”

Angela interjected with a laugh, “She gets spoiled. The rule is, you’re not to argue with your sister.”

Patience and perseverance

Not having to deal anymore with the legal issues to be together as a family is a relief, Angela said.

“There was always changes,” she said. “There was always curveballs. We were told TPR (terminating parental rights) was going to happen for the father in 2021, and then, two days before court, they changed.”

Before all the biological parents’ rights were terminated, the Turbevilles needed to receive permission from the Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services to cross state lines with any of the siblings.

“Even to visit family for the weekend, you’ve got to plan ahead,” Angela said. “You can’t just go on a spur-of-the-moment trip.”

Junior, 15, the oldest of the siblings noted Angela and Elliott “kept fighting and fighting for us.”

Patience and perseverance were key, Elliott said.

“Don’t give up just because it’s difficult or hard,” he said. “… Anything worth having you’ve got to work for.”

Zander praised his adoptive parents for modeling that life lesson.

“Even though they went through all that stuff for us, they didn’t’ quit,” he said. “They taught us, just because it gets hard doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You just keep going.”

Hayden, 13, said he’s learning from his adoptive parents to “be a good human, not get in trouble, get good grades.”

Trust and love

Angela and Elliott were committed to demonstrating to the seven siblings that they could trust them, especially the older ones, who had the longest memories.

“Everybody had turned their back on them,” she said. “They were tossed around, and nobody was taking care of them.”

So sticking to routines, schedules and delivering on promises were crucial to developing their relationships.

“Do what you say,” Elliott said.

Before they moved into the Turbeville home, it was hard for Zander and his siblings to trust adults who were responsible for protecting them, he said, because too often they failed to take care of even their basic needs.

“If they trusted me and I trusted them, I would try to love back towards them,” Zander said. “But if (they didn’t and) I didn’t, I would like just be there.”

The level of trust and care in the Turbeville family is a world of difference.

“They give us the love we need,” Hayden said.

In return, Junior said, they show their love for their adoptive parents.

“We listen and follow directions,” he said.

Fended for themselves

The siblings sometimes were abandoned on the streets, fending for themselves, rummaging through dumpsters, eating grass and leaves, stealing food and baby formula from grocery stores before DFACS intervened, said Angela and the older children.

“They were in survival for so long,” Angela said.

Now, they are thriving, savoring Angela’s cooking and Elliott’s grilling.

“We don’t have to think about not getting food or not getting treated well now,” Zander said.

Sometimes they were split into different foster homes, a few of them were housed without any other siblings for a while.

“They would pack their bags and try to plan an escape from their foster homes,” Angela said.

Disney World and Mother’s Day

In October, they will pack their bags for a more wholesome reason: a family trip to Disney World.

Before that, they will celebrate Mother’s Day for the first time as an official family.

“I think I finally feel at peace and some sort of calm,” Angela said, “knowing that they’re all mine — ours — and that, hopefully, they’re at peace with it as well, knowing that we all finally have the same last name.”