Alisia, Bradley, Cody, and Emma are four teens from Kansas who had a rough start in life. They’d been abused and neglected by their biological parents who struggled with substance abuse. It was finally time for them to start over and be adopted, but they knew the chances of all of them staying together were really slim.

The kids, ages 17, 16, 15, and 11 at the time of their adoption, figured that they would be separated if they were adopted. They had already considered the scenario that the brothers would be adopted to one family and the sisters to a different family. Still, they hoped that somehow they’d get to stay together.

Little did the children know that Eric and Phyllis Watson from Gardner had just gotten their foster care license that also gave them the option to adopt. They were proud of the license and excited to be able to start helping children in need. They expected to start out slowly with one, or maybe even two children to foster. Then they received a phone call about the four siblings.

The couple, who both have full-time jobs, were overwhelmed and weren’t sure they could care for four siblings together. They decided to sleep on it and make their decision the next day. When Eric woke up, he looked at Phyllis and said, “We’re going to take the kids.” The couple couldn’t imagine having to separate the children so they jumped in and decided to adopt them all together.

When the couple got to meet the siblings, it was like they were meant to be one big happy family. According to Phyllis, they all just clicked. The day came for them to finalize the adoption in court, and the family couldn’t have been more excited. Their family was about to triple in size.

Judge Kathleen Sloan was teary eyed when she finalized the adoption and said that days like this are the days that judges look forward to; they are the best days in the courtroom that any judge can experience. When the adoption was finalized, the Judge ordered the courtroom to give the new family a standing ovation.

Although the Watson’s were a bit nervous about adopting four grown kids at once, they said it has been an amazing experience. They built a new house and bought a new vehicle to accommodate their growing family. Other than those changes, they wouldn’t change a thing.

“It’s not what I had planned, but it’s so much better,” said Phyllis. “I love them like they’re my own.”