A Philadelphia woman has overcome tragedy and found healing while expanding her family.
In October 2014, Bobbie-Jo Floyd experienced an unimaginable tragedy as her husband, Andre Floyd, died in a motorcycle crash. The 46-year-old mother of two had no idea what to do next.
"I curled up in a ball on the floor,” she told People. “I was petrified of moving forward without him."
Well, a very wide, loving path was soon laid.
Two years after her husband’s death -- and right after Bobbie-Jo and sons Jeremai and Elyjah held a balloon-releasing ceremony in honor of Andre -- they came home to a phone call from child care workers. Bobbie-Jo had applied to become a foster parent about a year earlier, and it now appeared that two young sisters were available for fostering.
When the two sisters - Destiny, 11, and Serenity, 7 - were brought over for introductions, the girls’ 9-year-old brother, Lysander, was there too, but with a plan to drop him with another foster care applicant.
Floyd asked, “'If I can get another bunk bed, can he stay?” And so started the unexpected expansion of the Floyd family that Bobbie-Jo is certain was initiated by the spirit of Andre.
After discovering that three more of their siblings were in foster care -- Honesty, Adrian, and August -- Bobbie-Jo desperately begged social workers and the court to be able to care for those three too. "I'll do whatever I have to do,'" she said. "I got to get these kids together."
By February 2020, Bobbie-Jo was able to finalize the adoption of the four youngest, and earlier this month she secured the adoption of the two older children.
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The beautiful irony of the older girls’ names in this tale is not lost in this story, as Bobbie-Jo seemed destined to take these lovely kids, and felt a certain serenity once it all came about.
She now has eight children ranging from 6 to 17 and will be moving into a larger home in Texas, with her sister Kimberly Bob joining to help care for the brood.
"I believe this was all Andre giving me a sign," Bobbie-Jo shared. "He knew what would keep me going. I thank him every day for giving me these kids."
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