{"id":239572,"date":"2023-10-26T18:25:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T18:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=239572"},"modified":"2023-10-26T18:25:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T18:25:49","slug":"teen-adopted-by-foster-parents-in-the-nick-of-time-before-turning-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/lifestyle\/teen-adopted-by-foster-parents-in-the-nick-of-time-before-turning-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen adopted by foster parents in the nick of time before turning 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Teenager who has lived 19 different homes since the age of 11, is adopted in the nick of time just before his 18th birthday<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brad and Renee\u00a0Balassaitis from Jacksonville adopted Roman on October 17<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><span>Roman expressed his relief at having support and &#8216;somewhere\u00a0to go to&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0\u00a0Couple who adopted two children before having their own say it is the &#8216;perfect&#8217; way to grow their family<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A teenager who grew up in foster care has officially found his forever home only hours shy of his eighteenth birthday.<\/p>\n<p>Roman Balassaitis from Jacksonville, Florida, has experienced his fair share of upheaval in his life, having lived in 19 different places since the age of 11.<\/p>\n<p>But after staying with the Balassaitis for 14 months, parents Brad and Renee wanted to make him an official part of their family and faced a race against time to give Roman stability before he aged out of the care system and was no longer eligible for support.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The couple officially adopted him on October 17, first via Zoom and then in Clay County Historic Court House &#8211; 40 miles away from Jacksonville.<\/p>\n<p>Brad Balassaitis told First Coast News: &#8216;He [Roman] doesn&#8217;t have to worry about bouncing around anymore, he knows that we are here for him.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/26\/18\/77024117-12674485-Roman_Balassaitis_pictured_told_First_Coast_News_that_his_heart_-a-42_1698340309044.jpg\" height=\"607\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Roman\u00a0Balassaitis (pictured) told First Coast News that his heart was beating with excitement before officially becoming a part of the\u00a0Balassaitis family &#8211; only hours shy of his eighteenth birthday<\/p>\n<p>The young man told how his heart was nervously beating in excitement during the process, adding:\u00a0&#8216;It means I have someone to go to. It means if I need someone to talk to, I have people to talk to now.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mother-of-nine Renee was looking forward to the teenager&#8217;s brighter future after making him a part of their family, noting that the young man just needed to feel supported, as well as &#8216;wanted and chosen&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Roman has also changed his second name to that of his adoptive family.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The couple first met their adopted son whilst he was living in a group home at the age of 12.<\/p>\n<p>Roman would often pop-up at their family home, engaging in Nerf gun fights with Brad and Renee&#8217;s children.<\/p>\n<p>He first lived with the Balassaitis for nine months after leaving the group home, but was not ready to be adopted at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Renee, who has nine children altogether including Roman, described him leaving their home at the age of 13 as &#8216;crushing&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>However, their foster child remained in contact with the family, and in August 2022 the Balassaitis&#8217; discovered Roman wanted to live with them again.<\/p>\n<p>According to USA today, the young man first stayed with the family in an unofficial capacity, but was later placed into their foster care.<\/p>\n<p>Last December the parents discussed adopting Roman with their other children, who said they already regarded him as their sibling.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/26\/18\/77024113-12674485-Renee_and_Brad_Balassaitis_raced_to_adopt_Roman_before_his_birth-a-43_1698340309046.jpg\" height=\"347\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Renee and Brad\u00a0Balassaitis raced to adopt Roman before his birthday. They are relieved the young man &#8211; who has lived in 19 different places since the age of 11 &#8211; now has a base will no longer have to worry about being moved around. Pictured from left to right: Austin, Brad, Roman, Renee, Tatianna and Halle\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Later, on Christmas day, Roman was given the most priceless gift, with Brad and Renee revealing they were adopting him.<\/p>\n<p>The mother of nine told Today: &#8216;We were all sobbing, All Roman has ever wanted was to find his forever family.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Roman has been extremely relieved ever since the day of his adoption, according to his mother, who says his change in demeanor is obvious.<\/p>\n<p>The foster parents wanted to give the young man the stability he never had growing up, so that he has a home base and always has somewhere to stay during the festive season.<\/p>\n<p>Brad and Renee have adopted seven children, Tom, 28, Chrissy, 26, Austin, 22, Sammy, 20, and Tatiana, 17.<\/p>\n<p>They pair who have fostered 20 children since 2008, also have three biological children Jared, 22, Halle, 18, and 18-year-old Rose who passed away in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/article-12674485\/Teenager-lived-19-different-homes-age-11-adopted-nick-time-just-18th-birthday.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Teenager who has lived 19 different homes since the age of 11, is adopted in the nick of time just before his 18th birthday Brad and Renee\u00a0Balassaitis from Jacksonville adopted&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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