Today we’d like to introduce you to Bobbiejo Floyd.
Hi Bobbiejo, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
On October 19, 2014, I lost my husband due to a motorcycle accident which caused him to have a heart attack.. I was so heartbroken after he passed I cried all of the time I was so depressed. I had two sons I had to raise all alone and I was terrified. About a year after his passing a friend of mine suggested that I should foster A child to keep me occupied because they how much I love kids and I had the space in my house so when I decided to foster I decided to foster siblings. I only had room for two siblings at the time in my three bedroom row home. I did all the necessary paperwork and two years to the day of my husband‘s passing October 19 2016 I got the call for two female siblings destiny Age 11 and Serenity 7 I agreed and when they brought them to my home they brought Their 9-year-old brother, Lysander. I asked where was the brother going to be going and they said they were going to find him a place that night I asked the social worker if he can stay with his siblings while they go through this court process. They made a few phone calls and agreed that he can stay with his two sisters so I got another bunkbed set in the morning and he stayed with my son in his room.. This is my first foster case ever and I wanted to keep the siblings together. But this case took a strange twist, Serenity was 7 but the size of a 4 year old And she was getting massive muscle cramps Daily, within a few days I realized Serenity muscle cramps was due to malnourishment and she was also completely illiterate, All 3 were badly neglected and it showed. I was upset hurt and heartbroken with what I was witnessing. These children were afraid of their mother and they were crying out for help and no one was listening.. After 7 long months, Dhs finally talked bio to turn in honesty Adrian and August so that this case could get started. Dhs never reported any of the abuse Or neglect. Bio still gets visits with the children one hour a week. But They did not go well because at this time the kids already wrote notes and told Dhs that they did not want to go home. Somehow biological mother kept getting a new court date every three months where she would lie that she had housing for the kids and every time the case got postponed, And because every few months biological mother requested a new caseworker. The drama went on for years and I was getting upset I asked the courts if I could get their sister Honesty to be with Destiny Lysander and Serenity Because strangely enough, the DHS workers wanted to give august and Adrian back to her for some reason. But with my children speaking up telling the truth that the biological mother was sexually physically and mentally abusing them and because mother did not do anything she was supposed to do recommended by the courts to get her kids back.. When I realized she was going to lose her children I decided I would adopt them all to keep them together because I know they would’ve gotten separated in the state because they are a family of six. Remind you I still have fears of raising my children but listening to this children and their stories there’s no way I would have allowed them to be in the system and or adopted out separately. I believe my husband brought me these beautiful damaged children so that I could occupy my life and time by helping them. I raised my husband’s two sons from the ages of two and four, he knows that I love children. People say I am the hero in this story because I adopted 6 siblings to keep them together but The truth is these children saved their own lives and Saved mine in the process. I am no longer a Depressed widow of 2, I have so much love and responsibility now I am a happy mother of nine. Elyjah 18 bio son, destiny 16, Lysander 14, Jeremai 13 bio son, Serenity 12, Honesty 10, Adrian 8, August 7. And, I also have a bonus daughter Carol who is 17 I have guardianship over her. In 2018, my older sister Kim moved in with me to help me with the children and she has been a big help ever since. On February 19, 2020, I adopted August, Adrian, Honesty and Serenity and on May 4, 2021, I adopted Destiny and Lysander. On July 2021, I sold my house in Philadelphia and bought a bigger home in Texas to fit my expanding family. And about a month ago my mother sold her house in Philadelphia and moved in with us also while she is looking for a home for herself and her doggies.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely was a bumpy road and to be honest, this still is, we are still learning each other but every day we grow stronger as a family.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
When people ask me what do I do for work, I usually reply I am a professional mother, and then go on to explain our story. It’s pretty hard for me to even think about working outside my home or even going back to school having 9 kids at home, I spend most of my time helping my children and my daughter Destiny started making and selling lipgloss so I have a lot of fun helping her with that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Mommafloyd
- Facebook: Mommafloyd
- Youtube: Mommafloyd
Image Credits
Bobbiejo Floyd
