Welcoming a new family member is fun and tough - The News Desk

After years in foster care, Scott is at home with a local couple

The Rice family saw this photo and a story about Scott in The Free Lance?Star in 2010 and adopted him in August.

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Scott wasn?t sure what to make of David and Kristi Rice when he met them two years ago.

He enjoyed the trips to the zoo and amusement parks.

But he wasn?t so sure he trusted the Spotsylvania County couple. And he knew better than to expect that they would one day be his parents.

After all, Scott was 10 at the time and had lived with half a dozen families already in his young life.

The foster youth from Hopewell didn?t see any reason why this family would be any more permanent.

But in August, he was proven wrong when David and Kristi officially became Scott?s parents.

The couple learned about Scott through The Free Lance?Star?s series of stories about foster children available for adoption.

Kristi immediately felt a connection with the shy, yet friendly boy. He bore a striking resemblance to her sister?s kids. And David empathized with Scott?s bashful demeanor.

Still, they had no expectations when they called Children?s Home Society of Virginia, a Richmond-based adoption agency, that helps place foster children with families. The couple committed only to meeting Scott.

David and Kristi started slow, taking Scott on trips to Busch Gardens and weekends at their Courthouse-area home.

But they were pretty smitten.

?You could tell that he?s a good kid,? David said. ?When you spend time with him, you can tell he?s a really good kid at heart.?

?He just needed someone who was willing to take a chance on him,? Kristi added.

They were.

Scott moved into their home the summer of 2010. Last August, the adoption was finalized.

The adjustment wasn?t easy at first. Scott didn?t settle in to school. And he threw frequent tantrums, which could last hours.

David took a year off from work, and helped Scott transition into family life.

?When you decide to raise a child, you have to do not what?s best for you but what?s best for everyone,? David said.

He and Kristi took Scott out to the movies, to restaurants, to the beach?always teaching him how to behave in each new place.

?A family is hard to get to used to at first,? Scott said. ?It was hard. But now it?s easy.?

Now 12, Scott attends a special school for children with behavioral or emotional problems. He?s doing well, his parents said.

His tantrums are much less frequent. And shorter.

Scott loves to ride his bike, swim and play soccer. He especially enjoys hanging out with his cousins, who live in the Lake Anna area.

He?s learning to trust his new parents, and Scott now knows that when he throws a tantrum, he?ll be sent to his room. But not to a different home.

There are still rough spots, but Scott?s parents are taking them in stride.

?Sometimes it?s tough, other times it?s fun,? David said. ?But we?ve never regretted our decision. We love Scott.?

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973

aumble@freelancestar.com

?

Source: http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/03/09/welcoming-a-new-family-member-is-fun-and-tough/

seal beach ca seal beach seal beach bhutan zip code finder zip code finder blackhawks