The Heart of The Holy Family

Most Precious Blood parishioners, David and Angelina Gaitin, adopted four children, all siblings Agustín, from bottom left, David, Catalina and Sophia (held by mom).

Rebecca Esparza for South Texas Catholic

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When Angelina Gaitan learned giving birth to her own children would be difficult due to a medical condition, both she and her husband David Gaitan, Jr. had an idea that adoption was the solution. Newly married in 2013, she and David talked about having children even before they were married.

“My doctor told me I would have trouble getting pregnant and suggested in vitro fertilization, but that was something we did not want to pursue. God put adoption in our minds and hearts, so that is how our journey started,” Angelina said.

Although the process was arduous, Angelina and David were determined. The first step was waiting the mandatory two years after marriage before becoming eligible to adopt. Then, came the classes and training provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

“It’s tons of paperwork. You pretty much lay out your whole life to DFPS. They ask intimate and detailed questions about how you grew up and how you would discipline your children,” Angelina Gaitan added.

It was at a Family Matching Picnic that the Gaitan’s met three of their future children, all siblings. 

“When we met three of the children, their parents’ rights had already been terminated and when we inquired about them, we were told there was possibly a fourth sibling, an infant who had just been born,” David Gaitan said.

Angelina Gaitin fixes her youngest daughter, Sophia’s hair. All four of her adopted children are siblings. Rebecca Esparza for South Texas Catholic

The Family Matching Picnic was tough enough for the Gaitan’s, especially considering there were so many deserving children waiting for loving homes and children of all ages, from newborns to 17-year-olds.

“It was difficult for us to see all those children there, especially the teenagers, who realize most people want young children. It was heartbreaking,” Angelina Gaitan said.

But leaving the three siblings, they fell in love with immediately proved to be even more gut-wrenching.

“In our hearts, we felt like they were our kids already and people kept asking us: ‘How do you know?’ I can’t explain it, but we just knew. We prayed about it, but we knew: those were our children,” she added.

By November 2016, the first three siblings were officially adopted. The fourth sibling arrived a week later. Today, the Gaitan household is filled with laughter, love, two busy parents and four small children: David, 6; Catalina, 5; Agustín, 4 and Sophia, 3. The family attends Most Precious Blood Church.

Michelle and Rudy Robles, also parishioners at Most Precious Blood, adopted three children 21 years ago. 

"Our son came to live with us at 10 days old and is now 20. Our twin daughters came to live with us at 15 months and they are now 21," Michelle Robles said. "We went from no kids to three, in less than three months. It was a change for us, but it was for the better."

Robles noted making the decision to adopt came easily to her and her husband. She encourages others to view adoption as the opportunity to love and give a home to a child in need.

"Sometimes God has other plans for us. God's plans were for us was to love these three children and raise them as our own. I would hope we have done His will and raised our children the way He has asked. The day these kids walked through our door, they belonged to us. They are our babies."

For those discerning, if adoption is right for them, the Gaitan’s have some sage words of advice.

“Pray about it. Make sure it’s a ‘for sure’ yes, because it will try your patience. It will affect every facet of your life, including your relationship with your spouse. There are times where you might feel like throwing in the towel. But anything worth it usually does,” David Gaitan said.

“For a long time, because I couldn’t give David our own biological children, I felt I wouldn’t make my husband happy. At the end of the day, these are our babies. They act like us, they sound like us, and they even look a lot like us too,” Angelina Gaitan said.

David suggests those considering adoption should perhaps start out as a volunteer for Respite Care or a foster parent.

“Adoption is a small sacrifice to make sure these children have a safe, loving place to call home. And you don’t have to adopt four at once, like we did,” laughed David. “You can adopt just one!”

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, as of December 2018, there were 3,649 children throughout the State of Texas, including 341 in South Texas, awaiting adoption. 

For more information on adoption, visit.AdoptChildren.org.