“At this time last year, Londeshua Kendrick was the mother of three.
Photo by Chanel Martin/Family Support Services
On this Mother’s Day, she will be the mother of 10, ages 2 to 13.
“It’ll mean everything just to see the smiles on their faces,” she said.
Her motherhood officially grew by seven on a Friday morning last December, a couple of weeks before Christmas. She and the children all put on red shirts and went to the Duval County Courthouse for Family Support Services of North Florida’s annual “Home for the Holidays” adoption event.
Seventeen families adopted 30 children that day. A couple of local television stations were there and interviewed Kendrick about her adoption of seven siblings — seven brothers. …
It isn’t unusual for adoption events to involve siblings. As Jenn Petion, FSS president and CEO explains, sibling adoptions are a big need in the system. When siblings end up in foster care, they want to do everything possible to keep them together.
“Siblings are the longest relationship we’ll have,” she said. “The worst thing is if you have to separate kids into different foster homes, because now they’ve endured more losses. They’ve lost their parents, their home, and their siblings.”
Still, the adoption of seven siblings is unusual.
Judge Michael Kalil has presided over many adoptions — since 2022, he has served as the chair of the Jacksonville Bar Association adoption committee — and he says the one involving Kendrick and her children stands out.
“Seven siblings staying together is pretty extraordinary,” he said, echoing what Petion said about sibling bonds often being the longest relationship in life. “Preserving that bond changes the entire trajectory of a child’s life, giving them healing and stability not just now but many years from now. She willingly took on an amazing responsibility rooted in love and commitment to those kids. The kids will grow up and celebrate life’s milestones together for many years to come as a family because of her.” …
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