Becca Bailey’s heart melted the instant she held her then-foster sons, Michael and Andres, for the first time six years ago.
Michael was just 4 years old then; his biological half-brother was 2, and everything about the situation felt right from Day 1. Yet the plan wasn’t to adopt — far from it. In her mind, Becca kept telling herself that her job as a single foster parent was to provide a safe and stable home for the boys to feel loved and thrive until they were eventually reunited with their birth mother.
But like many things in life, circumstances changed, and Becca’s dream of one day being a mom became a permanent reality.
“It took over two years before we knew adoption was a serious possibility,” Becca said. Michael and Andres first came to live with her in 2018. Their adoption was made official on November 13, 2020. “We did adoption court via Zoom because of the pandemic, but it worked out because so many of our family and friends could sign in and celebrate with us.
“Michael was in the first grade then, and his teacher made it so the entire class could watch. It was a special time for us, and by the time they returned to school that Monday, their last names were changed. We are Team Bailey now. That’s our thing.”
Becca, a former collegiate golfer at Oklahoma State, graduated from Marcus High School in 1997 and currently works as a consultant for the PGA of America. She always saw herself getting married one day and becoming a mom. When neither happened by the time she reached her mid-30s, she decided to become a foster parent, an adult licensed by the state to temporarily care for children who were removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or inability to provide adequate care.
Foster children can reunite with their birth parents or guardians once those underlying issues are resolved. If that isn’t possible, they can find permanent placement with family members, non-relatives who know the children, or their foster parents.
In Michael and Andres’ case, they were initially separated into different foster homes.
Andres (now 8) was placed in Becca’s care in April 2018. A month later, Michael (now 10) was reunited with his half-brother.
“They were my first and only placements as a foster parent,” Becca said. “When I told those closest to me that being a foster parent was something I wanted to do, all of them — without exception — said, ‘It’s about time … you’ve been talking about this forever.’ I could tell from Day 1 that it was the right fit, but I wanted their family to have every possible opportunity to be reunited. When that didn’t happen, adoption felt right. Even then, I was always honest with them in an age-appropriate way. They always knew where things stood, and we always stuck together. It’s been fun, and I can’t believe how time flies. Just the other day, I said, ‘Wow … six years.’”
Becca said it’s been fun watching the boys grow and develop their personalities. Michael loves baseball and music, though he’d love to be a famous Hollywood actor someday. Meanwhile, Andres is convinced he will be a professional soccer player. Not only do Michael and Andres have Becca to guide them as their mom, but they also have quite the extended family just down the road. Becca’s parents live one mile away in Highland Village, and her brother also lives locally.
“It’s just the three of us at home, but we have a strong and loving support system between church, family, and friends — and that’s been great for all of us,” Becca said. She and the boys love to travel and spend as much time together as possible. “I love raising my kids in the same community I grew up in, and my goal is to continue being a steward to these boys, helping them become men and setting them on a path to be successful in whatever they choose to do.”
She added, “Everyone’s family is different, and every adoption story is different. This is ours, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
