The Alvarado’s home is filled with the voices of happy children calling “mom” and “pa.”
These words may not seem special to the average family, but to Rosalinda and Carlos Alvarado, they mean everything.
Four of their seven children are foster children, three boys and one girl, ages 10, 9, 7, and 5. The children have only been living in the Alvarado home for a little over two months, but already the bond is strong. “We had an instant connection,” says Rosalinda. “It is the best sound in the world –Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.”
Until recently, the fate of the siblings was unsure. The foster parent they’d been living with the last two years was unable to continue to care for them, and reuniting with their mother wasn’t an option.
“It’s very difficult to find a home for four siblings, but I was determined to keep them together,” says Bienvenidos foster care social worker Laura Cruz. Her initial efforts to find a family proved fruitless. She then contacted the Alvardos, who said yes without hesitation. “We felt we were meant to do this in life,” says Carlos.
The day the siblings arrived to live with them, one of the boys asked Rosalinda, “Do you make pupusas and tamales?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered with a smile, “and you can help me make them right now.” From the first moments in the kitchen to the morning ritual where Rosalinda wakes up daily to find four children smiling at her in adoration, love and trust have grown.
The couple is giving the children a normal childhood filled with soccer teams and dance lessons. Carlos and his two sons, all musicians, are also teaching them drums and keyboards.
Rosalinda and Carlos are so taken with the children, they’re hoping to eventually adopt. For now, however, the daily calls of “mom” and “pa” are all they need to already feel like a family.
