"The Rainbow Family" leads with love and acceptance
MIAMI - "I'm going to tap this gavel, Alex, when that happens you are part of a forever family," Miami-Dade Judge Jason Dimitris said.
And just like that, the adoption was complete. The Goodwin-Mamrosh clan went from seven to eight with Alex being the newest member of this ever-growing rainbow family.
"As you can see from all the different races and ethnic backgrounds, we just see everybody for who they are," said parent Thomas Mamrosh. "That's how we refer to ourselves, as the Rainbow Family. Let them all be who they want to be."
They're an active, dynamic family of six children and two dads. Alex fit right in.
"It's a new experience. It took some time to get used to it. They're really loud," Alex said with a smile. "Ever since I got here, I feel like I've always been a part of them."
"We didn't go into our lives thinking, 'We're gay men, we want to adopt.' No, that wasn't the plan, everything just evolved. It is what it is," Melton Goodwin said with a chuckle.
Braiden, 20, is the oldest, followed by Kendra who just turned 19, then comes Alex and Gabriel, both 15, and finally Kendall and Mackenzie, both 6, just three months apart.
This all began after Kendra came to live with Mamrosh and Goodwin.
"Kendra wanted siblings. She wanted other kids. She didn't want to be the only child at the house. Be careful what you wish for," Goodwin said with a laugh.
She got her wish and then some. More than a dozen kids have been embraced into this home over the last eight years as foster children.
"It turned out if the children were up for adoption we would be interested in adopting them since they were here with us. The ultimate goal for each foster child is the reunification with the biological parents," Mamrosh said.
And this family is not done growing yet.
"There's another one that we're going to be taking in shortly, a 13-year-old," Goodwin said with a smile.
And there's an even bigger plan, called "Our Place."
"There are children that are in foster homes that are now being put back into the system because their foster parents don't accept them," Goodwin said. "That's when I started thinking of doing a group home that could house upwards of 20 kids for the LGBTQ+ community. Unfortunately, there's nothing that caters to that demographic."
Mamrosh and Goodwin said the key to making all this work comes down to just one word - love.
"It's leading by example, bottom line and if you're leading with love that's what they're going to lead with also," Goodwin.
"I feel like there's definitely a sibling bond with all of us siblings. It feels more like a family," Alex said with a smile.
