On their application for foster children, Rafael and Rebecca Fernandez Martinez wrote “as many as you want to give us” in response to a question about how many they could handle.
Soon after, the couple received a call from Adams County child welfare workers. “How about seven?” a caseworker asked the couple, one of five families honored Saturday at the governor’s mansion.
The Martinezes, who had trouble conceiving, had always wanted a large family, so they were thrilled to take in seven siblings who ranged in age from 6 months to 9 years, and who until then had been split up in the foster system. They quickly acquired three high chairs, a crib, three toddler beds and two sets of bunk beds for their four-bedroom home in Henderson.
The seven siblings stayed for six months until they were returned to their biological parents. But the Martinezes kept in touch, and when the three youngest were returned to foster care a few years later, the couple took them back.
This was despite the fact that the Martinezes in the meantime had adopted a set of four siblings — two girls and two boys — who had been split among three foster families in Colorado and Texas.
When those four kids, ages 4, 5, 9 and 12, moved in with the Martinezes in 2010, the older boys hadn’t seen their younger sisters in two years. They had kept in touch with a weekly, 15-minute phone call.
The Martinezes adopted the four children in November 2010 and are now trying to adopt the youngest three of their original seven foster children.
“It’s a great journey, a great adventure,” said Rafael Martinez, a postal carrier. “As much as they’ve changed our lives, we’ve changed theirs too.”
They were honored by the Colorado Department of Human Services during a ceremony and tour of the governor’s residence for their willingness to adopt large sibling groups. That’s rare, as most foster parents take in one to four children.
“Don’t be afraid to open up your heart to that,” said Rebecca Fernandez Martinez, who works for the Denver Scholarship Foundation.
Each of the five families were honored with awards and a video tribute during the ceremony attended by about 100 people.
“All of you, parents and children alike, are shining examples of the power of love and family,” said Reggie Bicha, the state’s executive director of human services. “The families that you have created are inspiring and enriching.”
About 640 foster children in Colorado will find permanent homes this year through adoption. Still, there are 288 kids waiting for families.
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Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593, jenbrown@denverpost.com or @jbrowndpost
