CANTON ‒ Kelsey Haines was born 30 years ago, but she waited a long while to become part of an official family.
Growing up in the Stark County Children Services system, she traveled from one foster home to the next. Through her toddler years, then as a grade-schooler until she was adopted at age 11.
“Finally, I had some stability,” she recalled from her home in Wooster, where a Christmas tree stands at attention in a dining room corner and family photos peer down from the walls.
Kelsey is now a wife and mother.
She and her husband, Jarvis, had a blended family with four children — when they decided to add a fifth to the fold. On Nov. 18, Kelsey the adoptee, became the adopter.
She returned to a Stark County Probate courtroom where she herself was adopted in February 2006. She even stood in front of the same judge — Dixie Park — as she did 18 years ago.
This time, as the adopter.
This judge was that judge
“When I first saw the name of the judge, I knew it sounded familiar,” Kelsey said.