Woman moves across the country to adopt her husband’s ex-wife’s baby

By Barney Riley via SWNS

A woman moved across the country to adopt her husband's ex-wife's baby despite neither of them being related to the child.

Married couple Christie, 48, and Wesley Werts, 45, decided to adopt Levi, who is now two, when his biological mother sadly passed away.

The couple heard of Wesley's ex-wife's death in August 2021 and immediately decided to adopt Levi.

Christie and Wesley already had four children between them.

Megan, 21, and Vance, 15, Christie's biological children and Austin, 14, and Dakota,10, who are Wesley's biological children and Levi's half-siblings.

In less than two months, the couple made all the necessary arrangements and moved their entire family 1,335 miles away, from Ohio - to Texas - to be with Levi.

Now the family of seven is closer than ever.

The family immediately began the adoption process and after 16 months the couple officially became Levi's adoptive parents.

Wesley received a phone call from his ex-sister-in-law to let him know that his ex-wife was terminally ill in the hospital and 33 weeks pregnant.

When Wesley's ex-wife was induced and gave birth, he discussed adoption with Christie, who suggested they should take the baby in.

Levi's biological mother, whose name was withheld, passed away just a few days after Levi was born.

IT manager Christie said: "We had no clue if the baby was sick, what gender or anything at that time.

"When my husband told me I said 'We should take the baby' so it doesn’t go in the system.'"

Christie, a foster child herself, didn't want her step kids' sibling to grow in the system.

She said: "My husband had full legal custody of the two children they had together.

"I didn't want this baby to be placed in the foster care system."

The family first tried to find a way to get Levi transferred to Stryker, Ohio, where they lived, but the process was too lengthy.

So without hesitation, the couple sold their house and moved 1,355 miles away to Texas.

Christie added: "We thought we could do a case transfer from the state we were living in Ohio, to the state the baby was born, in Texas.

"However, that process would have taken over a year and the baby would have gone into a foster home.

"I was myself a foster child and did not want that for one of my step kids siblings.

"So, we uprooted our entire family, sold the house we were in and moved to Texas."

The family moved to Cibilo, Texas, in September 2021, just two months after Levi was born.

They took on the care of Levi under a "kinship placement," which means family members look after children rather than their parents.

Christie said: "We moved in September of 2021 and the baby was placed with us as a 'kinship' placement.

"We had to now become licensed foster parents that could adopt. That is if the living biological parent’s rights were terminated.

"The living biological parent already had other parental rights terminated and nothing had seemed to change.

"Although not guaranteed reunification would occur, we felt that would probably be the case.

"Levi’s biological mom had him on a Monday and passed away the following Friday.

"He was never given a name."

The couple had to go through 16 months of adoption classes, home inspections, tuberculosis tests, monthly home visits and a deep dive into their past.

In January 2023, Christie and Wesley were finally able to officially adopt Levi.

Christie says "uprooting" her family over 1,000 miles across the United States has brought them closer together.

She said: "In many ways it brought us closer. While in Texas for 16 months, he was gone for most of it, as Wesley worked out of state.

"So, it was mainly me raising the kids, making sure I worked with Child Welfare.

"That time was harder on us, but we also knew we were fighting for 'our' son and knew this would all be over with eventually and we would all be together with the adoption was final.

"The way we both love this little boy and we both agreed no matter what we would keep him safe and loved."

Christie and Wesley have even considered opening their home to foster children in the future once their biological kids have moved out.

She added: "Maybe someday when the older boy moves, we will consider opening our home to foster children.

"There are so many kids that need hope. I knew that hopelessness once.

"I have so much love to give, just a little space in my home. Perhaps someday!"

Christie says she's excited for Levi's future but dreads having to tell him his story as she fears that he may feel like he is "loved less" by his new family.

Christie plans on writing a book about her own journey from foster care and adoption, touching on details of Levi's own foster-to-adopt story.