Maria’s biological daughter, Kristy, and her family enjoy visiting her mother’s brood.
This is not your typical family, but then Maria James is not your typical mother. She moved to San Diego from El Paso, Texas, in 1984, when her daughter, Kristy, was just three years old. A single mother, working in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Hospital, you’d think she already had her hands full. But her childhood wish to “do something to help someone that no one else at that time would do” led her to make some life-changing decisions.
Between 1992 and 2010, Maria adopted nine children in need. Five of those she came to know through her service as a foster mom. The other four she met at work. Her first adoptee, Joshua, arrived in NICU for treatment after a premature birth and testing positive for heroin, cocaine, and meningitis.
Joshua’s need was so great, Maria found herself considering taking care of him herself, but his prognosis was grim. “I was told he would probably not survive a year because of his medical conditions,” said Maria, “but I saw something in his eyes that motivated me to volunteer to take him home to foster, and later, adopt him.” Joshua is now 20 and thriving.
~ Maria James
In fact, the James family now boasts nine children. Maria adopted Joshua in 1992, Brian in 1994, Mikayla and Ben in 1997, Daniel in 2000, Melissa in 2004, Amari in 2005, Raymani in 2009, and Logan, Raymani’s older brother, 
in 2010. Her eldest, Kristy, is now married and running her own household, and her three children enjoy visiting her mother’s brood.
“We get lots of interesting looks when we go shopping or out on a family outing,” said Maria, “especially when they are all calling me ‘mom.’ “ Her children, whose nationalities include Filipino, Chinese, African American, Romanian, Hispanic, and European, attend five different schools in the Poway district and enjoy a wide variety of interests. They especially enjoy their summers – taking advantage of the many activities offered by the Westwood Club – and spending time together as a family.
