KILGORE — Israel Perez, 9, sometimes shrugged his shoulders or flashed a nervous smile at his foster mom Debbie Middlebrooks when Mother's Day was discussed earlier this week.

Still, he was prepared.

"I made her a gift," he said Wednesday in a soft, yet questioning voice as he pushed his black hair from his face to see a reassuring nod from his mother. "But it's still at school."

The Middlebrooks join hundreds of families across East Texas who are spending their first Mother's Day with newly adopted or foster children, according to Denice Grugle, founder of the East Texas Heart Gallery, an organization that helps find homes for children in foster care.

The Middlebrooks are trying to adopt Israel and hope to make him the fifth addition to their family.

The couple has three biological children and an adopted child. They also are trying to adopt another child from the Wichita Falls area. They've been foster parents to six children before Israel.

Opening their home to children, many of whom were abused, was natural for the Middlebrooks.

"It's something that you feel inside," said father Jimmy Middlebrooks. "I guess we felt like it was a good move because we have something to offer."

The couple is no stranger to the long and arduous adoption process, having successfully adopted Josh Middlebrooks, 14, in May 2006 after seeing his picture featured during an event sponsored by the East Texas Heart Gallery. The nonprofit organization professionally photographs foster children and displays the photos in hopes of finding homes for them.

Debbie, who worked for the state's Child Protective Services, gave up her job with the agency to expedite their quest to adopt Israel.

"Any mother would have done that," she said. "It makes you feel really good to know that they are fine and being taken care of."

Israel and Josh came to their family with no baby pictures and trails of documents that highlighted emotional problems and abuse from their biological parents.

Israel was one of six brothers and sisters who were given up for adoption by their mother, while Josh's biological mother abandoned him and his sister in a crack house, Jimmy Middlebrooks said.

Josh and Israel have not had regular contact with their other siblings.

"This is the first time they can really appreciate having a mother," Grugle said. "Their biological mothers didn't make the best decisions while in their care, but now they know they have someone watching out for them."

Josh admits it was hard opening up to the Middlebrooks after the abuse he encountered from his birth mother.

"My mother would buy me and my sister Christmas toys and then take them back so she could buy drugs," Josh said. "I would have to hold my sister so she would stop crying."

He said he's glad to finally be a part of a family.

"It makes me feel good," he said. "I like having a mom that will take care of me."

Debbie said while she is no stranger to the holiday activities that come with Mother's Day, she said she hopes to show Josh and Israel how a mother is supposed to be.

"You have to do this with an open mind and a big heart," she said. "It makes me feel really good that I can do this."

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Holiday's history

- Anna Jarvis of Grafton, W. Va., organized the first Mother's Day observances in Grafton and Philadelphia, Pa., on May 10, 1908.

- As the annual celebration became popular around the county, Jarvis asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers.

- In 1914, Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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All about mothers

- In 2004, there were an estimated 82.8 million mothers in the United States.

- 81 percent of women ages 40 to 44 are mothers.

- 4.3 million women gave birth in 2006. Of that total, 435,427 were teens ages 15 to 19, and 112,432 were age 40 or older.

- 25 is the average age of women who gave birth for the first time in 2005.

- 37,402 births did not occur in a hospital in 2005.

- August had the highest number of births in 2005.

- Tuesday was the day of the week with the highest number of births in 2005.

- In 2006, 2,319 children younger than 18 were raised by single mothers in Longview, down from 2,589 in 2000.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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Popular Mother's Day gifts, activities

- Flowers

- Candy

- Wine

- Spa treatments

- Dinner and a movie

- Jewelry

Source: www.gifts.com