The Rindfleishs of Smith Road in Windham will be celebrating their first Thanksgiving as a family this week with their two teenage sons.

In April Mary Rindfleish, 44, and her husband, Scott, adopted Mykel, 16. They had been fostering him since 2006.

“We knew the minute we met him he was ours,” said Rindfleish. This year they took his biological brother Mandon, 14, into their home.

“Even though I’ve never parented before, it all just came naturally to me,” said Mary Rindfleish. She now proudly refers to herself as a stay-at-home mom.

To voice her enthusiasm for adoption, Rindfleish spoke at the Hall of Flags Adoption Celebration earlier this month in Augusta, an event put on by the Maine adoption service A Family for ME.

Rindfleish told the assembled crowd about being a foster and adoptive mother of two teen brothers and the need for resources in Maine that support adoption.

Jennifer Hutchinson, a recruiter for A Family for ME, said the event was a huge success.

“It was great, we had a fantastic turnout,” she said. “There was at least 250 people there.”

Hutchinson, who was one of the main organizers, said the purpose of the Hall of Flags ceremony was to bring adopted and foster families together to celebrate, and to draw the issue into the spotlight.

“I don’t think people are aware enough of the issue,” she said. She said there are 135 children in Maine waiting to be adopted by a family.

Rindfleish found Mykel on AfamilyforME.org, the Web site of the Maine adoption organization, and thought he looked a lot like her husband. Mandon only came into the house this year and she is still considered a foster parent to him.

“Even though there’s no paperwork, he’s still our son,” she said.

She said there are a lot misconceptions about fostering and adoption.

“We’re not frightened of our kids being taken away,” she said. “That doesn’t really happen.”

After finding out just before she turned 40 that she was unable to bear children, Rindfleish and her husband looked into adopting. They were investigated and interviewed by the Department of Health and Human Services in what’s called a “home study,” where they were barraged with questions.

“They asked us about everything,” she said with emphasis. That included values, opinions, religion and views on discipline. She and her husband then entered a training workshop from the Department of Health and Human Services.

“They don’t sugarcoat it,” said Rindfleish. She said she and her husband were told of the horrors of abuse and neglect most kids waiting for adoption have gone through.

Mykal said his biological mother “didn’t take good care of me, my brothers or sisters. She did drugs and alcohol and things like that.” He has three other siblings besides Mandon.

“It frustrates Mykal that he can’t be with her,” said Rindfleish. despite the negligence he experienced when he lived with his biological family near Sanford.

“I felt like we were a family the first time Mykel called me ‘Mom,'” said Rindfleish. “He doesn’t call me ‘Mom’ all the time, sometimes he calls me ‘Mary,'” she said.

Rindfleish said Mykal had never had pumpkin pie before she started fostering him. He loves it now, and dug into the fall dish last year at Thanksgiving.

“I think he had all but one slice of the pie,” she said.

Rindfleish said post-adoption services help families like her through therapy and support, health services and financial advice.

In December, Rindfleish said, Mykel and Mandon’s brother Mathieu, 19, will be staying with them in Windham for the holidays.

“This will be the first Christmas they spend together in seven years,” she said.

Adoption1-2: Mary Rindfleish, 44, of Windham and her foster son Mandon, 14, play with their kitten Nibbles at their home on Smith Road. Rindfleish recently spoke about adoption at the Hall of Flags Adoption Celebration in Augusta.Adoption1-2: Mary Rindfleish, 44, of Windham and her foster son Mandon, 14, play with their kitten Nibbles at their home on Smith Road. Rindfleish recently spoke about adoption at the Hall of Flags Adoption Celebration in Augusta.Adoption3: From left: Mandon, 14, Mykel, 16, and Mary Rindfleish, 44, at their home on Smith Road in Windham. Rindfleish recently spoke about adoption at the Hall of Flags Adoption Celebration in Augusta.