A young boy in the United States has had a memorable day after he was officially adopted by his parents in front of his kindergarten classmates.
Michael Clark Jr. was present in the courthouse in Kent County, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his two adoptive parents Andrea Melvin and Dave Eaton who have been fostering him for a year.
His father David said:
"We were thinking, 'How can we build our family?' And there's so many options, right, for building a family these days. We didn't have any kids prior to that, and things got pretty chaotic in a hurry."
The idea for the gathering came after Michael's mother and father spoke to his kindergarten teacher Mrs. McKee at Wealthy elementary School. David said:
"He loves Mrs. McKee. We asked him and he said 'You know, the class is kind of my family.' And he wanted them to be there."
So, it was then decided that a field trip would take place in which all the children from the kindergarten would go and watch Michael being officially adopted.
Overseen by 17th Circuit Court Family Division Judge Patricia Gardner the ceremony took place. The judge said before starting:
"I understand we are joined by Michael's kindergarten classroom and teacher."
All the children stood with cut out love-hearts and other symbols to show their support to Michael and they all enjoyed a small celebration afterwards.
Michael looked overjoyed as he was adopted and began his new life with his new family.
Kent County officials said of the ceremony:
"There is not a dry eye in Judge Patricia Gardner's courtroom."
While the judge added:
"That's so true. On Adoption Day, there's so many emotional stories of how children come to families."
Michael was just one of 37 children to be adopted on that day in Michigan, in what is known as National Adoption Day.
[Based on reporting by: Positive Outlooks]
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