Dreams Come True
Dozens of families lined up Wednesday in the Butler County courthouse to appear before Judge Kelley Streib, but the bright camera flashes, bursts of laughter and happy tears let on that it was no ordinary day.
As part of National Adoption Day, Streib legally united 22 children with their "forever families" with adoption hearings held one after the other.
National Adoption Day was launched in 2000, and more than 25,000 children have been adopted since then in recognition of the event, which traditionally occurs the third week of November.
"Usually, my days are not this happy," Streib said. "Today, I've had to pinch myself to keep from crying because I'm truly overwhelmed by the stories of how these people became families."
Presiding over the adoption hearings was a "blast," according to Streib, who has two adopted daughters with her husband, Michael.
"I understand the bond between children and parents who aren't physically related," she said.
After the hearings, Streib presented teddy bears to the children and yellow roses to the mothers.
"For most of these families, it's been a long road to legally make them a family, and we wanted to celebrate them," she said.
First-time parents Sarah and Nathan Campbell of Butler took turns holding Addiah, 19 months, as they waited in the common area to enter the courtroom.
"I hope she doesn't cry — I hope I don't cry," Sarah said, brushing Addiah's hair from her face. "I'm anxious to go in there and get it finalized."
The Campbells decided to adopt two summers ago, and an agency matched them with Addiah when she was about 6 months old. Still, Addiah was not able to travel from Korea until she was 10 months old.
Addiah underwent open-heart surgery in July to repair a valve, but is now "absolutely healthy," her mother said.
Although Addiah was legally a foster child, the Campbells knew for months the adoption was final. The hardest part was waiting, Nathan said, especially last year during the holidays.
"We sent her Christmas presents overseas, but it was hard knowing she was there and we were here," he said. "The agency sent us photos of her, but it was hard seeing her growing up without us."
The family is looking forward to spending their first Christmas together, said grandfather Randy Cole of Butler.
"This has been one of the most wonderful experiences for our family," Cole said. "She's brought a lot of joy into our lives."
Marci and Travis Gibson of Boyers said they feel the same way about Jadyn, 14 months.The Gibsons have three teenagers at home, Ashley, 18, Chris, 16, and Aaron, 13, but they always had room in their hearts for another child.They originally planned to foster an older child before being linked with Jadyn."Her grandmother brought her into church one day and placed her in my lap," Marci said. "I feel as if it was God at work that day. It was my 'All right, I hear you!' moment."Jadyn stayed with relatives before she was placed with the Gibsons in January, and Marci plans to keep in touch with the biological family."She'll still have contact with her maternal grandmother and aunt and uncle," Marci said. "There were too many things going on with her mother, but she still loves her and knows we'll give her a good home."The biggest change is Jadyn taking their family name, Travis said."For me, today is just a ceremony," Travis said. "She's always been our daughter."Marci added, "Now, no matter what, she'll always be a Gibson."The Steele-Haller family of Chicora also was thrilled to finally share a name.As she held her stepfather Brian Haller's hand, Vanessa Steele-Haller, 9, said, "I can't stop smiling today."Vanessa's mother, Serina Steele-Haller, and stepfather have been married since 2006. The petition for Brian to adopt Vanessa was filed last December and Serina admitted it was a long, complicated process."(Vanessa) has known since day one what's going on," Serina said. "This is what she wanted, so it's what we fought for."Brian said he was looking forward to making official what the family has known for some time."I can't wait to have her as my own," he said. "She deserves a father, someone who's going to be there for her."Across the room, Jenni and Bill Shick of Valencia watched as their 10-year-old children, Zach and Sabrina, joked around with 4-year-old Peyton, their newly adopted sister."They were created to be a big brother and a big sister," Jenni said. "They used to fight sometimes, but now they fight over who gets to take (Peyton) for a bike ride or read with her."Jenni's mother, Jo Anne Mitchell, traveled with Jenni and Sabrina to Ethiopia in May after being matched with Peyton through an agency called Wide Horizons for Children.The connection was instant between the siblings, Jenni said"It was so amazing to meet her," Sabrina said. "It's fun to have a sister."Peyton didn't speak English when she arrived in the United States in June, but her language skills are improving fast, Bill said, and she goes to preschool five days a week."It's amazing to see her progress, just on a daily basis," he said. "She's picking up so many words."To honor her heritage, the Shicks kept Peyton's Ethiopian name, Birtukan, as her middle name.Making Peyton part of the family has been a "dream come true," Jenni said.Looking around at the other families, Zach acknowledged it was an important day for everyone there."It's a good day to remember," Zach said. "No one is ever going to forget this in our family."
