Just a few days before Thanksgiving several families in Northeast Tennessee added something else to their list of things to be thankful for as more than a dozen children officially joined their forever families as part of National Adoption Day.
On Saturday a special session of Chancery Court was held in the Carter County Courthouse to finalize the adoptions of 14 children from the First Judicial District, which includes Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, and Washington counties. While many tears were shed, it was a unique day for the court in that everyone whose case was heard left happy.
The children who joined their forever families ranged in age from infants to teenagers. In some of the cases, siblings found their forever homes together.
Saturday’s proceedings marked a special occasion for the adoptive families and for the children, some of whom have been waiting for some time to find their forever family.
One young lady, who dressed in her best blue princess gown and tiara for the special occasion, carried a sign in front of her as she approached Chancellor John Rambo for her adoption case to be heard. The sign told the story of her journey to find her own forever family.
“For 1,284 days I was in foster care and today… I’m adopted. 11.19.2016,” her sign proclaimed.

Rambo remarked on the girl’s sign and shared its message with all of those in the courtroom.
“1,284 days is a long time to us old people, but it’s an especially long time to her that she has had to wait,” Rambo said.
After all of the adoption proceedings were complete, the families were invited to stay at the courthouse for a special celebration featuring food, gifts for the children, entertainment and even a visit from Santa Claus himself.
The celebration was hosted by the Clerk & Masters Office, which serves as the clerk for Chancery Court.
National Adoption Day, which is celebrated each year in November, serves to raise awareness of more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent and loving families.
According to the National Adoption Day website (www.nationaladoptionday.org) the average wait for a child in foster care to be adopted is nearly 3 years. Each year, more than 23,000 children turn 18 and age out of the foster care system without ever finding a family or permanent home.