The Thompson family celebrates after signing adoption papers at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Olivia Thurlow, 6, signs her adoption papers while surrounded by her adopting family at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Natalie Odegaard, center, looks on and smiles while surrounded by her adopting family during adoption day events at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
From left to right, Darrian, Rick, Elaine, and Kyran embrace hands as they walk back to their seats after signing adoption papers at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
From left to right, Lynn, Natalie, and Josh Odegaard smile after signing adoption papers during adoption day events at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Reyna Nicole Beaver hugs Joanna Vazquez during adoption day events at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Chelsea Thurlow juggles 7 month old Lowen while signing adoption papers for her newly adopted daughter Olivia during adoption day events at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Reyna sheds tears of joy as she is adopted into the Beaver family during adoption day events at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Judge James W. Lawler shows Kyran where to sign on his adoption papers while his adopting family looks on at the Lewis County Courthouse Friday afternoon in Chehalis.
Five former foster children celebrated their new beginnings Friday at Lewis County’s National Adoption Day ceremony.
The formal signing of adoption documents at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center in Chehalis was followed by a festive luncheon.
The joy exuded by 14-year-old Reyna Nicole Beaver was palpable during the proceedings conducted by Superior Court Judge James Lawler that officially recognized her as the new daughter of Rachel and Michael Beaver. Reyna’s new surname will soon be reflected in an updated birth certificate.
The same excitement was demonstrated by the Odegard and Thurlow families, who officially welcomed 13-year-old Natalie and 6-year-old Olivia respectively into their homes.
“Reyna was always meant to be with us,” said Rachel Beaver. “It just kind of felt like my kid was home. With a lot of kids, you have what’s called a honeymoon period, where you have a couple of weeks where everything is really good and then things kind of blow up when kids are starting to adjust to your family — there was no adjustment period. It was very different with her.”
Since first moving into her new family’s Toledo home last January, in fact, Reyna shared how she immediately felt a sense of “balance” in her life, along with a reassuring feeling of being surrounded by family members that she knew were “going to be there when I got home.”
Success stories like Reyna’s, explained Lawler, are worthy of praise since not every foster youth’s search for new parents comes with a “happy ending.”
In Lewis County alone, Lawler said, nearly 761 children in foster care have lost their biological mothers and/or fathers and are waiting “to belong” somewhere with a new family.
And though many of these youngsters may come from dysfunctional backgrounds, he acknowledged, it oftentimes isn’t the children who need to be rehabilitated, but rather their genetic parents.
“Kids are kids. They need love,” said Lawler, who has presided over five Lewis County National Adoption Days Lewis as a Superior Court judge. “They need a little discipline; they need to be held and they need to be safe. Ninety nine percent of these kids will turn when they receive that and that’s all they want.”
It was noted that foster kids are generally assigned to Dependency Court when their natural parents may not be willing or able to take care of them. In many cases, a mother or father’s parental rights are subsequently terminated, leaving their children available for adoption while they reside in a foster care.
Those who aren’t adopted must stay in foster care until the age of 18, but could remain there until they’re 21 if they agree to continue.
Celebrations like Friday’s, said Lawler, are part of a collective effort to inform the public of the amount of foster children who are out there waiting for homes in the interest of accelerating adoptions.
“I have not kept track of the specific statistics,” Lawler said, when asked if he ever checks in on any of the kids. “I do get Christmas cards with pictures every year from some of the adoptions I’ve done in years’ past. I have a stack of them back in my office. I see the kids grow up because of those pictures and that’s always fun to watch.”
