A five-year-old boy was so excited to get a new family, he invited his entire kindergarten class to attend his adoption hearing.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Michael Orlando Clark Jr. showed up at the courthouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan yesterday, December 5, to officially be welcomed into his forever family.
The five-year-old had lived with his foster parents for a year prior to the hearing, so when the big day came he wanted to share it with all of his friends.
See the heartwarming events take place below:
Photos taken at the courthouse show benches filled with the excited little faces of Michael’s classmates, who held up bright red hearts attached to wooden sticks to show their support for their friend, who was smartly dressed in a waistcoat and bow tie.
Michael’s new father told CNN his favourite part of the hearing was when the judge asked everyone present in the room to explain what the five-year-old means to them.
His classmates were quick to sing his praises as they stood up and told the court they ‘love’ Michael and that he was their best friend.
The unusual situation was a first for the judge, and Grand Rapids-based reporter James Starks described the event as the ‘cutest story you will ever see’.
Michael’s teacher, Mrs. McKee, came up with the idea of bringing the entire class to the hearing and suggested it to the youngster’s mum when she dropped him off at school one day.
Michael and his mother agreed the occasion needed to be marked in a special way so Mrs. McKee set about making her student’s dream come true and organised a school bus to transport the children on the memorable trip.
Michael is his parents’ first child and his father explained things got ‘chaotic in a hurry’ when they welcomed the youngster into their lives.
The proud couple, who have been married for 10 years, said their new son loves to dance and swim as well as to play basketball and soccer.
They expressed their amazement at how many friends Michael has and his father said one of the most beautiful parts of living with the young boy over the past year has been watching him get invited to friends’ houses and to go on play dates.
Michael was one of 36 children who were adopted in Kent County during the 23rd annual Adoption Day, which is put on by the Family Division of the Circuit Court in Kent County.
As well as getting to spend time with his friends, the five-year-old was able to meet Santa Claus at the event.
The day was certainly a great way to celebrate the occasion!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.