GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Two and a half years ago, Lailah walked into the Getter household for a sleepover with a friend.
Now, she will return to the house as their daughter.
"It was actually kinda funny because I was like, 'Hey Scott, what if things don’t work out with the family I’m at now, would you guys want to adopt me?'" said Lailah.
Little did she know, Scott and Misty Getter were already considering adding the young girl in foster care to their family.
"I think that’s just so cool how God made that click," said Lailah Getter. "As soon as I stepped into that house, even at the time I considered them friends, I just knew they were going to be my family."
Thursday, the Getter family officially adopted 14-year-old Lailah at the courthouse during Kent County Adoption Day.
"She's a survivor," said her mom, Misty Getter. "It's not easy to be in the foster care system. It might be harder than what puts you in the foster care system. And she survived it, and she's persevered through it and she's gonna do amazing things."
Lailah is not just gaining parents, but nine siblings. Misty and Scott have three biological children, two in foster care they are in the process of adopting, and Lailah makes the fifth child they have through adoption.
"If a few years ago someone asked me to describe the word family," said Lailah, "I would have said a mom and dad, like, a few kids. This isn't a few kids. This is a lot of kids."
It is often wild and crazy they say, but the Getter family loves it that way.
"As a dad, I think, when a kid comes into the home, first, it's you wonder how is this going to change my family, how's this gonna affect my kids?" said Lailah's dad, Scott Getter, "But you get two or three weeks into it, and you start to love the kid. And then you get to a point where it's your child, whether it is or not. These kids are my kids."
The family from Middleville are celebrating with a family trip to Florida after the adoption ceremony.
"We're not ever going to take the place of her birth parents," said Misty, "but she just has a place to be a family, that loves her. When she needs to learn how to cook, she can call me. When she needs to have her car fixed, she can bring it to her dad."
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, of the nearly 10,000 children in foster care, more than 2,100 are looking for homes through adoption.
"I'll be honest, it is scary, and all sorts of things can happen," said Misty. "But it is amazing and wonderful."
Those interested in becoming a foster parent can call 855-MICHK. You can also visit this website.
RELATED VIDEO: New families founded at Adoption Day event in Ottawa County
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