Thirty three children were granted forever homes on Thursday as part of Kent County's annual adoption day. This is the 21st year the Family Division of the Kent County Circuit Court have created a special day for children and their new families.
Three years ago, Michael and Claudia Elzinga began trying to have a baby.
"We did IVF and all the fertility stuff and got pregnant a couple of times and had some losses," Michael Elzinga said.
They found out about a woman, seven-months pregnant, considering adoption.
"Right away we said 'yes' and about a month later we had been approved as adoptive parents," Michael Elzinga said.
The couples always wanted to adopt, after they had biological children.
"People think maybe you're not going to love an adopted kid as much as your own, and from the moment I saw her, I can't imagine loving a kid any more. She's perfect," Claudia Elzinga said.
The couple said the hardest part of the process was feeling the grief Ilana's birth parents felt.
"Her biological parents did love her and wanted to do the right thing for her, and they believed that giving her to us was the best thing for her, and that doesn't mean that they didn't love her," Michael Elzinga said.
Michael believes everything happens for a reason.
"We weren't able to have biological children up to this point and we didn't know why, and then we had miscarriages and we didn't know why and, the reason all this has happened is so that she can be in our family, and that's something we want her to grow up knowing," Michael Elzinga said.
For more information about adopting in Michigan click here.
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