National Adoption Celebrated in Prince William County

A celebratory crowd of friends and family of adoptive parents and their children filled Prince William Circuit Judge Carroll A. Weimer Jr.’s courtroom on Saturday, Nov. 19. The crowd was there to applaud the adoption of Prince William County children who were adopted last year, who were being adopted on this day and who will soon be adopted.

Six adoptions were finalized Saturday, National Adoption Day. Four were finalized earlier in the year, and six were recognized as their adoptions are pending. All the children and their families came to the Prince William County Judicial Center to recognize the adoptions.

National Adoption Day, celebrated annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, was first observed in 2000 with nine events around the United States. Today, National Adoption Day is celebrated in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, with more than 400 events nationwide. Saturday marked the Greater Prince William area’s 19^th annual National Adoption Day Celebration, according to 31^st Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Katherine McCollam, who said, “Thank you all for what you do. Everyone in this room – and it takes a village – as you look around, you can see that because everyone here has a part in these children's lives.”

Generations came to the ceremony. The crowd in the room represented a wealth of support for the adoptive children and their new families.

“What matters is that you were important in the life of a child,” Prince William County Attorney Michelle Robl told the adults at the ceremony. “I want to thank everyone in this room for your dedication, your commitment and your service to the life of a child.”

Robl also acknowledged the part the children played in the adoption process. “I want to thank you for your patience, for hanging in there with us as we adults do the job that we need to do to get to this point, and I want to congratulate you. What a wonderful and special day. It is my hope and prayer for you that you will have a wonderful life filled with joy and love.”

Weimer noted that the day stood in contrast to a normal day in court. “It is not often that people come to court happy, and even more unusual for them to leave happy,” Weimer said. The happy day testified to the support, approval and official recognition of the court.

“It is with great pleasure that I preside over this celebration of adoption. Today we celebrate adoption, adoptive families, children, parents. We celebrate the love and support of those families,” Weimer said. “You are officially joined together, parents and children, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins. You are family.”

Weimer, who adopted a daughter with his wife, told the parents that he was privy to the joy and fear they felt simultaneously. He said he was glad that the parents chose joy over fear.

“As an adoptive parent, I know your secret. People think that your child is lucky, and they certainly are, but I know that you as the parents are the lucky ones too. Whether you have adopted one child or many, or whether you have other children, all parents know that children, no matter their age, give as much love and opportunity as they get from your family. Congratulation to you all.”

Joe Burton and his family attended the ceremony with their adopted son Dylan. “It’s a wonderful day because our family has been blessed even more today, officially, and just the amount of love from the community is amazing,” the Manassas Park father said.

The Prince William County Bar Foundation, along with the Circuit Court of Prince William County, the Prince William County Department of Social Services, City of Manassas Park Department of Social Services and the City of Manassas Department of Social Services partnered in making the celebration possible. Special thanks go out to the Prince William County Bar Association, Prince William Bar Foundation, Prince William County Board of County Supervisors, Prince William County Courts, Prince William County DSS Advisory Board, the Advisory Board for the City of Manassas Park, the Advisory Board for the City of Manassas, the Prince William County Sherriff’s Department and strings player Robert Salzberg. Thank you to Stay Cool Ice Cream, who provided frozen refreshments to all the guests.