““A fourth-grader's behavior was so bad that his teacher Chelsea Haley almost gave up on teaching altogether. So Haley did what she felt she had to do: she adopted the 12-year-old student, and his one-year-old brother.

Haley, 24, joined Teach for America in 2013 to make a difference in a low-income school. She met Jerome Robinson while teaching at an elementary school in Baton Rouge.

"At certain points, his behavior got so bad," Chelsea Haley told CNN, "I thought, 'I can't do this anymore. I can't be a teacher.'"

Though she struggled to control him, the two formed an unlikely bond. Other teachers would send Jerome to Haley's classroom because they knew she was the only one he would listen to.

As her two-year experience with Teach For America was drawing to an end, the school principal suggested Haley stick around "for Jerome." She did, signing on for a third year as a special education teacher.

Then one October night, Haley felt as though God spoke to her in a dream, telling her to be Jerome's mother.

Jerome and his one-year-old brother lived in poverty with their grandparents and birth mother, who shared care for the two boys. The family was going through tough times after the recent loss of two family members.

Haley says she awoke from the dream and laughed out loud, thinking the idea was preposterous, and went back to sleep.

But the very next day, Jerome looked up while taking a test and asked Haley if he could live with her.

Now Haley knew it was meant to be, so she invited Jerome's mother to dinner.””

““Tom and Courtney Gilmour had long planned for two big events: the adoption of their two foster children, and a trip to Disney World. By coincidence, just three days before leaving for Orlando, Florida, this past spring, a Pennsylvania court confirmed the Gilmours' adoption date.

Suddenly, their Disney vacation took on an extra-magical quality.

Janielle, 12, and Elijah, 10, had bounced around different foster homes their whole lives. Three years ago, they landed in the Gilmours' Portland home in eastern Pennsylvania.

Courtney Gilmour, 36, knew she wanted to adopt the brother and sister as soon as she met them. “We instantly connected," she told TODAY. "We blended as a family. It didn’t feel weird for a second. It felt natural."

But, as Gilmour explained, “the adoption system doesn’t work as fast as your heart does.” So the couple waited.

Finally, on April 7, the Pennsylvania court offered the Gilmours an official adoption date: May 24, 2017. Three days later, the family set off for Disney World.

The couple could barely contain their excitement, but they decided to wait until they arrived at the Magic Kingdom to share the wonderful news with the kids.””
     — Julia Curley