Isabella County Courthouse officiates four families on Michigan Adoption Day

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Four children in Isabella County became official family members with guardians on Tuesday .

“What did we find in Africa, Kip?” Brethren resident Steve Bailey said to his 3-year-old son.

Kip turned to his now adoptive father and smiled.

“A cute little kid,” said his mother, Jill Witt.

Although the Witt Bailey family said they already consider themselves a family, the ninth annual Michigan Adoption Day held at the Isabella County Courthouse made it official.

Kip was one of four children going to loving homes, said Isabella County Probate Judge William Ervin.

“The purpose of Adoption Day is to draw attention to children in youth and foster care, especially those in need for permanent loving families to give them the love and care they deserve,” Ervin said.

Ervin said there are usually about 30 to 35 children adopted a year in Isabella County and there are currently about 70 to 80 in foster care.

Adoption Day, which is also a national celebration, is always scheduled the Tuesday before the Thanksgiving holiday, he said.

State Rep. Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, said it’s a very important day across the state.

“It’s a very special time thinking of Thanksgiving together,” he said. “Parents are thankful for their children and children are thankful for their parents.”

St. Louis residents Sharla and Wesley Alspaugh adopted their seventh child on Adoption Day.

The couple said they have been running a foster home hosting more than 400 children over the past 31 years.

“He’s been with us before and for about a year we knew he’d be ours,” Sharla said referring to her now adopted son, Demetrius, 7.

Information on the adopting process was available for families outside the courtroom.

Promoting efforts for kids who remain in foster care is another purpose for the Adoption Day, Ervin said.

“These kids need a second chance,” he said. “The people that open their homes and their hearts to these kids give the love and direction the kids need.”

Ervin said it’s the best day on the bench he has each year.

“People ask me all the time, ‘How do you your job? I couldn’t do it,’” he said. “Well these types of days here make it all worthwhile.”