Boy From Philippines Surprised With Adoption Cake By U.S. Family

A 12-year-old from the Philippines jumped with joy when his new U.S. family surprised him with a cake revealing his dream of being adopted was about to come true. Parents Holly and Ariel Romero, from Charlotte, North Carolina, already had four biological children of their own when they decided back in 2014 they wanted to adopt. With their family being of Filipino American descent, they decided to look to the Philippines for children who may be looking for a family. After adopting a 16-year-old into their family, they later wanted to adopt again, and from the moment they met Kiko, in May 2023, the youngster immediately took to calling Ariel and Holly ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad.’ In the Philippines adoption program, you must have a child in a family’s care for a minimum of six months before the country will send a“Consent to Adopt,” allowing families to go to court and finalize the adoption. During his time living with the Romeros in America, Kiko would enthusiastically keep asking when the family could head to court and make his adoption official. All Holly and Ariel could respond was, "soon," and then, in February 2024, the couple received an email from their adoption agency to say that the Consent to Adopt had arrived. They decided to plan a big surprise for Kiko, headed to a local bakery, where they asked for a cake that said, "We're going to court!"

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