STAPLETON, Colo. — A special celebration for a Stapleton family was shared with the community Wednesday evening amid the coronavirus outbreak in the state.
After spending nearly her entire life in foster care, 2-year-old Poppy Hamilton was officially adopted Wednesday morning.
"She completes our family," said her mother, Deanna Hamilton.
Hamilton told Denver7 her daughter was in foster care for 826 days before she was adopted. About two years of that time, Deanna and Brad Hamilton were her foster parents.
"We have battled infertility for years with a lot of loss after a lot of work, and this was our last ditch effort to expand our family with lots of hope," Deanna said.
Their hope lead them through the long and difficult process of adoption, made even tougher when COVID-19 shut down courts right as the Hamiltons were expecting to officially make Poppy one of their own.
"It was an emotional roller coaster," said Poppy's father, Brad Hamilton. "We had tried to get on in March and April and they canceled all of the March adoptions and April."
Hope seemed lost until they went before a judge on Wednesday, via computer, and got the decision they waited on for more than two years: The judge declared Poppy part of the Hamilton family.
But they weren't able to share the news with their loved ones in a traditional sense.
"Because of COVID-19, we weren’t able to do the whole courtroom adoption that families dream of," Deanna Hamilton said.
Instead, the Hamilton's friends and family gave an adoption party beyond what they could ever imagine.
Neighbors decorated their homes, and brass band set the mood as cars lined the streets — all to welcome Poppy to the family.
"She brings our family so much joy and she completes it in every way," Deanna Hamilton said. "She’s everything we’ve dreamed of."