Matthew Lee

I wanted a little boy around the age of 5 to complete our family. I knew that Nathan had a 5 year old brother that was in the process of being adopted. I secretly hoped that it would not work out. Well, one day in March 2004 we got a call asking if we would be interested in fostering Matthew. He had been in a home with a gay couple that were interested in adopting him but Matthew insisted that he wanted a mommy. Of course we said yes. We met Matthew before he came to our home. He is the only one that we met before joining our family. The social workers wanted us to do a few visits with him before he was placed with us because he had already been to so many foster homes. He had been in at least 10 and he was only 5 years old. We felt so right about it that we asked if we could just place him immediately and they agreed. Nathan's adoption was not yet final so Matthew was added to our file. Before the adoption could proceed the court had to terminate the birth parents rights. Their mother showed up to court and asked for a visit. The judge agreed to a visit before proceding with the termination of parental rights. A visit was set up. She didn't show, so another visit was scheduled. Before the visit we reminded Matthew that his birth mom would be calling Nathan his given name. He looked confused and said, "Oh ya, I have a brother named so and so." Not thinking that they were the same person. The boys had 3 other siblings that they visit with every so often. Matthew and Nathan had not lived together for quite a while. The visit went okay. It was awkward for Kenny and me. In the middle of the visit Matthew said, "Oh ya, I used to live with you." We had to do a couple more visits before her rights were terminated. At the last visit she told me that she was glad that the boys were in a good home and gave us her blessing. The boys' adoption seemed to go a lot better than the girls. We had social workers that knew what they were doing. We did have one snag at the end. Before a court date to finalize, some paperwork had to be sent to Sacramento for approval. Well, the clerk that was supposed to send it left it in a pile on her desk. I called a few times asking if things were ready to go and I was told that they had not heard yet from Sacramento. It took a while to realize that the paperwork had not been sent. After that things went quick. I found out I was pregnant a few months before the adoption was final and was worried that it would be a problem but it was not. Everyone was happy for us. The adoption was final on October 25, 2005. The boys were given a name and a blessing at Nathan's baptism. We were sealed in the Redlands Temple on December 3, 2005. It was an awesome experience. The girls got to be there too.

Matthew is a fun loving kid. He enjoys to play and he plays hard. I think that he must roll around in the dirt at school because he comes home filthy. He likes to do a lot of the same things as his big brother Nathan. Right now I can see him outside rollerblading backward. Matthew is a bright kid. He would do better in school if he didn't want to rush through everything so that he can play. Matthew enjoys primary and cub scouts, especially if treats are involved. He is also an excellent big brother. He likes to make Lucas and Jackson laugh. Matthew is a great addition to our family.