The reception was a celebration of everything they had overcome and everything they were building. The children gave toasts----Liam serious and heartfelt, Sophia poetic and emotional, Yara simple and sweet. Alex spoke about finally having the family he had always wanted, about the joy of belonging, about the future they were creating together.

"I used to think family was about blood," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "About who you're related to, who you look like, who shares your ...