It’s not every day that you see in a courtroom balloons, cookies, and lots of people with smiles on their faces, but that’s exactly what the day called for in Franklin County Probate Court as 15 children were adopted as part of a National Adoption Day event.

Judge Robert Montgomery and his staff of magistrates finalized adoptions made through Franklin County Children Services for eight families.

“When you look at these types of cases where the children are coming from foster care, it really is very rewarding because you know that these are children that may have a temporary home but every child should have a permanent home – they should have a mom, they should have a dad – and to be a part of that is a tremendous honor,” Judge Montgomery said before the ceremony.

Rick and Bobbi Boone added four children ages 2 to 8 to their family that includes four children they adopted three years ago.

“We love them. You fall in love with them. What are you going to do? You don’t want them to go back to what they came from,” Rick Boone said.

“They need us. They need a home and they need love,” Bobbi Boone said while their newly adopted 5-year-old ran around her legs.

“And we need them,” added her husband. “They make us laugh.”

Nationwide, the event has helped 50,000 children find permanent homes.

“What national adoption day is really for is to bring awareness to the need for these foster children to be able to have a family and I think that’s the most important thing,” Judge Montgomery said.