SAN ANTONIO – Every month, Child Protective Services and Bexar County Judges hold Adoption Day, but this month is extra special because the event fell on the Friday before Mother's Day.
That means several new moms got the kids they always wanted, but didn't think they would ever have.
In all, 36 children will be celebrating Mother's Day with a new mom and a new family. Rachel Solano is one of those new mothers. She cannot stop smiling and scratching her head at how her life has changed over the last year and a half.
"I've always wanted a lot of kids, so who would have thought that I would have been here doing this right now?" Solano said.
She is now mother to three nieces and two nephews who had been removed from her younger sister's home due to drug abuse.
"When they first came into my home, they were scared, didn't know what to do. They were lost and it took a lot for myself and my fiance to do what we needed to do to make the kids feel like they should feel," she said.
Solano said the support of the entire family has helped smooth the way for the children to begin calling her mom. The five children, aged 11 to 6, are now transitioning well and so is she.
"Now my house is filled with love, laughter and what else can I ask for?" she said.