Some family concepts are more complicated than others, but that doesn’t mean they have less love than other families.Being a stepfather entails accepting that your spouse’s children may react differently to your new role in their family. Many stepfathers are fortunate to have positive relationships with their stepchildren.It may be relatively simple for separated spouses to remarry. However, making your new spouse’s children official children can be a more complicated process.

David Lacy married TK, a lovely woman with three children from her previous marriage.Ashley, Rusty, and Courtney were only small children when David joined their family, but they grew close to him as David expressed his joy at becoming their father.David attempted to adopt Ashley, Rusty, and Courtney 26 years ago but was unsuccessful.Adoption laws allow a stepparent to adopt a child if the biological father agrees or there is evidence of abandonment, but they didn’t have either,

so David was forced to be the kids’ unofficial father for years.On David’s 51st birthday, Ashley, Rusty, and Courtney gave him a three-page letter, which their mother read aloud to him.The letter said many nice things about David. “A dad isn’t defined as a man who makes the child, but rather as a man who extends his hands in time to help with the child’s raising and his heart who loves the child through anything,” one section said.

Later, the letter’s end said, “turn to the last page,” and when he did, he read a question that said, “Will you finally become our dad and adopt us?” He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just stood up and gave the kids a big warm hug, which served as his big YES.In the video below, David finally becomes the official father of his three stepchildren.