An Apollo Beach couple adopted a pair of brothers they said they first met at the Heart Gallery suite in Tropicana Field during a Rays game last August.
"I had extra tickets. I called Jen and Jacob, our son, and said why don't you come on down to the game," Bill Tracy said. "We met the boys there and the rest is history."
Bill and Jennifer Tracy officially adopted Justin, 9, and his older brother Alex, 11, on Thursday at the Pinellas County Courthouse.
"It is with great delight and pleasure that I make legally true what love already made true," Judge Lorraine Kelly said. "Which is that Alexander and Justin are your sons."
It was a day the brothers had been waiting more than three years to see come true after living at the Salvation Army Children's Village.
"I've been looking forward to this since we met them," Alex said. "It's awesome."
"Today was the greatest day that ever happened to me," Justin said. "Because I finally got adopted."
Jennifer Tracy said they adopted their first son, Jacob, 5, when he was a newborn. The mother of three said she wants to encourage people to consider adoption as another pathway to having children.
"There's over 120 kids that are in the Heart Gallery that are older children that need (to be) adopted and loved just as much as everybody else," she said. "Every child deserves a home."
"Just open up your hearts, your home and it pays back tenfold," Bill said.
After the adoption hearing, the Tracys left the courthouse and headed straight for a Bob Evans restaurant for dessert as an official family of five.
"It's just an amazing day for us," Jennifer said. "It formalizes our family."
Bay News 9's parent company, Bright House Networks, is a Heart Gallery sponsor. Jennifer also works for Bright House and Bill is on the Heart Gallery board.