"A True Love Story..."

The Beanblossom family

Two Dads Adopt Teen Over Zoom
Michael, a 17-year-old teen, had been cycled through nine homes before meeting Chad and Paul.

Out.com
Mikelle Street
May 18, 2020

The global pandemic may have closed or stalled many governmental agencies and processes but as my grandmother often said: where there's a will there's a way! Or maybe, in this case, where there's a will there's a Zoom. As we've seen weddings happen on sidewalks and on Zoom in this unprecedented global pandemic, now we're also seeing adoptions happen that way as well.

Chad and Paul Beanblossom are both dads and granddads. Paul fathered three children, prior to the couple's five-year marriage, and those kids have since had offspring of their own. But now, the family is expanding with Michael, the 17-year-old that the pair legally adopted over a Zoom call.

"The judge mentioned it was the largest Zoom adoption she had done to date," Chad told Good Morning America. There were reportedly 80 people including friends, family, and adoption specialists on the call.

The Beanblossoms had previously fostered Michael after his mother died. Over the span of five years, the teen had been placed in nine different homes. At one point, he even ran away from one family. But when he met the Beanblossoms things changed.

"He just kind of came in and took over our hearts," Chad said. "He's taught us just as much, if not more than we have him. Our whole world revolves around Michael." At Michael's request, the family decided to adopt Michael.

"Paul and Chad Beanblossom have been great at advocating for Michael and giving him opportunities that he may have not gotten otherwise," Allyson Sayne, a family services worker at the Tennessee Department of Children Services said. "This family had to undergo a tragedy of a house fire a month before Michael’s adoption, but they focused on the fact that they had each other and didn’t let it affect Michael’s adoption."

Michael will be starting his senior year of high school this year.

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Love can overcome all obstacles and is at its greatest when it's shared.

Congratulations!