Foster Baby Adopted By WilCo Couple 2 Days Before Christmas

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — A Christmas miracle of sorts has happened in Williamson County. A baby under foster care has been adopted by an area family just two days before the special day.

The baby boy has been living with Mary and Michael Rockett, and their 8-year-old son, Cruz Valentine, as a foster child since he was four days old, county officials wrote in an email. On Monday, he went home with them as their son.

“This is absolutely the greatest gift. We are finally going to get to finalize becoming a family,” foster father Michael Rockett of Georgetown said. "And with it being so close to Christmas time, it’s such an amazing gift. Our family has been truly blessed.”

The new addition to the family is the culmination of events that began in June, when foster parents Mary and Michael Rockett received a phone call that a four-day-old baby was in need of a foster home. In Texas, a child under the age of three years is required to be fostered for at least six months before being eligible for adoption, county officials explained.

When the possibility of adopting their foster baby before Christmas — just shy of the six -month minimum —became an option, the Rocketts immediately said yes to moving forward.

“It’s something we’d always hoped for,” the mother said. “We’ve always wanted to foster with the hope of adoption, but now that it’s happening, and just before Christmas, we still can’t believe it.”

425th Judicial District Court Judge Betsy Lambeth approved the early adoption and will perform the adoption ceremony. “The Christmas season is about a baby," she observed. "A miracle baby. And we have our own miracle baby in Williamson County.”

County Judge Bill Gravell said the story is emblematic of the abundant goodwill found throughout WilCo: “We have such giving and compassionate people here in Williamson County, and this family is giving the ultimate gift this Christmas season by becoming parents to a child in need," he said. "That is what Christmas is all about.”

The baby was given the family name of Ruger Rex Rockett in honor of his new father's dad, official ssaid. Having adopted the child, the Rocketts now are urging others to become foster parents. “Fostering to adopt is a long road with a lot of commitment but it is totally worth it,” the mom said.

Top photo: (left to right) Mary Rockett (mother), Cruz Rockett (8-year-old son), Michael Rockett (father), Rex Rockett (baby) and Judge Betsy Lambeth.