Mary Thomas gives a kiss to her newly adopted daughter Hanzi Thomas, 4, during a hearing in a St. Louis County courtroom in Clayton on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. - David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS
CLAYTON, Mo. — Mary Thomas fought back tears Saturday when she was asked before a packed St. Louis County courtroom if she and her husband were prepared to raise the three kids sitting by her side as their own. "Absolutely, yes," she said with emotion. She held the youngest, Hanzi, in her arms. The 4-year-old girl dressed in a long party dress decorated with red flowers perked up when she heard her name read in the court. "That's me!" she said. Hanzi and her siblings were among 30 children who had adoptions finalized Saturday in the St. Louis County Courthouse as part of the county's first Nat...
