"We plan to just disconnect and be a family this Christmas. We don't have to worry about anything else for the first time in eight years," Mom Tammy shared.
Tammy and Jordan Myers cannot wait for Christmas to spend with their kids. After the birth of their first daughter Corryn, now 10, they wanted to expand their family. Unfortunately, their plans took a hit after a cancer diagnosis in 2015 revealed that it would be dangerous for Tammy to carry children again. The couple ended up choosing surrogacy and their twins Eames and Ellison were born on January 11, 2021. In a bizarre twist despite Eames and Ellison being Tammy and Jordan's children biologically, they had to adopt them. After a two-year-long legal battle, Tammy and Jordan could finally call their twins their own.
Congrats to the Myers family! They are now legally able to call their twins, born via a surrogate, their own. We will continue to champion the rights of families so that future parents using surrogates don't have to jump through the same legal hoops. https://t.co/cZyB8DFeHl
— MI Senate Dems (@MISenDems) December 13, 2022
It still feels surreal for Tammy, 41, who told PEOPLE, "I still pinch myself and say, 'Oh my gosh, we adopted our children.'" The couple has spent many Christmases worrying about several things for nearly a decade: cancer, expanding the family, and adopting their own children. Now they can finally breathe easy and are looking forward to a happy, relaxed holiday with their tight-knit family. "This has always been our dream," Tammy shared. "We finally have our family, and the extra, added stress we unfortunately had is gone. We plan to just disconnect and be a family this Christmas. We don't have to worry about anything else for the first time in eight years. We didn't know if we'd ever get to this stage, and being here now is extra special, just being at home with the five of us."
Tammy and Jordan Myers, of Grand Rapids, can officially say they have "a happy, crazy family of five" after finalizing the adoption of their biological children. https://t.co/q3IdU3pqtC
— MLive (@MLive) December 8, 2022
Due to Michigan's strict laws, Tammy and Jordan were not listed as the parents of twins Eames and Ellison until two weeks ago. “The problem with the law is that there’s no process to make that happen prior to the birth,” said Melissa Neckers, the Myers’ attorney, according to FOX 17. “To finally have them listed as the legal parents is enormous, but it’s also frustrating that we had to get to this point.” The family is now working with state legislators to help sort out pending bills that would help other people who've been in a similar distressing situation. “Adoption wasn’t set up for this type of situation, it was set up for kids who don’t have parents, or their parents can’t take care of them,” said Neckers. “This is a band-aid. We need to change the law.”
Now the couple plan on ensuring no other family goes through what they went through. "The best Christmas gift we could ask for was having the adoption finalized — it made our Christmas," Tammy said. "Going forward, the best way to start 2023 will be [passing] these laws."
A Michigan couple has won the right to adopt their biological twins, who were born via gestational carrier in January 2021. https://t.co/f0v4vfDfVs
— ABC News (@ABC) December 16, 2022
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Cover Image Source: YouTube | MLive
