SALEM — Dressed in a black tuxedo with a gray vest, tie and shiny black shoes, Ammi Ray Giovanni Lara stole the spotlight at Salem Juvenile Court yesterday.
He was there to be legally adopted by Pedro and Tena Lara of Lawrence, who had been taking care of him for more than a year. The ceremony was part of the fifth annual National Adoption Day at Essex County Juvenile Court.
Eleven children were adopted by 10 families at the Salem court yesterday. Across the state, a total of 209 children were adopted by 165 families. The children range in age from 7 months to 18 years.
"We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for adopting," said Judge Jose Sanchez after reading the decree making the Laras Ammi's legal adoptive parents.
The judge said it was a special event for him because he has known the Laras professionally since 1999. Pedro Lara is a lawyer.
"This is absolutely wonderful. On top of being professionals, they have opened their hearts and their home to children who need them," Sanchez said.
Ammi, who will turn 2 on Dec. 17, is the third child the Laras have adopted in their nine years of marriage. Their other children are Haly and Cora, both 4. They also are foster parents to a girl, Audrianna.
"I always wanted to adopt. My dad raised me on his own, and I wanted to be the mother I never had," Tena Lara, 36, said with tears in her eyes.
The entire family wore black and light gray to complement Ammi's outfit. Attending the ceremony was Tena's father, John Boyd, who flew in from Colorado Springs.
Boyd was matching animal pegs on a board with Ammi, when the rambunctious toddler wasn't racing his yellow van on his father's head, hiding under the table or rolling around the floor.
Tena Lara is from Colorado and works as a professional photographer. She served three years in the Army and was stationed in Texas.
Pedro Lara was born and raised in Miami, Fla. He graduated from Liberty University in Virginia and received his law degree from the Massachusetts School of Law in Andover. He is a real estate and juvenile lawyer.
The Laras are active members of Granite State Baptist Church in Salem, N.H.
"I'm very happy," Pedro Lara said. "Every day there's something sad with an adoption that didn't go right, but a day like today brings tears to your eyes. For me, it's a dream come true because they have found a steady home."
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