Nov 17, 2014 3 min read

Tammy and Terrence Main cleared all the hurdles to become foster parents, except for one: Tammy Main said two brothers came to live with them for two short weeks last fall. But when the pair was placed elsewhere, she didn’t know she’d be broken-hearted when they left.

It was at that point that the Mains knew the next child in their care had to be one who would be their child forever.

In October 2013, the Mains received a call from Washington County Children and Youth Services that a toddler living with his uncle and aunt might be such a candidate.

Then they waited. And waited. And waited to learn more. Christmas came. The new year began.

“For Terrence and I, it was the slowest thing in the world,” Tammy Main said.

It was January when their CYS caseworker called again.

The Mains could adopt little Tylir.

“I’ll never forget it,” Tammy Main recalled. “I was at work. I started crying. He has been in our home and hearts and lives ever since.”

After a few days with the Mains, Tylir had a hearing before a court-appointed attorney known as a master who evaluated Tylir’s situation in a permanency review hearing.

Tammy Main described her son in January as “a little fuzzy-haired butterball. He babbled, and he was very active.”

On Sept. 25, Tylir’s adoption was finalized before a judge.

The “very active” description still applies, but now, Tylir carries on full conversations, and he continues to amaze his parents with his accomplishments. Tammy Main knows more than the average Joe about child development because she is the director of a child care center.

November marks National Adoption Month, and an invitation-only catered dinner with the theme “Families are Magical” is scheduled for Friday at the Courthouse Square office building to celebrate the 63 adoptions of infants to children age 17 that have taken place in the past year. The figure nears 2010’s 68 adoptions, the most ever in one year in Washington County.

Judge Katherine B. Emery, who presides over Washington County Orphans Court, will address the families. Dee Dee Blosnich-Gooden, deputy administrator of CYS, called the evening one of companionship with families who are attending, “really just to thank them for opening up their homes and their hearts to these children,” echoing sentiments Tammy Main expressed in an interview.

Tylir is the name the Mains’ child, now 2, was given by his birth mother, and Tammy Main sees a series of happenings in their family as more than mere coincidences. “All three of us have TM as our initials,” she said. “Tylir’s birthday is my mom and dad’s anniversary, July 27. His new birth certificate was issued on our anniversary, Oct. 28. He was born in Duvall County, Fla., and my maiden name is Duvall.

“I never thought in a million years I could love my husband any more until I’ve seen him as a dad. Whether they’re doing an art project or singing a song, it just makes my heart melt.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better.”