ELIZABETH — When Ruby Davis lost a baby boy to Sudden Infant Death syndrome, she discovered in her grief that she wanted a big family.

As it turned out, there was a big family who wanted her, too.

Friday, Davis adopted five children — Michael, 11, Pamela, 9, Anthony, 8, Britney, 7, and Sabrina, 5, at the Union County courthouse in Elizabeth. The five siblings, whose biological parents had lost custody of them, joined children from 17 other county families to celebrate National Adoption Day.

"I’m glad to be adopted," Pamela said at the courthouse, as she hugged a teddy bear to her chest amid balloons and the giggles and tears of new families.

Statewide, about 200 families signed papers Friday, bringing the year’s total adoptions to 944, according to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. Last year, 1,171 children were adopted in the state.

In the years following the 2004 loss of her baby, Davis, who works for an answering service, registered to be a foster mother in Union County. Three years ago, she and her partner, Evelyn Gaines, welcomed five elementary school-age siblings into their three-bedroom Roselle home.

It was a cramped, stressful struggle in the beginning. Some days were crazy hectic, others were worse. But then some good days slipped in, and then they outnumbered the bad. And then the clan became inseparable.

"I had a lot of people doubt me," said Davis, 27, who also has a biological son and daughter. "They said, ‘You’re going to be a single mother to five more children?’ "

Yes, Davis thought. Of course. That was the plan. And in the end, the decision to go from foster mother to adoptive mom was an easy one: The children were facing a major moment.

"I knew when their parents lost custody that it’d be impossible to find a home where they could stay together," Davis said. "And I knew their biggest fear was separating."

That decision, and the new beginning it promised, also brought new challenges.

First, Davis had to convince the state Department of Youth and Family Services she was prepared to be the mother of seven children.

"I never missed a doctor’s appointment," she said. "I made sure they were always being taken care of."

Even when flu season rolled around and everyone in her house caught the bug.

"All those runny noses. It was a big mommy moment for me," Davis said. "I called my own mother and realized this is what it’s like to be a mother — you have to sacrifice yourself."

One of the most troubling discoveries Davis faced early on was learning none of the older children had ever attended a day of school before moving in with her. The oldest, then 8, had to start in the first grade.

"I just felt so bad about that," Davis said. "Education is a big thing with me."

Now the house is filled with educational toys like VTech computers, and reading is a mandatory nightly activity.

Not only that, her children are all straight-A students, a piece of news Davis relayed Friday with the unabashed smile of a proud mother.