The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday blocked, at least temporarily, a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that refused to recognize an adoption by a lesbian mother from a Georgia court and denied her visitation rights to her three children.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a motion by the adoptive mother for a stay of the Alabama justices' ruling from September. The stay is effective pending the adoptive mother's request for a writ of certiorari to review her appeal.

"Today's ruling by the Supreme Court means that our client can resume visitation with her three children," said Shannon Minter, director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represents the adoptive mother.

Should the request for certiorari be denied, the stay will automatically terminate, according to the U.S. Supreme Court order. But if the court agrees to hear the appeal, then the stay would terminate with a ruling - for or against - the adoptive mother, the court stated.

In November the adoptive mother, identified as V.L. in court documents, filed an appeal of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that denied her visitation rights after she had split with her lesbian partner, E.L.

The case was first appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. That court ruled in October 2014 that the Jefferson County judge had erred when he granted V.L. visitation rights. But then that appeals court reversed itself in February. The case was then appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court.

On Sept.18 the Alabama Supreme Court issued an order refusing to recognize V.L.'s Georgia adoption and declaring it void

The Alabama Supreme Court found that Alabama did not have to recognize adoption by the woman - V.L. - of her partner's biological children because it found the Georgia court didn't properly apply Georgia law.

V.L. made a statement Monday through the National Center for Lesbian Rights in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in her favor.

"I'm overjoyed that my children and I will be able to be together again," V.L. stated. "It's been so long--more time that I ever thought I could bear--since we have been able to be together and just do the everyday things that parents do with their children, like having dinner together and helping them with their homework.

"I adopted my children more than eight years ago to be sure that I could always be there to protect them. This terrible Alabama decision has hurt my family and will hurt so many other families if it is not corrected," V.L. stated.

Updated with comments from National Center for Lesbian Rights and the adoptive mother