Teen finds forever home after 4,057 days in foster care -- just in time for Christmas originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com

A teenage girl from Indiana has been adopted after being in and out of the foster care system since she was a baby.

Last month, 17-year-old Scarlet struck the ceremonial mallet at her own adoption hearing -- making it official that she finally had a forever home, and a family to spend Christmas with.

"It was very emotional," new foster mom Patty told "Good Morning America." "Me and her, we had a hard time keeping the tears in. When she said this was going to be her first official holiday with her real family and that she never had that before, that really tore me up."

PHOTO: Scarlet smiles with her parents Mike and Patty, after she was officially adopted in Marion, Ind., Nov. 16, 2018. (Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar) More

Patty, who declined to give her surname, said she and her husband, Mike, discussed adoption for a bit and later got approved to do so. Mike is Patty's second husband and she has three boys from a previous marriage.

In May, the couple attended an Indiana Adoption Program meet-and-greet hosted by Children's Bureau Inc. at which they got acquainted with adoptable children.

"We wanted to have a young child, maybe between ages 6 and 10," Patty said. "That's what we went in thinking and then we got there and things just changed."

Mike and Patty were introduced to Scarlet and the three immediately hit it off.

PHOTO: Scarlet poses with some of the many people who helped her get adopted, on her adoption day at the Grant County Courthouse in Marion, Ind., Nov. 16, 2018. (Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar) More

"I told my husband, 'There's something about this girl, I really liked her,'" Patty recalled. "My husband said, 'I have this feeling -- we need to adopt her.'"

Patty said that after the meet-and-greet, she and Mike submitted paperwork to alert the adoption program that they were interested in making Scarlet their own.

They were then sent a booklet that included Scarlet's backstory.

"She's had a very rough life," Patty explained. "She's the strongest person I know. I don't know how anybody could go through all that and still be happy. I don't want to go into details of what she went through, but it's not something any kid should ever experience."

PHOTO: Scarlet sits with her parents Patty and Mike, on her adoption day at the Grant County Courthouse in Marion, Ind., Nov. 16, 2018. (Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar) More

Scarlet was once placed in two different pre-adoptive homes, but the families changed their minds about moving forward with a permanent arrangement, according to Patty.

Later, Patty, Mike and Scarlet met at another meet and greet.

"[Scarlet] walked up to us and said, 'My two favorite people,'" Patty said.

It was then determined that Patty and Mike were a match for Scarlet. Scarlet's caseworker emailed the couple with the news writing, "It's a girl!"

And on Nov. 16 at the Grant County Courthouse, Scarlet officially got a family and a new last name.

In total, the teen had spent 4,057 days in foster care.

PHOTO: Scarlet is overcome with joy as she poses at the judge's bench with Judge Dana Kenworthy at the Grant County Courthouse in Marion, Ind., Nov. 16, 2018. (Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar) More

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