An adolescent finds his eternal home just in time!

According to First Coast News in Jacksonville, USA Today, Brad and Renee Balassaitis adopted Roman Balassaitis only one day before he turned 18.

“We started putting the wheels in motion, and it took a while,” Brad Balassaitis, who has seven children adopted with his wife, told USA Today.

The couple, who have nine children, have been working hard since the beginning of this year to adopt Roman, according to the publication.

“It was kind of a race to the finish at the end, but we really wanted to make sure it happened before his 18th birthday because we wanted to make sure he didn’t age out of the system and then not have that same support,” Brad was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

The kid had previously been with the family, once for roughly nine months when he was 13, but was not ready to be adopted at the time, according to the couple.

Roman believed he’d found his home after reuniting with the Balassaitis family last year.

According to Today, Roman received the greatest gift on Christmas morning last year when Brad and Renee informed him that they were adopting him.

“We were all sobbing,” Renee, 47, said to the magazine. “All Roman has ever wanted was to find his forever family.”

The adoption was finalized last week via Zoom and in the Clay County Historic Courthouse, some 40 miles outside of Jacksonville.

“I was perspiring profusely. My heart was pounding. “I was overjoyed,” Roman told First Coast News. “It means I have somewhere to go.” It implies that if I need to talk to someone, I now have somebody to talk to.”

Renee agreed, then offered some motherly wisdom about the outdoorsy kid who enjoys fishing and mudding with his mates.

“He’s going to do so well; he really is,” she said to the station. “He needed to know people believed in him and that he was wanted and chosen; that’s a big deal.”

“Roman has been walking lighter ever since adoption day,” she explained to Today. “It’s as if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders, as evidenced by the way he moves.” He’s quite relieved.”