Foster children across the country are being welcomed into forever families just before the Thanksgiving holiday as part of National Adoption Day celebrations.

National Adoption Day is a national effort that takes place the first Saturday before Thanksgiving to raise awareness for the over 117,000 children living in foster care and waiting for permanent, loving families.

Ceremonies have been taking place across Connecticut all week to celebrate the newly completed families.

Jennifer Bond has been adopted by her foster mother.  The 15-year-old has been in the system since she was three years old and was placed in seven different homes during that time.

"I was a troubled child and it used to bother me at school but now my parents have helped me to become this young adult that's able to go school and able to go to high school and knows what she wants to be in life,” she says. “They gave me the opportunity to be who I want to be, so they changed my ways." 

Since National Adoption Day was created almost 70,000 children have found their forever homes.