Everyone was fighting to hold back tears in a Buffalo, New York courtroom on October 17, 2019.

There, Lamont Thomas, 48, a lifelong foster parent who has cared for over 30 children in the last 15 years, adopted 5 siblings so they could continue to grow up together.

All 5 of the children are under the age of 6.

He had “retired” from fostering a few years back, but got recertified in order to take in the siblings: five-year-old Zendaya, four-year-old Jamel, three-year-old Nakia, two-year-old Major, and one-year-old Michaela. They are the biological children of one of Thomas’ former foster children.

“The kids ended up being taken into care – I believe it was due to neglect,” he said.

The siblings had once been separated for over a year and a half, placed at 4 different foster homes in 4 different cities.

But on October 17, they all got a permanent home under the same roof. Thomas was emotional after the hearing. He told Good Morning America:

“I was fighting to keep back the tears. Every day I think about it, my eyes swell up. All that we endured to make this happen, it was something.”

Thomas never really intended to become a foster parent in the first place. But he got certified in order to help Michael Perez, the child of someone he knew who had been placed in the system.

“He was a good young man and I just hated to see him in the system,” he said.

“In the beginning, I was helping out some friends….I went on and got certified and became a foster parent. I haven’t stopped since,” he explained.

He ended up adopting Michael (now Michael Thomas), who works as a nurse.

Since then, he’s proud to say he never turned a child away in all his time fostering – they either aged out or went back to their families. He simply felt that he had so much love to give that he could handle whatever life brought his way.

Now, his foster children, some of whom he adopted, are grown and so are his two biological children Anthony and LaMonica. Altogether, he’s the father of 10. His 27-year-old daughter LaMonica said:

“He does anything for everybody. He’s a really great man.” He has a heart full of love to share.

Thomas, who works as a caterer, said he originally had other plans for this time in his life, but knew he had to put them aside when he found out about the children two years ago. That’s when he first began fostering them.

Now they’re his adopted children and he intends to dive into raising them headfirst.

“They bring new energy to me. They’re lovable kids, very affectionate,” he said. “They deserve to be raised as siblings, and that was my fight.”

Meanwhile, his grown children can’t believe he’s started all over again with another brood.

“We’re all grown now, I can’t believe he’s started all over again,” Michael Thomas, his first foster child, laughed. “Lamont has been a life-saver to me. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today, had Lamont not ventured in my life.”

Luckily, the new (again) dad has a great support system among his community and church.

Be sure to scroll down below to see more from the special adoption day.

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Source: CBS News, Good Morning America, GMA via YouTube