Marine Surprises Stepdaughter With Adoption Papers

A doting Marine left his stepdaughter speechless when he surprised her with adoption papers that were hidden in her sports team's backpack. Ariane Yocum, 12, thought she was receiving a new travel bag from the volleyball team she plays for when stepdad Drew Yocum, 32, presented it to her in the family's Palm Harbor, Florida, home. But as the emotional video shows, following some initial rummaging inside the backpack, Ariane began pulling out the items, like kneepads, which she assumed were associated with her team. Then, however, a perplexed Ariane pulled out a piece of paper that was tucked in one of the pockets and, on further inspection, the speechless 12-year-old turned open-mouthed to Drew and simply said, "Adopted?!" Drew said he has always felt like a father to Ariane, known as Ari, having raised her since she was a 2-year-old. The loving stepfather joined the Marine Corps in 2010 and married Ariane's mother, Ashley, 33, after completing boot camp. Since then, he has not only been Ariane's stepfather but also her volleyball and basketball coach since she was 5 – and so a backpack of sporting gifts seemed like a rather normal present for young Ariane ahead of the big reveal. Drew said he struggled to hold back the tears during his October 24 surprise. Mom Ashley admitted that she and Drew have struggled to have children of their own following a series of miscarriages and so, to Drew, Ariane is his, no matter what the blood.

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