One morning in 2021, Lexi McClelland was greeting students at the door of her second-grade classroom in Bentonville, Arkansas, when a blonde-haired girl named Mary burst in singing to herself. She was goofy and exuberant, her voice carrying across the room. McClelland, then 24, still remembers the moment clearly.
The young teacher recalls an immediate pull she couldn’t quite explain. Looking back, she describes it as something deeper than coincidence.
“It felt like God led it,” McClelland, 29, tells TODAY.com. “Like she was meant to be in my life.”
Mary had already experienced more instability than most children her age. At 8, she had been living in foster care for several years and had moved through six different homes, according to McClelland. At the time, the teacher only knew the basics — that Mary was in foster care and might need extra patience and support.
But what stood out to McClelland most wasn’t Mary’s past. It was her personality.
“She was naturally funny and incredibly creative,” McClelland says. “She loved reading, and she had these little comments that felt wise beyond her years.”
Mary devoured books and had a knack for turning ordinary assignments into something bigger. Once, during a project on inventions, Mary designed a system that would carry library books back to their proper place on the classroom shelves. Another time, she asked if she could give an impromptu presentation about saving sea turtles— an idea she had come up with on her own.
“As a teacher, you try not to have favorites,” McClelland says. “But she was just one of those kids whose personality filled the room.”
Another failed adoption
When summer arrived, word spread that another family planned to adopt Mary. It was the outcome everyone hoped for — a permanent home — but the thought of losing touch with the girl left McClelland unexpectedly heartbroken.
“I had this picture in my mind that I needed her in my life,” she says.
Around that time, McClelland mentioned something to the school counselor, a thought she hadn’t entirely planned to say out loud, or even discussed with her husband, Max.
“If anything happens,” she told her, “we’re available.”
Still, everyone believed Mary would soon be adopted by another family.
Months later, McClelland learned that plan had fallen through. “I immediately reached out to our counselor,” she says. “I was like, ‘Who do I need to call?’”
Things began moving quickly. In some cases, teachers can be considered a familiar and trusted connection for children in foster care, which meant McClelland could be approved more quickly than other prospective foster parents.
Finally joining the McClelland family
Just weeks later, in September, Mary arrived with a caseworker and a few belongings.
Max, who had spent the day preparing the house, was waiting anxiously. It was the first time he would meet the student his wife had been talking about for months.
“All morning he was pacing around saying, ‘I hope I’m going to be a good dad,’” McClelland says.
When Mary stepped inside, she ran up and wrapped her teacher in a tight hug. She also quickly bonded with Max, as the two discovered they shared the same sense of humor.
“They were like an instant duo,” McClelland says.
For the McClellands, the moment confirmed what they had already begun to feel: Mary was meant to be part of their family.
One small comment she made early on stayed with McClelland. Before bed one night, the girl paused and told her she liked the way the house smelled.
For McClelland, the remark carried deeper meaning.
“I remember thinking about how many different homes she’d had to get used to,” she says.
A Story That Resembles ‘Matilda’
By Christmas Eve, they were ready to ask Mary a question that would change all of their lives. That night, the couple gave her a small book. Inside was a note asking if she wanted to become a part of their forever family. Mary responded by throwing her arms around them. It was her answer.
But the excitement was mixed with hesitation. Having been told before that she might be adopted — only for those plans to fall through — Mary sought reassurance, repeatedly asking whether anyone could stop it. The McClellands assured her the decision was theirs.
Soon after, she began calling McClelland and her husband “Mom” and “Dad” on her own.
The adoption was finalized a few months later, on April 7, 2022.
Inside the courtroom, Mary was given a special role. When the judge announced the decision, she was invited to tap the gavel herself, officially closing the case that had moved her through years of foster care. The room filled with emotion.
“Everyone was crying,” McClelland says.
Today, Mary is 12 and a thriving seventh grader who still loves reading and creating. It’s the same curiosity that first caught her second-grade teacher’s attention.
The story has even earned the pair a comparison to a familiar literary duo.
“People always say we’re like Matilda and Miss Honey,” McClelland says with a laugh, referring to the beloved Roald Dahl children’s book about a brilliant child whose kind teacher becomes her protector.
Growing their family
In the years that followed, McClelland and Max began thinking about expanding their family again. They attended events for older children in foster care who were still waiting for adoptive homes.
Then, to their surprise, they learned they were expecting a boy.
Murphy, the McClellands’ son, was born in October, and Mary quickly became what her mom describes as a “little mother hen,” eager to hold him and help care for him.
“He’s obsessed with her,” McClelland says. “And she’s obsessed with him.”
Having now experienced both — welcoming a newborn and adopting an older child — McClelland says adopting Mary brought a kind of connection she hadn’t expected.
Speaking about it now, she becomes emotional.
“When you adopt an older child, you’re meeting someone who already has their own personality and their own story,” she says. “They’ve lived a life before you. Getting to know them while you’re raising them is such a beautiful thing.”
And the bond they share, she adds, feels just as natural as if it had always been there.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: