After 1,035 days in foster care, a seven-sibling group got the best Christmas present ever: They officially became members of the Hawthorn family of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Their adoption was finalized earlier this month after a lengthy battle.

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“It feels good to actually have a family to wake up to every morning,” young Kyndal Hawthorn told WSTP 10 News of her and her six siblings’ adoption on December 3, just a few weeks before Christmas.

The youngster also told the outlet the kids used to share a single bed, with some of them sleeping on the floor, and at times, they didn’t eat.

“It feels so great knowing we have a family now and won’t have to go anywhere else,” added Dawson Hawthorn, the eldest sibling.

The group is comprised of a 15-, 11- and 8-year-old plus two sets of twins ages 10 and 9, Yahoo! Lifestyle reported.

Parents Terri and Michael Hawthorn, along with the newly adopted children — all wearing matching, family-themed shirts —appeared in a courtroom photo on the big day.

The parents held a sign that read, “You think our hands are full, you should see our hearts.”

In a second photo that Michael Hawthorn posted on Facebook, the judge posed with the group as well.

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The sign, held this time by the beaming children, read, “1,035 days in foster care and today we’re adopted.”

Text accompanying the proud dad’s Facebook post says, “Most people my age are only concerned in retirement (that would be nice), but over that, we have chosen to invest in the lives of these kids.”

He also joked that they’re in the market for a 15-passenger van if anyone happens to hit the lottery (the couple has biological children as well — they have 13 kids in all now).

On a more serious note, he’s requesting prayers.

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Though the Hawthorns made it official on December 3, the process of adopting the children — fraught with legal hurdles — began long before that.

This will be the third Christmas with the Hawthorns for the 10-year-old twins, for example, but they have not spent three straight years with the family.

The process was complicated in part because the children were in an adjoining county, Yahoo reported.

Michael Hawthorn explained to the outlet they “had to get a senator involved, and he had to pull some strings.”

“There is such a big need for families in Arkansas, and we will be the first to tell you, it’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Lots of prayer and love is what made this possible.”

“We hope this will give other opportunities, and people will consider opening their homes to foster care and adoption,” mother Terri Hawthorn told WSTP.

“There is such a big need for families in Arkansas, and we will be the first to tell you, it’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Lots of prayer and love is what made this possible,” she added.

Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and regular contributor to LifeZette.