BOY GAINS MOM, DAD IN JOYFUL DAY COURT ACTION MAKES IT OFFICIAL.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

In just 10 minutes Saturday morning Christopher Snyder became Christopher Snyder Oberg, an official member of the Lancaster family that has cared for him since his grandmother died a few years ago.

Christopher was one of 238 children whose adoptions were finalized during a special one-day session at the Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park on National Adoption Day,.

Having gone through the lengthy adoption process and cleared the legal requirements, John and Lura Oberg and the rest of the parents at Saturday's session needed only to go before the judge to sign their adoption papers and become families.

The normally somber courthouse was filled with balloons and teddy bears. Families came dressed in their Sunday best, children clutching party bags filled with books and toys in honor of their adoption.

The Saturday session is meant to speed up the final adoption step by bringing together volunteer judges, attorneys and social workers to help families do in a few weekend workshops what would normally take at least eight months.

``This is the culmination of all the hard work over the last few years,'' Lura Oberg said, her hand resting on Christopher's shoulder. ``We can proceed from here as a full-fledged family.''

Some 33,000 children are in the custody of Los Angeles County and 3,000 of them are ready for adoption, according to the Department of Children and Family Services.

For many of the children, the adoption ceremony marked the end of long and traumatic journey.

Some had been taken away from their homes because their biological parents used drugs or abused or neglected their children. Some youngsters bounced from home to home in the foster care system.

Children in the foster care system don't have the safety net of a real family and a permanent home, explained Amy Pellman, legal director for The Alliance for Children's Rights. ``When you are adopted, you have these one or two people who you can turn to. You can say 'I belong.'''

As for 9-year-old Christopher Snyder Oberg, he was more excited about the prospect of seeing the new Harry Potter movie later in the day than the actual adoption ceremony.

The quiet boy wore a long-sleeved forest green shirt to match the one worn by his soon-to-be-official father. In the courtroom he played with a white teddy bear as John and Lura Oberg pledged to treat him as their natural child.

Thirteen family members filled the tiny courtroom, armed with cameras and a big white cake with the inscription ``Happy Adoption Day''.

It took three long years of paperwork for the Obergs to first become licensed foster care providers for Christopher and then to reach Saturday's hearing.

Christopher's mother had been killed in a car crash several years ago and he went to live with his grandmother, who was best friends with Lura Oberg.

When Christopher's grandmother died and his family wasn't around, the Obergs brought the boy to live with them.

``Things happened that you couldn't turn your back on,'' John Oberg said.

It wasn't the first time they'd opened their arms to a new child. A few years earlier they adopted their niece, Carlene, now 12, who was on hand Saturday to celebrate her brother's adoption. The Obergs also have a young son and a daughter and John Oberg has two grown children.

``We started off wanting to have one child together,'' Lura Oberg said, laughing. ``Then the family just got bigger and bigger.''

``We've got a little 11,000 square-foot house,'' John Oberg said. ``Now we know what bunk beds are for.''