>>Gallery (20 images)

For most of his life, 17-year-old Lorenzo longed to be adopted. The Boca Ciega High School senior, a foster child for nearly 13 years, held on to one wish: to have a parent in the audience cheering for him when he graduated from high school. Though Lorenzo's portrait was of the first featured on the Heart Gallery when it launched in 2006, Lorenzo could not find a family to adopt him. That is until last April when Carolyn Newson, a St. Petersburg mother of four, on her way to a restaurant, happened upon Lorenzo taping a TV promotion for adoption in a barber shop next door. With one look, the grieving Newson was sure it was a sign. A couple of months before, Newson's niece, Malayshia Gamble, 15, was murdered, left for dead in a vacant lot not far from her home. "In Lorenzo, God has given us inspiration to go on," said Newson. "One child has been taken from us, why not give this child a chance?" Lorenzo’s adoption was finalized Wednesday, four days before his 18th birthday. Above, Lorenzo’s case manager Sheryl Allen-Golden applauds while mother and son embrace as the adoption is sealed by Judge Raymond Gross in the Pinellas County Criminal Court Complex. "It shouldn't take this long for dreams to come true," Gross said to Lorenzo during the hearing. About 100 teens age out of foster care in Pinellas and Pasco Counties each year without finding families. Eckerd Community Alternatives, the lead agency for community based child welfare services in Pinellas and Pasco counties, finalized 321 foster kids last year, a record-breaking number. Approximately 120 foster kids in Pinellas & Pasco counties are currently available for adoption. For more information on adoption call Eckerd’s Foster & Adoption Recruitment Line at 1-866-233-0790. To see local foster kids available for adoption visit www.heartgallerykids.org [CHERIE DIEZ, Times] ... Read more

Juanita Armogan, of Port St. Lucie, greets the crowd during the 25th Annual MLK Jr. Drum Major For Justice National Parade which took place from Central Ave. through downtown to the waterfront on January 18, 2010. She plans to wear her costume, which took her three weeks to make, again in June for the Tampa Bay Caribbean Carnival. Marching bands from across the country, floats and civic organizations participated in the parade. SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM MLK EVENTS AROUND THE TAMPA BAY AREA [KATHLEEN FLYNN Times] ... Read more

A flower lays on a frosted leaf Thursday in Palm Harbor during the record-breaking cold morning which began with icy windshields, grounded planes at Tampa International Airport and worried farmers. The National Weather Service said records were broken overnight in Tampa, Lakeland and Sarasota. Tampa's low was 27 degrees, with the previous coldest low for the date at 30 degrees in 1999. At 27 degrees Thursday, Lakeland broke a 1980 low record temperature of 34 degrees. Sarasota's low Thursday was 30 degrees, which broke a 1999 record of 35 degrees. [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD, Times] ... Read more

Seen through a Mary Keith's scope, an osprey, Pandion haliaetus, feeds on a fish in the trees at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa on January 2, 2010 during the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. [EDMUND D. FOUNTAIN, Times] ... Read more

Tracie Steger kisses her cat, Blizzard, who recently underwent surgery at the Animal Care Center on US 19 in Weeki Wachee. Blizzard suffered two broken legs from being hit by a car, then dragged himself back to his family's house and front porch. Veterinarian Mike Kern was able to save both of his hind legs. "Just him dragging himself for 11 days on two busted legs is freaking amazing," Kern said. READ THE STORY: With two broken legs, missing cat's painful odyssey leads him home [WILL VRAGOVIC, Times] ... Read more

Lightning scatters the sky over the Gulf of Mexico west of the Dunedin Causeway as Wednesday's frontal system begins it's landfall into the Florida coastline. [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD, Times] ... Read more

The annual tradition of shopping til you drop commenced in the wee hours of the morning on Friday. Across the country, shoppers braved lines and in some cases, cold weather to find bargains galore at the big chains as well as the smaller stores. 

While some were finding ways to spend their money, others were making a statement about not spending their money. Buy Nothing Day is a growing tradition with people around the world trying to make a statement about their money habits. For photos from around the world, go HERE. 

To read a story about the local turnout in the Tampa Bay area for Black Friday, please go HERE. You can also see a photo gallery from St. Petersburg Times photographers HERE. 

Adam Ciccarino, left, of Manhattan, purchases Playstation 3 controllers during a temporary power outage at RadioShack in the Bridgewater Commons with the assistance of assistant manager Christopher Sanchez and sales associate Michael Byrne, as Black Friday shoppers hit the stores in Bridgewater, N.J., before dawn to take advantage of sales .(AP Photo/Courier News, Andrew Miller) ... Read more

Hudson's Tricea Bridges, 15, left, and Courtney Johnson, 14, right, swim laps in the dive well during a break the Mitchell vs. Hudson swim meet at Hudson Veterans Memorial Park Wednesday night. [WILL VRAGOVIC, Times] ... Read more