Maurice Griffin, 32, finally adopted by one-time foster mother

Almost two decades after being removed from his loving foster family's home, Maurice Griffin, 32, can officially call Lisa Godbold "mom."

Griffin came to live with Godbold and her now-deceased husband, Charles, and their two boys, Gideon and Spencer, when he was just 9 years old. Less than four years later, just two months before the Godbolds were set to adopt Griffin, the state removed him from the home because he requested to be spanked like the other two boys.

"You can't spank foster children. Maurice very much wanted that," Godbold told CNN. "We wanted him to feel like the rest of our kids. And there was a difference of opinion with some of the (child welfare) supervisors."

The request prompted social workers to yank him from the Godbolds' home — and threaten to take away Godbold's biological children, too, if she protested.

"I completely agreed with my mom on how they planned on raising me and the system didn't agree with it. It was like being abducted from your family and being told to deal with it," Griffin told CBS8.

Maurice ended up in several foster homes after leaving the Godbolds, where he endured "all forms of abuse," before ending up in numerous group homes.

"It was just an emptiness," he told CNN. "I couldn't talk to anybody about it because nobody was there. I couldn't call somebody there was just a void in me."

In 2009, Godbold found Griffin on MySpace and messaged him. Griffin called her shortly thereafter.

One year later, Griffin asked Godbold to formally adopt him.

"He's always been my son, but it just completes the circle and thanks to you, you're telling the story," Godbold told CBS8.

Griffin filed for adoption on Valentine's Day of this year. It was made official on Friday.

"It was the best day in my life," Griffin told CNN after the adoption proceeding at a California court. "I fought for 10 years, and finally the day came."

"This is probably the happiest moment in my life. I love my family and it's good to be home," said Griffin.