The following letter is from Ashley Wyatt, a Sunrise foster parent. She gave the letter to her son on the day of his adoption.

Dear Devan,

You have been my family since the moment I met you in the River Valley waiting area. You were our first call; I was hesitant at first, I won’t lie, but my gut told me you needed me and I needed you. You coming to live with us has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. We had some rough times in the beginning, that’s no doubt. There has been happiness, stress, tears, a lot of firsts. But it didn’t take me long to know that you were meant to be my son and I was meant to be your mom. Sometimes I feel like God made you for us from the very beginning. Heck, you even look like us. I don’t know why our journey to get to each other was filled with such heartache. I’ll never understand why you had to go through so much pain; if I could take it from you I would. But even if I don’t understand, I’m thankful to have what we have now. As one of my favorite songs says, “It’s not where you come from, it’s where you belong.” There is no doubt in my mind that you belong here. We have loved you for 997 days now; I’ve waited for this moment to make you officially my son for what feels like a lifetime and I’m so incredibly happy to be able to do so today! You’re such a sweet boy. You love us, you love people and care about others, you’re funny and smart, your laugh lights up my world, I love the goofy things you say and do. You are the best big brother; you are protective of your family. You are one of the strongest people I know. People tell me we changed your life, but really you changed ours! You made me a mom. My first baby, my son.

So today on your adoption day, I will promise you a few things. I promise to always love you, no matter what you do. I promise to never give up on you. I promise to always keep you safe. I promise to support your dreams, even if they aren’t what I think you should do. I promise to love you even when you make bad decisions or do something crazy, because I feel like we are going to have some of those moments. I just want you to know that no matter what the future holds, Momma is going to be right beside you.

I will forever be thankful that you were given to us. I love you infinity baby.

Love, Momma 💙