The foster care system can be hard for any child, but for Carson Peterson, the seemingly temporary situation spanned more than 12 years. Carson bounced from foster home to foster home, never finding a family that truly loved and appreciated him.
Fortunately, that sense of heartbreak stopped when he entered into the Peterson home.
Carson was placed in the home of Tex and Renee Petersen in 2014. The bubbly young man told ABC News that from the get-go, he could sense things were different.
“We always did things together. They always called me son. They introduced me as their son to everybody. They never said ‘foster son,’ which was pretty awesome to feel wanted and appreciated.”
But in December 2016, things took an unexpected turn.
Carson approached Renee and Tex and asked them if they could adopt him! They agreed instantly and the plans were made for Carson to officially become their son!
After months of planning, Carson was finally adopted by the Petersons in June 2017! Carson told ABC News that the keeping a straight face during the court proceedings was impossible!
“It was emotional. I teared up a little bit because I was happy that I could let go of my past and start forward from that day, until now.”
Tex knew that this was a turning point for his son and told ABC News that hopefully Carson’s story provides other older foster system children with a sliver of hope!
“It’s the sign of a journey coming to an end and finally having a forever home… All too often, these kids don’t have a picture hanging on the wall of their own, they don’t have their own drawer…
Whatever home they were broken from is their normal. For them to come in, to be bouncing from home to home with a trash bag of their clothes, it’s devastating to me.”
For Renee, bringing Carson into their family happened the first day they were introduced. She told ABC News that making it official was just a matter of time!
“Carson, he’s a really good young man. He loves to help people, and that’s what I think I love about him most.
I’m just so proud that we finally can make it official. It was so important for him to know that he has a mom and dad who will do anything for him and he has a home that he can always come to, and I am so glad that we were able to give that to him.”
The Petersons will be there for Carson through thick and thin, good days and bad – because, that’s what family is for!
Learn more about Carson’s happy home in the heartwarming video below!
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