Try to not cry as you watch this boy get the greatest gift of his life: A family

Last Christmas, a boy in Ohio received a wonderful gift from his adoptive family that is bound to change his life. Despite his young age, circumstances had been far from easy for 11-year old Carter Wyles. He lives in a troubled home in Lancaster, Ohio and has been transferred from foster home to foster home for most of his life.

Aware that things weren’t going so well in his biological family’s house, Carter’s aunt Leah Kiphart invited him to spend the holidays with his extended family.

On Christmas morning, Carter sat on the floor of Leah’s home surrounded by gift wrappers and his recently opened presents, which included toys, clothes, and headphones. Saving the best for last, Leah approached Carter and offered him another gift to unwrap saying, “This is for you. This is from all of us. OK? All of us.”

The adoptive family intently watched as Carter unwrapped his last present. After taking out a few pieces of colored paper from the box, it’s content was finally revealed — a framed family photograph of the Kipharts.

Attached to the picture frame is a note, and Carter begins to read it aloud.

“Carter, here is the most recent picture of our family. All of us would love for you to be in the next picture, and for you to be a part of our family. Carter, would you like to be a Kiphart and be our son and brother?”

While reading the latter part of the note, Carter’s face started to crumble and his voice became barely inaudible in front of his adoptive family as he began to understand what was happening.

“What do you think, buddy? We’re going to adopt you, Carter,” Leah’s husband says off-camera.

The boy couldn’t help but cry tears of joy while nodding and telling his new family, “I want to thank you so much.”

As the whole room was filled with emotion, Leah wrapped Carter in a long and tight embrace. It was apparent that the boy was overcome with both happiness and relief, knowing that he finally found a permanent family to live with after years of living in insecure conditions. The days of constantly dealing with unstable foster homes have come to an end for Carter.

According to Leah, Carter’s adoption status deadline was about to change and strangers will be allowed to adopt him. When she realized that this might be the last time that she sees her nephew, Leah made the decision to officially make him a part of their family by adopting him. The addition of Carter in the Kiphart household now makes them a family of eight.

“A lot of people talk about how lucky he is. We are just as fortunate to have him join our family”, Leah says.

“This was not planned,” Leah explains. “We discussed with our other children Sunday night and shared with him Monday morning. We are blessed to have him as part of our family. He’s a good little boy.”

Carter’s story has gotten a huge attention online, and he says that it makes him feel good knowing that “other people can enjoy my happiness and my family’s happiness.”

Watch the heartwarming video below from UNILAD to see as Carter receives the irreplaceable gift of love and family!