I copied the adoption story below from the article that the People magazine shared a few years ago stating, “This chosen family is celebrating their first Christmas together.
Paige Bramlett, 26, is getting ready for the holidays with her adopted seven-year-old son, William, whom she met as his elementary school behavioral specialist three year ago.
Bramlett officially adopted William in October after they formed a special bond through her position at school in 2019. When his caseworker said they were looking for a permanent home for him, the Bramlett, then 23, stepped in as William’s foster parent and formed an unbreakable bond with the child.
Her TikTok videos documenting their journey went viral, including recent snapshots of their life post-adoption and William’s reaction to being gifted a puppy, Banks, for Christmas.
This year, they’ll spend time with family, including the new furry friend, Bramlett told Good Morning America. “We are enjoying creating our own traditions in our own little home this year,” Bramlett said. “We love spending time with our family and we are excited to just be with family and create our own traditions this year for sure.”
Photography by Mykal Bailey
On Good Morning America, Bramlett (who received $10,000 from Five Below to help her family have the best first Christmas possible) explained how she knew she and William had a special connection in 2019.
“He was very isolated because he didn’t know coping skills, and he really struggled,” Bramlett said of meeting with William at his Indiana elementary school. “Since I was one-on-one with him, a lot of our time was spent working on coping skills, behavioral skills, talking about how we behave in school, those types of things.”
She raved about her son’s creativity. “I saw a lot of the potential in him. He’s very artistic and creative, and his imagination is insane,” she said. “No one took the time to get to know him or to see him for the child that he was.”
Bramlett stopped working at the school in 2019 and became licensed as a foster parent so she could continue to spend time with William. In 2020, she became his full-time foster mom, right after her 24th birthday.
Bramlett turned 26 this week and celebrated another year around the sun with a whole new outlook on life. “It’s sometimes hard for me to say out loud, like, oh my gosh, I’m a mom,” she said. “But I’m so thankful for what I’ve been given and for how I’ve become a mom. You don’t expect it to happen so early, but I know it’s how I was chosen to be a mom.”
His Love & Care 