Woman spends seven years adopting five children for a heartwarming reason: 'We are family'

Adoption is a blessing one can shower upon the world. If someone is willing to accept a child as their own without giving birth to them, they undoubtedly have a big and kind heart. However, this one mother took that responsibility up a notch by deciding to adopt five kids for a wholesome reason. She did not want the siblings to be separated from their little family so on November 15, 2023, La Tonya Ruff adopted all of them and welcomed them into her home.

La Tonya Ruff had been busy spending the last seven years of her own life trying her best to keep a family together. In her recent appearance in court, Ruff's wish to obtain guardianship of two older boys was finalized on November 15, 2023. After all her years of hard work and perseverance, she was finally able to get a family of five kids together, adopting them one at a time. In a conversation with KSDK, she said, "It took me seven years to get this family back together, getting them back one by one."

She further explained that back in 2012, she used to babysit these kids. In fact, her love and care for children also pushed and motivated her to open a daycare. However, she wasn't really notified when these kids went into foster care. The older kids, whose names were Tiana, Trevione and Ashton, were featured in five On Your Side's "A Place to Call Home" segment to find a more relaible, long term and permanent living situation.

In the year 2022, Ruff was finally granted the guardianship of Tina, while she got Ashton and Trevione's custody in the spring of 2023. She also went ahead and adopted the younger siblings of the lot, Dayton and Ky'La. In fact, she was also present at the birth of the remaining two kids. When she adopted the younger siblings, she also wished to be the guardian for the older kids. Since the latter wanted to keep their parents' name, they did so. The court ruling stated that they were all allowed to grow up together in one house.

She said, "I gave them their forever home and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It isn’t an easy job and I knew it wouldn’t be, but the purpose behind it all makes it even more worth it. We are family." She time and again shows and reiterates her love for these kids. Ruff ended the conversation by saying just how excited she was about this and that the timing couldn't have been better. She said that since the holidays were approaching, she was excited to share her story and love with the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition in December. Lastly, she asked everyone to stay tuned.