When Peter signed on to foster an 11-year-old boy in January 2018, he was still grieving after recently saying goodbye to two brothers he had fostered for seven months.

Not even a week later, Peter got a call from his social worker about fostering another child. At first he refused, saying that he was too tired and emotionally drained to take on another case so quickly. But when the social worker told him it was only for the weekend, he reluctantly agreed.

Peter didn't want to make the same mistake he made with the other children, so he said that he didn't want to hear the child's back story. He wanted to avoid becoming emotionally attached again.

Peter and Tony had a strong connection from the start. @fosterdadflipper

At the end of the weekend, Peter finally asked the social worker about Tony's situation. He found out that Tony had been abandoned by his birth parents when he was two years old. He was adopted by another family when he was four, only to be abandoned by them six years later. They simply left him at the hospital and never came back.

After Peter heard that, he knew he couldn't let Tony go back to live in a group home. Especially since Peter, who grew up in Uganda, ran away from an abusive home when he was around Tony's age and was lucky to find a parent figure to guide him through his teens.

"They became my sponsor, my family. I grew up the poor of the poorest people on the planet," Peter said. "I grew up where no one told me to dream, that there was no future for me."

Peter and Tony share a similar past. @fosterdadflipper

He decided right then and there that he would adopt Tony – and the two have been inseparable ever since. Their favorite activities to do together include watching movies, riding bikes and reading books.

Since Peter took Tony in, he's fostered several more children and Tony has been by his side through it all.

One of the family's favorite things to do together is read books. @fosterdadflipper

The adoption became official in November when Peter and Tony made the move from Oklahoma to North Carolina.

"He has taught me to dream big, to care more, to laugh more, and to not hold back," Peter said of his son. "He has taught me to never say no and to listen to my dreams, and that time and time again, the best things come from the most unexpected people and places."

What a beautiful story of love and acceptance. Congrats to the new family!

Peter and Tony are getting ready to welcome another foster child into their family. @fosterdadflipper