Jenn Finch

photographer + editor

Rebecca and Devon Stephens had been fostering kids in Oconee County for about a year when they got the call. Two siblings, 10 and 11, needed a place to stay for two days. That first night, after they made chocolate chip cookies together to make them feel at home, Devon remembers asking Rebecca, “They’re not leaving, are they?”

Morgan and Michael’s father, they found out later, had been incarcerated and was eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Twenty-two months after that first night, Morgan and Michael Stephens became a legal part of the family after signing adoption papers at the Oconee County Courthouse on December 3, 2019.

Rebecca and Devon’s two biological children, Calvin and Clarke, have formed deep bonds with their new siblings, and the Stephens couldn’t be happier about their blended family.

The Stephens’ acknowledge that their case is unique and that it has still been hard at times, but their story offers a glimpse at what foster care can look like.