Young boy in adoption case makes incredible statement after judge asks for last words

Hey, wonderful Upworthy readers! Here are some of our most popular stories from this week, in case you missed them. Be sure to check out the baby elephant video—it's totally worth it. :) Hope you have a joyful Saturday! [1]( [Young boy in adoption case makes incredible statement after judge asks for last words]( The adoption proceedings in the courtroom may have made Jennifer Hubby 5-year-old Cameron’s legal mother. But his words at the end of the proceedings showed the true bond between mother and son. According to USA Today, at the end of an adoption hearing in Bernalillo, New Mexico, Judge Cheryl H. Johnston asked if anyone had any final words. Cameron shocked everyone when he spoke up. "I wanted to say that I love my mom so much and that’s she the best mom I ever had," the boy told the judge. The boy's heartfelt words made Jennifer emotional so Cameron put his arms around her in a loving show of support. The touching moment was caught on camera by Milly Davies, Jennifer’s best friend who can be heard welling up as she films the magic moment. It was the perfect encapsulation of what it means for mother and son to be united through adoption. [Read the story]( [2]( [Parents have kids record them dancing but capture their reactions instead and it's pure joy]( We all know parenting can be tough, but if there's one thing that makes the roller coaster of emotions totally worth it, it's seeing our children's faces light up with joy. Children's smiles are infectious, and not in the scary pandemic kind of a way. There's simply nothing better in this world than the face of a bright-eyed little human beaming with happiness, which is why a recent TikTok trend has people grinning from ear to ear themselves. The premise is simple: The parent asks the kid to record them dancing to Taylor Swift's "Love Story" with the screen facing away from them (under the guise that the parent dancing needs to see themselves). So instead of recording the parent dancing, it's actually recording the kid's face watching them. And oh, the love and joy on these kids' faces is so, so sweet to witness. [Read the story]( Did a friend forward this to you? [Subscribe here]( [3]( ['Act like you're my mom': 10-year-old cleverly escapes a woman who was following him home]( A quick-thinking 10-year-old boy escaped a woman trying to lure him by pretending that a local store clerk was his mother. ABC 6 reports that Sammy Green was walking home from school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on Friday, November 11, when a strange woman started following him. The woman "started walking with him and asking him where his family was, asking where his dad was," Sam Green, the boy's father, told ABC6. The boy didn’t know the woman but she insisted that she knew his family. She tried to lure him into going with her by promising she’d buy him “anything he wanted” at Wawa, a local convenience store that sells shakes, sandwiches and other treats. "She was like, 'I'm going to Wawa, are you going there? What are you getting from Wawa? Where's your family at?'" Sammy told CBS. "She said she probably knew me and was going to Wawa and that he was supposed to go with her and he could get anything he wanted," Sam Green said. [Read the story]( [4]( [Marathoner sets world record by planting more than 23,000 saplings in 24 hours]( There are constant discussions on climate change and the steps to be taken to save the environment. One such is the ongoing global leaders meeting at the COP27 summit in Egypt where they are discussing limiting global warming in our fight against climate change. Meanwhile, there's Antoine Moses who believes in doing his bit to reverse the effect of climate change rather than just talking about it. Moses, a 23-year-old Canadian marathoner and environmentalist, went viral on social media for setting a new world record by planting 23,060 saplings in less than 24 hours. A video shared by former Norwegian diplomat Erik Solheim on Twitter shows Moses continuously bending to dig holes and plant saplings in a jiffy. According to WION, the video is from July last year and now has more than 1.7M views. It reportedly shows Moses setting the world record for "most trees planted by an individual in 24 hours." Before Moses, the record was held by another Canadian, Kenny Chaplin, in 2001. He had planted 15,170 trees. The Guinness World Record website now states: "The most trees planted by an individual in 24 hours is 23,060 and was achieved by Antoine Moses (Canada) in La Crete, Alberta, Canada, on 17 July 2021. Antoine has been planting trees for six years." [Read the story]( [5]( [Baby elephant tickling a local news reporter shows the power of joy during times of crisis]( There is a magic resting inside moments of pure unbridled joy. Playfulness has the power to instill hope into even the most dire of circumstances. And while it doesn’t always come easily to humans, nature is always ready to remind us of how to conjure it. Hint: It’s simpler than we think. While Alvin Kaunda, a local reporter in Kenya, tries his very best to stay professional as he delivers an important message about how human actions have destroyed habitats for the country’s red elephant species (Kenya is the only place in the world where elephants appear red due to bathing in red volcanic soil, how cool is that?!), one baby elephant makes keeping a straight face completely impossible. As Kaunda does his best to stay focused on devastated ecosystems and a disruption in the circle of life, one mischievous trunk is seen relentlessly prodding and poking his ear and head. To his credit, the reporter stays strong until the trunk finally plops right onto his face. Then his boisterous laughter couldn’t be contained. [Read the story]( Find us on the World Wide Web: [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [LinkedIn]( Copyright © 2022 GOOD | Upworthy, All rights reserved. 1370 N St Andrews Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90028 You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.