WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- On the eve of the one year anniversary of Relisha Rudd's disappearance, her parents talked only to WUSA9.
Relisha was eight-years-old at the time when she disappeared from the homeless shelter she was living in.
PREVIOUS STORY: Relisha Rudd search continues 1 year after disappearance
Relisha's mom, whom some had and still blame, in part, for her disappearance is turning her life around. She and Relisha's stepfather are out of the shelter and have their own place.
Relisha's mom, Shamika Young, and step dad, Antonio Wheeler, think about her all the time. Postings on the wall remind the family just how much.
"I miss her every morning I wake up daddy good morning. I miss that. You miss them beautiful days. Relisha was everybody's joy," said Antonio Wheeler.
"We stay up and talk about her because we miss her and I'm not the only one," explained Shamika Young.
Relisha vanished a year ago from DC General , the homeless shelter where she and her family had been living.
Police believe the shelter's janitor Khalil Tatum kidnapped her. He was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Kenilworth Park. But Relisha has never been found. The guilt has never left her father.
"As a father you're a protector and there'd be times I would stay awake thinking, I failed to protect my own daughter. I know people say the term living nightmare, I'm living one. It's a nightmare," Wheeler said.
While they anguish over their missing daughter, the family has to think about their three sons who were taken away as a result. Relisha's parents have taken positive steps in repairing their lives. They're no long homeless and are living in their own apartment.
"I like my life right now, it's quiet, peaceful no one to bother me," Young said.
Young believes they'll find her daughter someday alive
The person, the couple credits, for putting them on the right path, believes differently.
"My belief is we're finding a body. I have told Shamika this and that's where my focus is," Brenda Brown, a family friend stated.
Whether they believe she's alive or gone, Relisha is never far from their minds.
"I miss her a whole lot, my sister and kids' father and we just sit and talk. I don't care if it's five in the evening talking until five in the morning talking about my daughter it makes me happy," Young said.
"There's nothing I want more than to have her back," Wheeler said.
The couple is still trying to get their sons back from court order foster care. Young goes to therapy and counseling.
Family, friends and the community will gather for a prayer service. Then they'll gather at DC General to remember Relisha.
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