What you can learn about us from this picture:


1. Harper and Wavy would rather sit next to each other in one chair than be forced to sit apart.  There are three empty chairs at the table while they dine from this one.


2.  We just got a dog. She sleeps in the kennel behind the chair.  We're billing it as Harper's dog hoping a friend to love and take care of will help her through this difficult time that is fast approaching.  She picked out the sweetest pup and named her Parsley.  Naturally.

3.  Our house is always a mess.  In the middle of the table you will notice a book, sweatshirt, and scarf.  It's the thing that makes me the craziest and that I never seem to improve on.


4.  The girls are happy.  Since the outcome is still being muddied by the court we don't know all of the answers about the timeframe.  So we have not told them what is going on yet.  That is the one of the two moments I am dreading the most.  For now though, they are blissful and content.  We celebrated Christmas with my family yesterday.  New my little ponies for the girls, a small house for a tiny Angelina the Ballerina to live in, a camera for Harper, and a huge collection of princess Barbies to be shared.  Which is why I have to end this post.  Who can take a nap with so many exciting new things to be played with in the house? Not Waverley.

Just Waiting

We are still waiting to hear from the Supreme Court of Kansas to find out if they approve the motion to stop the clock while we settle everything in court.  


Once we hear from them we will set our next court date. 

well...

Since I posted last night... nothing has happened.

When we got to court this morning our trauma expert testified as to what she thought the transition plan should be.  She was the only person that gave testimony today.  A few things happened at that point that I keep typing, deleting, and retyping.  Ultimately I am deciding to leave this post somewhat vague.  Our time in court become somewhat complicated, and I don't have the presence of mind to sort it out in a way that makes sense due to being tired and stressed out, and I don't want to write something messy that isn't well thought out that I have regrets about later.

I do not want anyone to read into my words that our standing has changed.  Our adoption has been classified as "failed." That will not change going forward.  I am just trying to make this information readable.

One thing that I will say is that I believe Judge Shepherd does not estimate time well.  There is still much testimony to be given that we did not have time for.  That is one of the main reasons for this new delay.  My concern is that this will turn into a repeat performance of our first round of court that dragged on for weeks and weeks because we kept running out of time and would have to adjourn until a later date.  Each time we go to court with the expectation that we will walk away with answers.  Our hearts and emotions have been on this roller coaster for a long time! We feel quite fatigued at this point.

We do not have a new court date yet.  I don't know how soon we will have one.  Maybe when we have a new date I will just copy and paste yesterday's post :)

I am sorry if this post is frustrating.  I apologize.  Matt and I have reached the end of ourselves today.  He has gone to bed, and I think the only good option for me is to crawl down the hall and into bed too.  I will update as soon as there is anything to relay.

Thank you so much for the support and encouragement so many of you offered to us today through comments on this blog, facebook posts and messages, texts, emails, and phone calls.  It really helped to rally us through this morning.  We are, as always, most grateful for you.

facing tomorrow

Tomorrow, Tuesday December 14th at 8:30 we go to court for the last time.


Some of the worst hours of our lives have been spent in court rooms over the past two and a half years.  


We won't leave the courthouse until the transition plan is in place.  Tomorrow we will know everything.  The fears that have plagued us will finally have a shape and form.  We'll know an exact date.  Details will be in place.  A judge, two lawyers, and trauma and attachment experts will calmly agree on a plan that removes our baby from our home while Matt and I sit at a table and listen.  I'm pretty sure tomorrow is the official start date of our own private hell.


What I am hoping is that tonight and tomorrow you all will pray for this process.  


Tomorrow we are back before Judge Shepherd.  I pray that he is haunted by the need to do what is best for this little girl.  I pray that he would not be worried about his job or the fact that his decision has been overturned.  I pray that the need to be for Waverley would take up his every thought.  


I pray that the birthfather's lawyer would feel satisfied that he has reached his career objectives as far as our case is concerned and start to focus on the little girl whose life is being uprooted.  I pray that his conscience would overcome him and that he would not stand in the way of doing what is right for our little girl.  I pray that he would not be on his game tomorrow.  That things would slip by him, that he would be distracted, that he would not get in the way.


I pray for our lawyer Kevin Kenney.  I pray that he is sharp, focused, and has more determination than he has ever had about anything in his life.  I pray that his position, his questions, presentation, and demeanor all gain the judge's favor.  


Finally, I pray for things I cannot share in the public forum as this site actually comes up quite easily now when you search for our names.  Which is absolutely fine by us.  We just feel a need to censor sensitive information.  I ask that you would pray for these things anyway! Please pray for the best imaginable outcome; for miracles; for Waverley.


Our time in court is open-ended.  At some point tomorrow afternoon or evening I will post to let you know tomorrow's outcome.  Thank you so much for the comfort you provide us.  I know that people read this and that people pray.  Thank you for caring about our daughter.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

On Monday we learned that our Motion to Reconsider had been denied.  We were hoping that even if we lost the motion, the supreme court would change some of the language in the ruling.  They did not.  Adoption law is now worse off than it was because of our case.

Monday started our 30 days.  We have 30 days or less before custody has to be transferred.

By January 4th someone who is a stranger to Waverley will be her new parent.

She will no longer live in our home.

We will no longer be her mommy, daddy, and big sister.

Please pray for our Wavy. The clock is ticking while we scramble to complete and put into practice a transition plan for her that the court will approve.  Our trauma therapist that is helping to develop and present this plan is upset that the court would think 30 days (or less) is an acceptable timeframe to start and finish a transition of this nature.  Besides being devastated we are extremely stressed as we try to this in the best possible way for Wavybel.

Please pray that Judge Shepherd will make the right choices for Wavy when we present our transition plan to him.

Please pray that we will use the right words when we try to explain this to our girls in the next few days.

Please just pray.

Thank you.

(THIS IS NOT) A Cautionary Tale of Woe

I would just like to take a second to let you know where we stand on adoption.  I have said things along this line before, but I would like to bring it up again now that unless something radical changes, we have lost our youngest daughter.  

Adoption is a beautiful way to build families.

It is a wonderful and lovely institution.

We believe that to be true of adoption in all of its forms.

One of my fears all along has been that readers of this blog or people that hear our story would shy away from adoption.  Since it is an unknown to most people they might be inclined to latch on to our story as a deterrent.  Well you do not have my permission to do that with this story.  In every life circumstance terrible things can happen.  I don't know anyone who has decided not to try to become pregnant because someone they knew had a miscarriage.  I don't know anyone who has decided having children isn't worth it because of the possible heartache of childhood illness.  I don't know many people who refuse to ride in cars because they are aware that car accident fatalities exist.  My point is that the wrong thing happens sometimes, but please don't be scared of the institution at large because you know our story.


Adoption was never a second rate option for us or a last resort.  We consider it as good in every way as bearing biological children.  We were parents that needed children who got together with children that needed parents.  I would encourage anyone who is interested in the same to pursue adoption as a wonderful way to grow their family.  


I just wanted to communicate our position.


Thanks for listening.


Molly