Custody Court is OVER!

We are officially parents of a bright, young teenager. We can't express how relieved we are to have all of the recent pressure off of us and to know that Destiny will be safe. It is quite the daunting task to prove that at the ripe age of 26 and 28 we are fully capable of being parents to a teenager. Then there is always the fear of the unknown.
We left for Cullman on Wednesday night, the night before. So that we were able to take our time on Thursday. I do have to say that it was a very quiet ride to Cullman. I think we were all nervous and playing out several options in our head, or at least Josh and I were. Destiny mostly jammed out to her ipod (the typical way a teenager deals with stress- ignore it!) Once we got to the hotel, we were able to swim a little to work off some nervous tension. We woke up early Thursday morning to start getting ready.

I have to give a quick shout-out to Amy Hutto for donating several clothing items, one of which is the one that she wore to court. It fit her like a glove and really helped her have the confidence she needed that day...THANKS!! (see pics below)

As we started toward the courthouse, it felt as though every mile added another ton of pressure. Josh's mom, Peggy, and Destiny's brother, Timmy, drove up that morning and met us at the courthouse. It was nice having familiar faces around. They put us all in one room and were calling one court case at a time. After waiting 45 minutes, our case was finally called...much to mine and Josh's surprise "Lady" never showed. It breaks my heart to see Destiny go through something like that. She had taken the time before the court date to write her mom a letter to express how she still wanted to be a part of her life...and "Lady" didn't even bother showing up. In all honesty, we all knew it would be better for our case if she didn't show, but it kills me to see her heart broken. Josh and I will continue to fight for a healthy relationship between her and her mom to be sustained, but for now, Destiny will have to learn to cope with the decisions that her mom has made.

After the judge knew that "Lady" didn't show to contest the petition, it all went fairly quickly. He asked Destiny's Guardian Ad Litem's suggestive living arrangements, which he said with "The Woods". The judge then made his final decision to sign the order making her 100% ours! The rest of the conversation was about how Destiny was really looking forward to going to college. We should get our copy of the order sometime this week! Needless to say, we left there with grins from ear-to-ear.

Destiny continues to adjust to the idea of permanency. We found out this weekend that no one has had full custody since Destiny was 5. So I'm sure it will take a while for it to all sink that we, nor she, will be going anywhere.

It is nice to be able to schedule trips and to continue to make solid progress without that thought in the back of all of our head's, that she may not be here. No more of that! So truly the joys and challenges of raising a teenager are about to begin.

We had a lovely trip to the beach and were able to meet up with some family and friends. Be sure to check back later on in the week to see all of our pictures and hear about our recent adventures!

Are We Ready For God's plan?

As many of you have seen on Facebook, our Easter was a busy one. I felt like I was in a whirlwind the whole weekend. It was nice to be with family during such a stressful time. It momentarily took our minds off of the craziness that is about to hit our family.

As I am telling people to pray for us and to keep up in good thoughts as we journey through this chapter of our lives, I have heard a specific question being asked a lot. "Are you emotionally prepared if the judge decides to give Destiny back to her mom?" I figured this would be a great platform for our answer.

When Destiny came to us, in the most unusual way. It couldn't have been anything but a "God Thing". We most certainly were not prepared to raise a teenager; however, God made a way for us to not only be the role models that she needed in her life, but he also softened hearts and welded her into our lives. Destiny, is more and more a part of this family as time goes on. Just this past Sunday, I was watching everyone hunt eggs and it just became so very clear that Destiny just fit. I wish I could say that Josh and I have this decision in the bag, but just as soon as we plan, God laughs. I certainly did not plan on having a teenager at the ripe old age of 26, God laughed, and here I am with a 15 year-old that I couldn't possibly image my life without. I pray everyday that we will continue to make an impact on her life that will last longer than the years that she would even need a guardian. So I guess my short answer would be no, I am not prepared to give away a part of my life that I cherish so dearly. However, if it is God's will, then Josh and I can do nothing about it but let God carry out his plan. We have high goals set for Destiny in the future. I hope that no matter the outcome of this court, she will find it in herself to reach those goals.

Josh and I have been busy this week preparing paperwork and lists, but more importantly we are preparing our hearts and minds for the things to come. As mentioned on Facebook and earlier posts, we welcome all prayers and good thoughts that we will be able to take God's plan, no matter what it is,  with our heads held high and with strong hearts.

Needless to say, we are going on a beach vacation right after court. We all can't wait to get down there. This will be Destiny's first trip to the beach, that she can remember, so we are going to "swim, swim, swim, and tan" as she says. I will be in a car with a paw paw driver and a teenager for 6 hours, so keep the prayers coming!

Court Update

Today we finally received a call about Destiny's court date. We were supposed to receive a written notification 2 weeks before, but no they tell us today that our court date is Wednesday. So a wave a nervousness and chaos hit our household. After a few moments of talking with Destiny's Ad Litem, we noticed that Destiny's mom probably had received a notice either. Now we did not want any reason for her to be able to come back and cause this case to linger any longer than it has to. So to make a long story short, we were able to move the court date to April 19th. So that he mom will have enough time to receive the notification and be able to attend the hearing.

April 19th will be the first day of our first family beach vacation. So we will leave the court and leave straight to the beach. Boy oh boy will we need to have a vacation after all of this. Regardless of the decision of the courts we will all need a little break away!!

So over the next 2 weeks we ask that you please add us to your prayer list. This will be a tough journey for all involved. Over the next two week we plan on preparing not only Destiny but ourselves either outcome. We also will be doing everything in our power to have everything we will need in order to show the judge that we are the best fit for Destiny at this time. Please pray that we say the right things, have the right materials, and above all that our family will finally be complete!

We went to Easter service tonight and took this picture...Check back for more Easter pictures on Monday.

Bug Spray Epiphanies and Other Joys of Camping

Warning...this one is going to be a long one.

As you all may know, we went camping this weekend with some family. And I don't know if it was the fresh air or the bug spray but I have had a few epiphanies. God has really laid on my heart to just say how thankful I am for all of our family and friends. I touched on this a bit in our last post, but I really wanted to express our true gratitude.

Josh and I didn't have too much time to prepare for this huge challenge that God has laid on our hearts. But, we have had God to hold our hands along the way helping guide us in our decisions and our feelings. We didn't have time to prepare our friends and family for the drastic changes that were about to occur. But I am so grateful to have the friends and family that God has intentionally placed in our life not only to be able to help encourage and help us through these decisions, but to also have the openness in their heart for a new teenager, niece, grand-daughter, cousin, etc...

Mine and Josh's life has changed drastically. In the past 4 1/2 months we have not only been blessed with Destiny, but we have also been blessed with Josh's mom & cousin now in his life, and I have a new job with regular hours. We used to fill our schedule with selfish pleasure, but now we are busy doing homework, karate, or spending quality time with each other.

It's funny how you think that you are doing something so fulfilling, you look back on and realize there was a piece missing the whole time. Josh and I have that feeling of fullness, not only emotionally but spiritually. By no means is this an easy transition on any of us, but it's the fact that we are all willing to transition through it together that means the most.

Now on to our camping adventure. By golly we had a blast. We got back today and we are all extremely tired and a little sunburned. I find it much more interesting to look at pictures to tell our story, so here goes...

 Setting everything up, Destiny was so happy about her own tent!

Josh helping Dee set up her tent

Foggy Morning

Destiny's first attempt at brushing her teeth while camping.

Caught her with a mouth full of toothpaste.

Scary trail that Destiny found on our morning walk.

Destiny and I hunting for turtles

You know your're a mom when this scares the hell out of you!

Just gettin some loves before the rest of the fam shows up.

Jamming out to some Beiber at the campsite.

Now we are camping!

Tosha's first attempt at cooking a hot dog over the campfire!

Looking cool with Poppa T

Tosha's first time back on the bike.

Priceless moments!

Gammy & Poppa T in their new boat!

"I go zero to NINJA in 24 oz"

Love this one!!

Just driving the boat a little

Daddy and Dill Pickle!

Destiny trying to drive a little.

So sweet!!

Jeremy serving up his Hobo Stew

Telling ghost stories around the campfire.

My boys!

Good Morning!

"She just thought we were fishing"

She attempted it by herself...

The Byrds cooking breakfast!!

...and she had a little tangle.

Loves!

She looks so happy after two days of camping!!

We had a blast camping. We can't wait to get back out there! I'm looking forward to our next trip with hopefully the other side of the family this summer.

Happy 15th Birthday

Today was Destiny's 15th Birthday! We let her play hooky from school to get some much needed rest and relaxation before our big Birthday Camping Trip. Here are a few photos from our adventure into being 15!

 We woke Destiny up singing with balloons.

 Even Bella had to get in on the action!

 Happy Birthday! She got an Ipod!!!

 At least Josh was excited about being up early!

 Someone was a "happy camper" at Waffle House this morning with her chocolate chip birthday waffle!

 We decided to head to the Sportsplex for a little Spring dip in the pool!

 The hot tub was the best!!

 Beautiful girl!

 Surprise!! Timmy, her brother, came for a visit!!

 Lovin on some Tosha

 Aunt Peggers, Timmy, and the birthday girl!

 I love that sweet laugh!!

Make a wish!

 Dill Pickle and Dee

So Serious!!

 "Aunt Steph, when is it going to be my birthday?"

I love seeing a big smile on that girl's face! I loved spending time with her today and I hope she had the best birthday yet! If you remember, I mentioned above about us going camping this weekend. This will be our first trip with Destiny. So first of all, pray for me and second of all check back the beginning of next week to see who made it out alive!