What a week - wash, rinse, repeat...

How many times have I had to use the title "what a week"??? It seems there is no such thing as a dull moment around our home anymore! But that can be good too...

We ended our week last week with a trip to Oklahoma to my family reunion. The Stinebaugh decendents gathered at Sequoia State Park at the Western Hills Guest Ranch for a weekend of reminiscing and introductions (hey, we only do this every two years - people change a LOT in two years!). We had a great time and were so pleased to get to take the boys with us and show off our little ones to our extended family!

We started off on Friday morning around 10:30. The trip was supposed to take about 4 - 4 1/2 hours, but we knew to expect a little longer as we would be stopping for lunch, etc. We did pretty well in the car - how smart was it for us to plan our drive around nap time! :) Gabriel enjoyed watching movies on the DVD player (we can't thank Bubble Fernie and Cool Aunt Megan enough for that DVD player!). We stopped for lunch around 2:00 because no one told us that once we made it into OK along 75 there would be, like NO PLACE to stop along the way. So needless to say we were FAMISHED when we finally stopped. The boys were a bit cranky, but Old McDonalds was enough to renew their spirits. :)

We got back on the road (after a quick detour to Walmart - I kind of forgot my phone charger...oops!) and were at the hotel by 4:30. Not too bad considering our stops along the way. We checked in, relaxed in the room for a bit and waited for my mom and grandparents to get there. Then we went swimming!! Dinner at the restaurant at the hotel and then a quick visit to the OK Corral (that's the meeting hall we reserve every year to play games and spend time with the fam!). Then it was time to hit the sack.

The next morning, we met the family for breakfast and then our oldest went for a horseback ride (a 1 hour trail ride) that my brother Shelby coordinates every time. He LOVES the horses and they know him by name at the stables - he was emailing and calling them two weeks in advance! Thanks Bubble Shelby for getting it all set up. There were about 15 or so that went on the trail ride. Our oldest rode with my sister Cara - since he's three it is really hard for him to ride a full size horse by himself - though I know he would want to if we let him. He takes after his Bubble Shelby in love of horses! Cara managed to some how "sweet talk" her way in to being right behind the trail leader's horse - his name is Jo and he just happens to be 16 (Cara's 12 going on 22!). So our oldest ended up getting the special treatment while Jo flirted (AHEM!!) with my 12 year old sister. :) When they were done, our oldest was so happy he couldn't even hardly speak. He really had a great time! I was a bit worried because he hasn't been on a full sized horse before that so I wasn't sure if he would be scared, but he wasn't even a tiny bit! Again, when we adopt these boys, I will post some pics.

The rest of the day was spent swimming and napping (more for Mommy and Daddy than for the boys!) and some more eating of course. Then we joined the whole family at the OK Corral for some good ole fashioned worshipping. We have several preachers and talented musicians in our family, so every reunion we have a church service and some praise time. It was really neat to see how the talent continues to develop in our family. One of my distant cousins (kind of I think) got up with his daughter to lead the music. David played the guitar and his daughter Joy played the violin. They both sang as well. WOW! Joy is so amazingly talented! I am so impressed at her ability to not only play the violin like a pro ( and she is young too!) but at the incredible voice she has. Amazing!

By Sunday morning we were a bit worn out from all our fun and dreading the drive home. Though we made much better time getting home than we did getting there. When we finally made it home we were sad to have had to say goodbye for another two years (to some - others we will see *hopefully* before then), but glad to be home.

Those who read the blog a few days ago read about my uncle passing away about a week and a half ago. His funeral was This last Wednesday in - guess where - Oklahoma! I made my way up to Tulsa after work on Tuesday and spent the night with my cousin (again, kind of) in her gorgeous house. It was cool because Cara stayed with me and my Dad's best friend from high school (who happens to be his "boss" in the real estate business my Dad is in.) was there too. So it was like another reunion - just not for the same happy reasons. We got up Wednesday morning and went to the service. My Dad was the one who delivered the message and Eulogy. Public speaking is not his most favorite thing to do, but when he is passionate about something, he is so good! Despite how hard I know it was for him to get up there and speak, I was so impressed with his message and I hope that the rest of the family was too. We said goodbye to my Uncle David graveside while his daughter placed a sinlge red rose on his grave. You know, as many of these as I have had to attend in the last several years, it never gets easier. And because the boys' lawyer was coming to our house that night for a check in, I left from the funeral home to come home. Another 5 hours (that turned into 6 thanks to the traffic in Fort Worth!) in the car on the way home from OK. But it was worth it to be there....

So I am hoping for a few weeks with no more driving! :) But otherwise we have survived the week and I even managed to get my curtains started in my kitchen! :)

Updates from the Legal World

So we offically filed the intervention to terminate parental rights for our foster children so we could adopt them. That happened on Friday, 7/17/09 while we were away at my family reunion for the weekend (more about that later!). I don't know why this whole thing is so scary to me, but it is. I have only been in a court room where I was actually involved in the case one other time before this (I was 5, so I don't exactly remember it). The only other time I have ever even seen a court room was for jury duty - that I didn't get picked for. I guess maybe it is the fear of the unknown and I am definitely a person who likes to be in the know! :) I can't plan or prepare when I don't know!

I think the other thing that scares me about this whole process is that we are putting our faith in the system to see and do the right thing by these boys. There is SO no guarantee here and I know that it is possible that the Judge will allow some additional time or other opportunities for family instead of granting our request for termination. I know that I have to just trust in God's will and know that He will lead us down the right path. But I already mentioned my lack of patience with the unknown.... :)

The status is this: The intervention has been filed. CPS has given our lawyer a copy of the boys' case files so she can review them and see what can be used in our case. As such, we have learned some interesting things about our little ones' backgrounds. I was unsure if I really wanted to read the case file or not, but have decided that no matter how hard it may be for me, I need to know these things to adjust my parenting for what these boys need. Anyways, after talking to all of the players involved (with the exception of the parents of course), our lawyer says that everyone is supportive of termination and adoption by us. Their CASA worker said she would be willing to testify in court that adoption with us is in thier best interest, the boys' Attorney ad Litem said the same and CPS has indicated they are also in favor of placing the boys with us permanently - though they can't really testify to that affect....they have to really stick to their policies. But to know that they are in our corner is helpful.

We also got an update from our lawyer yesterday that she is feeling more confident about the strength of our case for termination of the youngest one's father's rights (I know that is a tounge tier, but as soon as they are ours we can use names!!!). We thought he would be our "wild card" in the case as our lawyer was already pretty confident the other two would be easily terminated given the circumstances (the oldest's father and their mother). But after reviewing the CPS case file, it appears there is more to the story with our "wild card" and we may be a bit better off than we thought. Still no guarantees, so I just keep praying that God will keep things moving in the right direction.

Of course, our prayer continues to be for what is best for these boys. Despite our own selfish motivations for filing this intervention, I am continuing to pray that it is the right thing for us to do for these boys. We are still a little in shock that it would work out this way with our first placement - and one that was only supposed to be two weeks at the most! But God does have a way of making things work out for the right reasons. We can continue to hope and pray that these boys' families will also find their way out of "destruction" as well. We know how important that family connection is and if there is a way to safely maintain that for these boys we want to do that.

So as usual I end this entry with a request for continued prayers. We have so appreciated the support we have gotten from all around the globe even! It is trully amazing that we can be here where we are now and we know it is becuase of the wonderful people who support us every step of the way. We love you all and hope to announcing the adoption of our boys very soon! :)

BRING IT ON!!!

Where should I even start??? Well, it's Tuesday and this week already feels like it has been the longest, most tumultuous week ever.....why is it that recently my posts have been starting off that way?

For starters, my Uncle committed suicide on Sunday. I didn't find out until Monday, but apparently there is a lot of family drama going on with this situation. I wasn't all that close with my Uncle - the last time I saw him was probably 8 years ago - but it still is hard to take. I remember him as so full of life - always grinning or cracking some joke (mostly at my Dad's expense of course!) or having a good time. It is hard to think of that man as the kind that would take his own life. I am praying for more than just understanding right now. I am praying for peace for my family as well as my cousin (who is just 9 years old) and my Dad who just lost his only brother.

On another note, the little baby we were trying to adopt was supposed to be born today. What we found out is that the mother was induced last night and at some point today during labor, they lost the baby's heartbeat and never got it back. The last I heard this afternoon is that the doctors were expecting him to be still born. I can't even imagine what this child who is giving birth is going through right now - I know as an adult I wouldn't be able to wok through all of the emotions that she must be going through right now. My heart breaks for her and the baby and her family.....I don't even really know what else to say....

But there is a semi happy ending to the last couple of days. Patrick and I met with a lawyer today who specializes in CPS adoptions and interventions. We discussed with her what we knew about the case (um, incredibly little!) and then she tried to get in touch with some of her contacts that could fill in some of the gaps. We left to go get the boys and so I could meet a dear friend for a night of packing and wine. When we left the lawyer's office, her thoughts were that based on the information we last got about the parents possibly relinquishing their parental rights that we didn't really need to file an intervention - it would really just be a waste of our money. So right in the middle of a sno-cone stop (mmmmm Hawaiin and cream!) we got a call from her again. She was able to talk to someone involved in the case and it turns out things are not as cut and dry as we last thought. It turns out that one of the fathers is going to likely fight to keep his rights and is actively submitting names for other family members to be reviewed for the boys to be placed with. This changes things significantly. Though the termination hearing is still set for August 10th, he can still make a case for a family member or even work his own service plan (we dont know the details of where he stands in completing that service plan.) So she strongly advised us to file the intervention.

So in about a day or so, they are going to the court house to file the intervention and we are going in the "boxing ring" to fight for our boys. The lawyer was shocked that we haven't been invited to any other hearings before this one in August (and technically we weren't invited so much as informed by an annonymous source....). I am desperately praying that the fact that we haven't been to any hearings up to this point will not be a detriment to our case. Either way though we are gearing up for a fight. Our lawyer seems confident that we are going to be able to pull through all of this with the boys and be able to adopt them in the end. We are just going to have to jump through the hoops first and work through this last rallying effort on the part of the parents (or as it seems, really just the youngest boy's father). But of course we don't know what we are looking at until the day actually comes. It sounds like we will be able to get some more information now that we have hired this lawyer (and given her the $2500 retainer...guess we're clipping coupons and eating PB&J sandwiches for a while!). She will have access to the case file and court files that we don't have the rights to otherwise. So we may know more about how to proceed in the next week or so.

In the mean time, we ask again for your prayers and support. We are in the thick of things now and it is only going to get harder the closer we get to our goal. But it is so worth it. These boys are so worth every single minute, every single penny, every single sacrifice and more. We can not wait to get those birth certificates with Pringle as the last name and mine and Patrick's names as the birth parents....Wow, I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it! Despite how "impossible" things may seem, Our Lord is all powerful and can make anything happen! So we trudge forward constantly reminding ourselves "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"

More of the Pringle Family saga to come!

Sorry It's Been So Long

Hi All! I know, I know...it has been FOREVER since I posted on here. A lot of things have changed since then!

So let me give you the basic run down...

First, the boys are still with us. We just got back from the Pringle Family Vacation and they had a great time! We are so glad they were able to go with us after all! There is some news on their case, but I will save that for a bit later in the post.

Second, as many of you may have learned already, we have decided not to continue with the adoption of the newborn baby (he is still due July 14th). This was a very difficult decision that included a lot of praying and picking loved ones brains and more praying. Ultimately the real decision maker was that the timing of the boys' case with CPS was not going to work out to be before the baby is born. Since we can not participate in a private adoption and maintain our Foster Parent license, we couldn't take the risk that we would lose the boys. The other reason (and one just as important, but not the deciding factor for us) is the neonatologist shared with the birth mother that the baby is not expected to live. They are not going to attempt to resuscitate and they are expecting him to live no more than a day or so. This is heartbreaking in so many ways. We are continuing to pray for this baby and his bilogical family and we hope that you will as well. Lord, may your will be done....

As for now, we continue to focus on our boys and thank God for the blessing of getting them back. Which leads me to the news we got tonight. We have been waiting to hear about when the boys' visits with their family would be set back up again. At this point, nothing has been done because no one can seem to get in touch with the parents. One father is in jail for the next 5 years so we know he won't be doing any visits. The other father (we found out tonight) is also in jail until the end of the month do to some outstanding warrants. The mother (again we found out tonight) is not doing so well herself. What we also found out is that she is on the verge of relinquishing her parental rights. We are pretty confident that if she relinquishes her rights, the fathers will follow suit. If that's the case, we won't even have to go to court to file to fight for the boys - they will just give them to us at that point. So needless to say we are praying that God will speak to the boys' parents' hearts and lead them to do the right thing. As always we are praying for their wellbeing and for them to find a way to turn things around for themselves. They are still so young....

There is a hearing scheduled for August 10th at 2:00 pm - it is a public hearing so you can BET I am going to be there. This hearing is a "termination hearing". It sounds promising, but I honestly can't tell you what that means. It could mean they are going to terminate parental rights at that point - it could mean something else completely different. Again, we just have to wait and see what happens. In the mean time, we are going to meet with a lawyer who is very experienced in this area of family law and see what she has to say about our options. Her assistant seems to think she can get the DA on the phone while we are there at our appointment (Monday at 4:30 - so please be praying for us!). We are hoping that if nothing else, they can talk and she can give us a better idea of where things really stand. It is so hard to get information right now for a number of reasons including the fact that we are not legally a part of this case. I am just hoping that we can do what we need to in order to show those in charge that we want these boys and we are willing to fight for them (in the right way of course!).

So for now, I doubt we will have any updates until after that August 10th date, but we will keep posting as we go.

As always, we appreciate your prayers and support!