Bless your family for doing this! Rachel, there will be times - plenty of them - where you'll wonder if you are doing the right thing....if you are truly making as much of a difference for this kid as you hoped to make. You are. I remember sitting at the table one night after Jamie and Little Diane had gone to bed just crying. We weren't young anymore, money was super tight, and we'd settled into a wonderful retirement. Starting over was so overwhelming, and knowing the kids had to sit through hearing after hearing listening to their mom plead guilty to child neglect and abandonment was taking a toll on their behavior. I cried so hard that night, wondering how we would ever know we were doing the right thing and if we'd ever know if we'd made a difference.
I questioned everything when we went to court and got full custody of 2 of our grandkids away from their mother (our daughter). We've had custody of him in one way or the other, off and on, since he was 2 years old. We got full legal custody when he was 11. Both of the kids were born to different husbands. The older boy, Jamie, dreamed of going into the Navy and serving on submarines when he was just 11 years old. He not only did it, he attended Nuclear Power School and became a nuclear reactor power plant operator on the sub. Somebody believed in him and gave him a safe place when he needed it most. He stayed with us and graduated from the local high school. He did the rest all on his own. He met and married a lovely young lady and so far they have 2 little ones. His first son, Landyn Kenneth, was named after his grampa Ken.
Little Diane was named after me. We had custody of her twice, the first time when she was 6 years old and we got them both. After a few years we were talked into allowing her to go back to live with her dad. We didn't want to, but the councelors and our caseworker thought it was safe to separate them and have her back with a natural parent and his new wife. Mistake. She ran away at 16, was on the National List of Missing and Exploited Children, and after she was found and served her time in Juvie she ended up living on the streets of Sioux Falls. We went back and got her when she was 17. Within a month here she had her GED, a job, a Wyoming driver's license and a new sense of self-worth. Somebody believed in her and wouldn't allow failure. She recently got married. Guess who she had walk her down the aisle? Yep, Grampa walked proudly on one side of this beautiful bride and her dad was on the other. When she asked Ken to walk her down the aisle, we hesitated. After all, we'd helped her dad get custody of her after she'd been here with us for a few years. She said, "Dad gave me life, but you and Grampa saved my life."
Both kids refer to this beat up old trailer as "home". Ask them where they're from and they list Cowley as their hometown. You can do this. He can do this. And your family will be richer for the experience!
I questioned everything when we went to court and got full custody of 2 of our grandkids away from their mother (our daughter). We've had custody of him in one way or the other, off and on, since he was 2 years old. We got full legal custody when he was 11. Both of the kids were born to different husbands. The older boy, Jamie, dreamed of going into the Navy and serving on submarines when he was just 11 years old. He not only did it, he attended Nuclear Power School and became a nuclear reactor power plant operator on the sub. Somebody believed in him and gave him a safe place when he needed it most. He stayed with us and graduated from the local high school. He did the rest all on his own. He met and married a lovely young lady and so far they have 2 little ones. His first son, Landyn Kenneth, was named after his grampa Ken.
Little Diane was named after me. We had custody of her twice, the first time when she was 6 years old and we got them both. After a few years we were talked into allowing her to go back to live with her dad. We didn't want to, but the councelors and our caseworker thought it was safe to separate them and have her back with a natural parent and his new wife. Mistake. She ran away at 16, was on the National List of Missing and Exploited Children, and after she was found and served her time in Juvie she ended up living on the streets of Sioux Falls. We went back and got her when she was 17. Within a month here she had her GED, a job, a Wyoming driver's license and a new sense of self-worth. Somebody believed in her and wouldn't allow failure. She recently got married. Guess who she had walk her down the aisle? Yep, Grampa walked proudly on one side of this beautiful bride and her dad was on the other. When she asked Ken to walk her down the aisle, we hesitated. After all, we'd helped her dad get custody of her after she'd been here with us for a few years. She said, "Dad gave me life, but you and Grampa saved my life."
Both kids refer to this beat up old trailer as "home". Ask them where they're from and they list Cowley as their hometown. You can do this. He can do this. And your family will be richer for the experience!
