A New Court Order Has FINALLY Come In

It's a little complicated, but it short order here is what it said. We didn't get any custody, legal or physical. We have an increased child support obligation, but we knew that was coming. Bella's mom now has to pay all of the transportation costs for her to fly here at least three times a year (Spring Break, Summer, Christmas). We are sad that the judge has eliminated our Thanksgiving, Easter, Father's Day and birthday visitation, but we may motion for more visitation next year.

There's more to it than that, but those are the main thing. Basically it just puts more burden on Bella's mom to move closer and her costs are lower. It is nice to know when the next time we will see Bella again (December 26th-January 1st) as that is always the most stressful.

When I have time, I will try to explain more but as for now Claire is waking up. Please pray for peace with this decision and for grace and wisdom as we navigate this new order.

Please Pray!

We are getting a court ruling this week and are asking God that we will get to have Bella this Christmas, despite the enormous cost of plane tickets. We hope that the court will raise our child support and make Bella's mom pay for all transportation costs.

Updates coming ASAP!

Custody Trial... I just HATE court!

It was long and hard, but the worst part is we left with no answer. I am so proud of Luke! He did such a great job representing himself, and we were really prepared for this. We know we did all we could and now we just wait...

We thank God for the provision of time, as it looked like we would run over, but everything got in before the end of the day and we are supposed to hear something later this week. I will post something as soon as we know!

Thanks for all the encouragement, support, and prayers. We love you all!

Getting Ready for Court

So we just found out that Bella is coming back to Alabama September 30th- October 7th. We are thrilled that we will get to see her, but sad that she'll only be here a week and probably leave before Claire is born.

But we trust in the Lord's timing and that it is always perfect. I am reading some procedural things today and getting ready to create our case for custody. It's a bit overwhelming, but we have to give it to God and know that He is in control.

Please continue to pray for peace and wisdom as we prepare for court and that no matter what happens, our faith is renewed and not called into question.

A Trial Date... Finally

Luke and I went to court this morning and we got a date set for trial: Friday, October 2nd at 8am... We feel pretty good about this date, considering it could have been much closer to my due date. And the following week is Bella's fall break from school, so hopefully she will come back to Alabama for more than a few days.

We just ask that you continue to pray for our family that God will reveal His plan for us. We pray that Claire will not come that early, and I will be available to testify at trial and support Luke. We know that God is faithful and that He loves Bella and wants only the best for her life.

We'll keep you updated as we learnmore about how things will unfold.

Yet Another Delay...

So Luke and I went to family court again today so the judge could hear some useless motion by Julie's attorney. And they got the custody trial date pushed back again. He said Bella's step-father could not be present at our scheduled date of September 10th so we go back again September 1st to set a final date for trial.

I think this trial date will really stick. The judge said "even if the ship sinks (referring to the ste-dad's navy ship) we are still going to trial. And he saw the concern on Luke's face of yet another delay and he continued saying "if I change custody, Bella's school schedule will not play a role in my decision."

This is good to hear, since we were concered that Bella starting school in Hawaii would mean that she is established there and the judge would be less likely to "uproot" her. People often ask us if we really think that it is in Bella's best interest to take her away from her mother, and I think the latest foolishness on their part proves that yes, we could provide a much more stable and loving home for Bella. In the best interest of her long-term mental health, she needs to get away from all of her mother's lies and manipulations and be raised in a Christian home full of love.

The court has already stated that we are capable parents, so they can't attack us on that. Now they are hammering us for our tax returns, and we have no idea what they want those for, but we have nothing to hide. All we know is that they must have nothing on us if they want to get at how much money we make :) It's a nice feeling to know that because we have always done what is best for Bella, we don't have to worry about justfying anything.

I could go on and on about how things would be so much better if Bella lived closer (if not with us) but I am beating a dead horse. Luke and I will never give up and will never stop fighting for her. Since her mom is so focused on hatred towards us, we are the only ones left to look out for Bella. Please continue to pray for our peace, wisdom for the judge, and that God will reveal His plan for Bella.

Family Court Trial Date Set

Luke and I went to Family Court this morning and the judge set a date for trial on September 10th and 11th. This means we probably won't see Bella until then, but at least we know when we will next see her. This will be a big day as we have filed for primary residence (where Bella would come live with us).

Please continue to pray for us and for Bella as this won't be easy on anyone. We just ask God to reaveal His plan for us and give the judge wisdom to discern what is in Bella's best interest.

Family Court Hearing

We just got home from our family court hearing. Bella's mom got a new attorney so the judge granted his motion for continuance. We have rescheduled a status conference for July 20th at 8:30am. We don't know what that means for Bella and whether they will go back to Hawaii before then or not.

Everyone, including the judge, knows this is a delay tactic, but we will hopefully reschedule the custody trial before Bella starts Kindergarten. Please continue to pray for us and for Bella.