[The Beach Bears]

February 20th



I am unsure that I can put into word the elation and disappoint that we felt this weekend. Let’s start with the good, we now understand everything about the family dynamics and the scope of the problem that is faced, we also were able to see the child, hold her and watch her play with our own daughter. I can not begin to tell you what that felt like and how much it hurt to leave without her.



Now for the problems the Birth parents are not going to give up rights without a fight the family says, even though they have a history of neglect and abuse towards this child. The Birth mother thinks this is a game and she wants to continue playing, that the only way anyone form the family will see her at all. (She was improperly dressed, showed bruises of physical abuse and on drugs for her mother’s memorial service, her own father stated this to me, and it was obvious) The birth father was a no show and has been for several years he does have a job and a place to live as much as we know (and a report of child abuse for this child) so he presents the biggest threat to her adoption and her. The family was overjoyed that we were going to adopt her and even introduced her to others as the people who were going to take the child, but that is where there enthusiasm left since they do not want to deal with the mother and don’t care for the child (except her Grandfather and my college roommate and his wife)



I am left with one overwhelming thought this child is going back to her birth parents, or she is going into foster care and there is nothing we can do about it. My college roommate and his wife are stuck in the morass of having to tell her 85year old father he cannot take care of the child anymore and do not know what to do.



We have a call into the lawyer we are hoping to assist the family in termination of rights and they have some money set aside for this, but the clock is ticking on this child and I am afraid that we will run out of time before anything can get done.



Thanks for reading I will due weekday updates and keep updating.