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Edey Update - Not So Smooth Sailing

April 29, 2010

After speaking with our attorney yesterday it appears that things aren't going to be as easy as we had hoped. The likelihood of us being able to work out an acceptable visitation agreement with Edey's great-aunt is slim at this point. Their attorney is pushing for an open adoption arrangement which we aren't comfortable with, and since their attorney waited for so long to start discussing this agreement with us we have run out of time.

On Monday Curt and I will go for the first part of an attachment assessment which will cost us $800. Once the assessment is done the evaluator will prepare a report and give it to our attorney who will use that as evidence at the contested permanency hearing on June 18th. In the mean time our attorney is planning to file a motion to dismiss the great-aunt's motion to intervene, if the Judge accepts that then the great-aunt will be out of the running and we should be free to move forward with the adoption.

If we do end up fighting for Edey in court we pray that the judge will favor Edey's attachment to us over her relation to her great-aunt, but ultimately it's up to the Judge as to who will get to adopt Edey.

Please keep praying for God's will to be done!

Thanks!

The Betsch Bunch

Spring is here!

Yippee Spring has arrived! It's so nice to open the windows and listen to the birds. The kids have been playing outside a lot more often (on the nice days) and Ethan can't wait until it's warm enough to play in the sprinklers.

Many of you have been asking for updates on the Edey situation as well as the rest of the family, so I've finally forced myself to sit down for a few minutes to update the blog. Here we go:

Edey - We've been visiting with Edey's great-aunt fairly regularly despite the fact that they live in Grand Junction. They often make the drive over the mountain to spend a few hours with her (and us), but for our last visit we tried to meet them part of the way so we had lunch in Frisco. In March they emailed us to say that they have decided NOT to contest our adoption of Edey which was FANTASTIC news. They have been extremely understanding and considerate of us and our relationship with Edeyn and after a few visits with our family they decided that she belongs with us. Legally we are still scheduled to have contested hearing on June 18th, but we are hoping to be able to work out a formal visitation agreement with the great-aunt before then so that we can cancel that hearing and move forward with adopting Edey. Since Edey's mom's parental rights were terminated in Feb we have maintained contact with her by phone, have had one visit with her, and are currently planning another. As far as little Edey herself she is doing well, she has started walking and saying "Hi". She recently fell and split her lip which earned her one stitch (the first for us as parents).

Averie - Averie's 3rd Birthday is fast approaching and we are planning to celebrate with a small princess party this Saturday. Averie is definitely the most rebellious of the kids, and she also has quite an attitude sometimes. I see a lot of Curt shining through in her personality. She is fun loving, funny, emotional and stubborn. Currently her greatest ambition is to become a puppy when she turns 5. Averie is currently taking ballet and tap class which she likes, we can't wait to see her perform at her recital in June.

Ethan - Ethan will be 6 on May 4th. Ethan loves school and is doing great in Kindergarten, he has been practicing his reading and is now able to read level 2 books all by himself! Flag football started a few weeks ago and Ethan is on the Cowboy's team this season. He loves football and his skills improve with each game. He's such a busy kid, who has a lot of my personality traits. He's articulate, responsible, detail oriented and he loves rules. Ethan always wants to be in charge and loves a good audience.

Curt - Curt is working hard at keeping up with his job and the kids. Work is going well for him as he continues to train new dispatchers. He is in the process of applying for the trooper academy that starts in January, and we're praying he'll get a spot this year. Curt is still home with the kids in the mornings while I work and he's doing great at daddy duties. Fishing, fishing and fishing are Curt's favorite things to do when he's not working or juggling the kids.

Me - I am still working part-time as a telcomm contractor. My job is super flexible which is great, but my contract is up in July, so we are hoping that my company will extend it for another year. I manage to keep busy with driving kids around, planning play dates and managing everyone's stuff and occasionally finding a little time to spend time with friends.

The coming year - We have recently put ourselves back on the list of available foster homes, meaning we are willing to take in another foster child age 0-5. Currently we are waiting to get the call about a kid in need, but in the mean time we're asking ourselves if we're crazy. Please pray for us!!!

Love,
The Betsch Bunch

Edey Update - Maybe... - March 12, 10

Edey had the final visit with her mom on 2/24. It was emotional than we expected, actually there weren't any tears at all. We gave her mom our contact info and invited her to call or email if she ever wants to find out how Edey is doing. We haven't had any calls yet, I kinda wonder if we ever will.

We're finding that the $$ we've spent on our attorney has been a good investment. Since the termination hearing (2/23/10) our attorney has been working with the great-aunts attorney on the possibility of them giving up on attempting to adopt Edey and instead settling for a formal visitation agreement. If we can work out an agreement that seems reasonable to both us and the great-aunt then we may be able to skip the contested permanency hearing and move right into adopting Edey. If we are able to move forward with adoption chances are that the adoption itself won't be finalized until the end of this year or early next year.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support, we're amazed at what God has done!!! Keep the prayers coming, we'll keep you updated...

Edey Update - Dad's on board! - Feb 23,10

The termination of Edey's parents' rights happened quickly this morning. Edey's mom voluntarily gave up her parental rights and told the court she really wants Edey to stay with us. She was visibly upset, but the Judge commended her for being responsible enough to make good decisions for her child, which we are also proud of her for! We spoke for a few minutes following the hearing and she expressed to me how she knows Edey just can't live the lifestyle that she has chosen. Her final visit with Edey will be tomorrow and it's going to be a tear jerker I'm sure!

Edey's dad put up some arguments as to why he thinks his mother should have custody of Edey, despite the fact that his mother said that she can't take care of Edey and removed herself as a possible permanent placement. After some discussion with the court Edey's dad acknowledged that his rights will be terminated and then, to our surprise, he told the court that he wanted Edey to stay with us. He even thanked us for taking good care of her as he left the court room on his way back to prison. The court will soon terminate his parental rights (waiting on some paperwork from the county) and he will be allowed a visit with Edey when he is released from prision in April.

The next hurdle is the permanency placement hearing which was originally scheduled for March 23, but will have to be re-scheduled due to a conflict our attorney has. Because everyone involved in Edey's case is supporting us as the permanent home for her, our attorney doesn't think we will need to get a psychological attachment assessment done ($800) which is a relief. She also plans to contact the aunt's attorney to discuss the possibility of them dropping their request for adoption and settling for an open relationship with Edey. We are hopeful that Edey's aunt will agree to that, but if not, we are still hopeful that the court will choose us as Edey's permanent home.

Upcoming Events:

March ? , 2010 - Permanency Hearing
Nov 13, 2010 - Permanency Placement Review

Thanks for your prayers and support!!!! They are making miracles happen!!!
The Betsch Bunch

Edey Update - The big date has been set

January 25, 2010

Curt attended the status hearing today (I was home with sick kids). As far as official court decisions nothing much happened today. The judge granted Edey's Great-Aunt's motion to intervene in the case, the court confirmed the hearing date of Feb 24th, 2010 for the termination of parental rights for both of Edey's parents, and the judge set the date of March 23, 2010 to decide Edey's permanent placement. As far as unofficial happenings several interesting things happened that Curt and I have found encouraging:

1. Edey's mom has announced her intention to forfeit her rights to Edey at the Feb 24th hearing, which should speed up the process significantly

2. Edey's mom has announced to the court that she wants Edey to be permanently placed with us.

3. Before ruling on the Great-Aunt's motion to intervene the judge asked all the involved parties if they thought the Great-Aunt should be allowed to intervene in the case. The county caseworker, Edey's legal guardian, and Edey's mom all stated that they think Edey should be with us and that the great-aunt should not be allowed to intervene. (Amazing change from a few months ago!!!) The judge did grant the motion to intervene after hearing arguments from the Great-Aunt's attorney; however she did state that she was granting the motion out of statutory obligation, nothing more.

Curt and I are feeling cautiously hopeful that the court will choose us as Edey's permanent home at the March 23rd hearing. We've come a long way from a few months ago when it seemed that everyone was voting against us, we attribute this amazing change to God! All the prayers and support you all have given us are working please keep them up!

Another Trip to the Hospital for Edey

January 2010 -

Edeyn came down with a case of RSV and spent 3 nights at Longmont Untied Hospital.