Well court came and went. It was Tuesday the 27th. I guess not much happened because Matthew didn't go. I was rather surprised to hear that because they drove home so far to get him there. I am not really sure what is going through his head at this point. Mom said he "isn't going to play their game" but I don't know if he understands the consequences of not complying to what they are asking him to do. There will be another court date on May 10th and at that point they will make some major decisions for Alexis' future if he doesn't show up again. They told mom and Dad on Tuesday if he didn't show up he would loose his rights to Alexis and she would be placed up for adoption. Sadness....I just don't know what to think.

On a happier note we are all doing great! Our garden is in full swing and we have been able to harvest our radishes. The kids were so excited they just popped them in their mouths and ate them up. :) We will soon have tomatoes, peas and cauliflower to eat to! I have a cucumber and a green bean plant that just sprouted. Sarah said the green bean plant looks like Shreck because it has horns like him. Kinda funny. :)

Alexis is doing great. She is one amazing little girl! We love her so much. She has brought a special spirit to our home. It is amazing! Her belly is always poking out because she eats so much! Yesterday after dinner she held her shirt up and was rubbing her belly. It was so funny. She was looking at it like...hum this is weird why is my stomach poking out so far?

We are getting used to having another little body hear full time. Things are calming down slightly and Alexis is feeling pretty comfortable. A few more dishes and a little more laundry never killed anyone. She has had a ton of fun playing with the kids and running around in the back yard. She is such a cutie!
We went yard saleing today and found some great treasures. I found several (50) books all in new condition mostly from Deseret Book. There are some really great authors! I am so excited to get reading! The first one we are going to read is "The Secret of Nyhm" I love this story and I am sure Sarah will like the part about the rats :) We also found some pants for Sarah and Jimmy and of course a few toys for the rest of the kids. I love to find great deals at yard sales!!
We are having a block party tonight and then our ward is having a parking lot junk swap and serving desert. Yum!

Well we made it back home. We went to DCFS at 10:30 a.m. and had a meeting with the case worker, investigator and her supervisor, nurse, medicaid specialist and a licensing specialist. Mom was there also with Troy and me. We went over options for Alexis and her parents and tried to discuss what has happened and what will happen both if Matt and Deanne straighten up and if they don't. I am not so sure they have been that impressed with Matt's efforts so far. He was invited to the meeting but didn't come. He was supposed to contact DCFS as soon as he got out of jail and didn't until yesterday. He is also supposed to be drug testing twice a week and hasn't started that yet either. I was also told he currently hasn't checked in with AP&P and because of that he now has a warrant out for his arrest.
There is a court date on Tuesday the 27th that he needs to attend but I don't know if he will because if he does show up he will most likely be arrested and go to jail again.
Deanne has been sentenced for 5 months but because of over crowding she could be released at any time. She still has convictions that she hasn't been sentenced for so it may be longer than that.
We were also told they both have 8 months from the date Alexis was taken away to show reasonable effort in the requirements set by DCFS or she will be adopted out. Even if they are in jail the whole time the clock is still ticking.
Some requirement are: Stable housing, steady income, drug free, some kind of rehab for drugs and possibly domestic violence.
These will be set in stone on Tuesday the 27th.

We are going to Salt Lake City to get Alexis. We are meeting with the social worker at 10:30 in the morning and picking her up. Yeah!!!! We are soooo excited!!! Hopefully everything will go smoothly for all that are involved. We are staying at moms tonight and will probably stop at Tracy's house to pick up some stuff for Sarah tomorrow then back in the van for the long drive home with every seat belt FULL. Call us crazy. ;)

Just got told by the Salt Lake County Jail that Deanne received a sentence of 90 days so far for some of the charges she has against her. A few more are open and she has to go to court for them but most of them have been processed and she has a 90 day sentence as of now.

No home inspection yet :(

Well alot has been running through my brain lately and I feel it may explode! We have been approved to take Alexis into our home. For those of you who don't know, she is my niece and my brother Matthews daughter.
She is 3 years old and is super cute and way to smart! We are so happy to be able to have her with us. We have been making several preparations for her to come and we are all just ready for her to be here. I am hoping we can go and get her some time this week. Maybe Wednesday.? We are waiting for one last detail. Someone needs to come to our house and do a safety inspection. We are all ready and have been for almost a week. I just want it done so we can move on and get here here!
All of the kids are way excited but mostly Sarah. She is going out of her mind with excitement. She has made sure her room is perfect for Alexis to share with her. She has made Alexis's bed and put stuffed animals and dolls on it for her. She has painted several pictures for her and made sure all art supplies are well out of reach for me :) I hear Alexis has a thing for painting with nail polish :)
I haven't heard anything about Deanne or Matthew really, other than Matthew is out of jail and Deanne isn't and probably won't be out for at least 6 months. I will try to keep everyone up to date on the info I have but some I am unable to share for the protection of Alexis. I have spent so little time with her in her short three years of life but I love her so much and will do anything for her. She is definitely one of Heavenly Fathers choice spirits and we are blesses to be able to have her in our home.
Thank you for all of your prayers recently. I know they were heard because we have felt them.