We have BIG news!
We are adopting a child! I know some of our closest family and friends are aware of our adoption but for the ones that are not aware SURPRISE. Here is our story.
Alicia and Quenton quickly fell in love after their first date February 2016. They quickly started discussing getting married and expanding their family. In January 2017 they got married in Key West, FL on a cruise to the Bahamas. A few months before their wedding day they suffered an unexpected miscarriage. This took a toll on their plans to expand their family. After they got married, they made the decision to stop trying for another child. They were still very emotionally scarred and feared for another miscarriage. At this time, they were happy with the little family they currently had.
They had Krisily and another little girl Abbie who is their niece who held their hearts. Krisily was the oldest and so full of personality. Krisily was not biologically Quenton's child but that didn't stop the bond they had for each other. Her biological father passed away 5 months before Krisily turned 3 years old. Quenton stepped up and became everything she needed and more. Abbie is their niece, the situation here is very different.
Before Alicia and Quenton met Alicia got the opportunity to watch Abbie be born into the world. She got to cut her umbilical cord and had an unbelievable bond with her. After a few months of her life Abbie lived with Alicia for a very short time then Alicia's cousin, her husband, and Alicia's dad gained physical and legal custody. Abbie was in the care of Alicia's cousin and her husband for about a month or more and then started to live with Alicia's dad. Quenton came into Abbie's life when she was just 9 months old. His bond with Abbie grew as strong as Alicia's.
Between February 2016 and February 2018 Alicia, Quenton, and Alicia's dad were caring for Abbie. Alicia and Quenton cannot take all of the credit for supporting and making Abbie into the precious little girl she is today. Alicia's dad had a huge role in supporting and making Abbie into the person she is as well. Alicia and Quenton would take Abbie on some weekends and when Alicia and Quenton relocated to Ohio for a year the bond only grew stronger. Abbie would come to Ohio to stay with Alicia and Quenton for weeks at a time and then go back to Alicia's dads. Alicia and Quenton quickly became the mom and dad Abbie needed in her life. During this period of time, Alicia and Quenton unexpectedly got pregnant and in November 2017 they welcomed another little girl McKynlee into their family. Krisily and Abbie were over the moon excited for their little sister McKynlee.
In February 2018, Alicia and Quenton relocated back to Tennessee and moved in with Alicia's dad and Abbie. Alicia, Quenton, and Alicia's dad had previously had conversations about taking full time temporary custody of Abbie before relocating back to Tennessee. Alicia's dad was beyond ready to finally be a papaw to Abbie and Alicia and Quenton were beyond ready to be the mommy and daddy Abbie deserved. In April 2018 Alicia and Quenton closed on their new house in Tennessee and moved into their home as a new family of five. Later that year in December 2018, Alicia and Quenton's family received another surprise. July 2019 they would welcome a baby boy into their family of five. Krisily, Abbie, and McKynlee were so excited to finally be getting a brother.
March 2019 Alicia and Quenton gained full legal temporary custody of Abbie. In April 2019, Alicia and Quenton filed for adoption for Abbie. They went to court later that year in 2019 to terminate the parental rights of Abbie's biological parents. Abbie's biological father was in jail at the time awaiting to go to prison, so he did not show. Abbie's biological mother did appear in court. The judge was going to hear the case that day, but our attorney asked the judge for a continuance to give Abbie's biological mom more time to retain counsel. The judge agreed and the court hearing was reset to August 2019. We appeared in court with our counsel and Abbie's biological mom appeared in court without counsel. The judge heard the case and made the decision to terminate the parental rights of Abbie's biological parents.
Abbie's biological mother received funds to retain an attorney and filed an appeal on the termination of parental rights. Covid majorly delayed the court of appeals process so in March 2021 we heard back from the court of appeals. Alicia and Quenton were not emotionally prepared for what was about to come. The court of appeals overturned the case and remanded back to court for a retrial. The court of appeals felt the judge should have appointed Guardian ad litem for the child and that Abbie's biological mother didn't receive adequate amount of time to retain counsel. Although the judge gave us a continuance for Abbie's biological mom to retain an attorney, the Court of Appeals did not think it was a fair amount of time. Shortly after Abbie's biological mom filed a motion for costs for the appeal. Since Alicia and Quenton were considered the losing party of the appeals court, they were ordered to pay the costs to Abbie's biological mother for the appeals costs.
There is so much more that has happened but unfortunately there is a lot we cannot discuss. Our attorney received some bad news regarding his health and had to recuse himself from the case. We had to retain another attorney to continue our fight for Abbie. At this point we are back to square one. We still have months to go and are quickly downing in attorney's fees. We have well exceeded over $27,000.00 in debt in attorney's fees and need several thousand more to finish our fight.
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs can easily total up to $35,000.00 or more. This is why we have set a goal of $25,000.00 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we hope to build around our child Abbie as she grows up.
