We’re sitting in a courtroom again. Brittany brought her stack of three ring binders and her classic bucket of fight, sitting with our attorney and her stack of papers, binders, and book of Michigan Court Rules. Nicole (the lawyer) was smart and brought coffee from outside. This courthouse is an island, served only by vending machines in a building surrounded by corn fields and Trump flags. That’s Ottawa County for ya.

Carter is sitting next to me. He’s in a good mood. Last night he went to the Dayseeker concert last night with his older cousin. He’d typically be in school right now, but today is his day in court. The goal is to terminate Carter’s biological mom’s parental rights, thus enabling him to be adopted by Brittany and I. It’s an arduous task that requires an endless amount of paperwork from county officials, the state, law enforcement, and the people of Neptune. Not really, but it seems that way. And that difficult.

We could be here for hours. The biological mother’s court appointed attorney, aiming to cover all her bases, is already making this difficult.

I’ll do my best to keep you all updated. I have been quiet about family details lately because we have two people “out there” who pose some level of threat to the safety of our kids.

Your prayers are much appreciated. A few reached out to see if this hearing had already occurred — it didn’t because of a ridiculous two week loophole. Yes, it does sometimes seem that the system is not set up for the protection of the child. Other times, the protection is obvious. Right now, we’re in the middle of it. Much will be determined in the coming hours. Brittany is now approaching the witness stand…