Here is it August 2014 and Stephanie is still in Foster Care.  Thankfully Levi and Emily are allowed to spend the weekends with Stephanie as long as they stay in the state of Illinois.  Levi and Emily both work full time at a medical factory in Indiana.  Early Saturday mornings they commute from Indiana to Illinois to pick up Stephanie from her Foster Home and go camping.  If the weather is too hot or rainy they must get a hotel for Saturday and Sunday.  Of course this mounts up in $$ but they are determined to spend every minute that they can with her.

Stephanie continues in therapry for her Post Traumatic Stress and to help her deal with this whole ordeal.  She is making progress!  She is getting much needed dental care, which let me tell you that was very difficult for her.  Daddy drove to Illinois for two dental visits and it went much smoother with many hugs.

Legal Progress:  The 2 1/2 interviews were done in Indiana to clear the way for Stephanie to live across state lines while the case continues on. In July the judge got to read the interviews and it was clear he was very disturbed at what he was reading.  The interviews put a clear prospective on Stephanie's life previously.  

The home visit was completed however it has been over a month waiting for this to simply be typed up and submitted to the main Indiana Office and then onto the Springfield Illinois Office.  This is the ONLY thing standing in the way of Stephanie getting out of Foster Care.  Once she is out of Foster Care, she will still be a ward of the state until the case is completed in Illinois.  

With the generous help of friends, family and donors from all over the US, Levi has a lawyer in Indiana for the custody.  That looks to be open and shut type of case but the closest court date is in October.  Ugh...

Expenses are certainly mounting up between lawyer bills, traveling expenses, hotels and time off work for medical appointments.  Why, why does an innocent parent have to suffer so financially not to mention emotionally?  The red tape is tremendous.  As the Grandmother of Stephanie I am flabbergasted that the mother isn't suffering the same even though she has been charged and convicted of Neglect.  Since she does not visit Steph, there is not any financial burdens of travel, hotels and time off work.  Oh well, we thank God for Stephanie, we thank God for such a wonderful Foster Mother and we thank YOU our backers.  Thank you for the prayers and thank you for your support.