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The Sides family has an immediate need (the appointment with the lawyer is this Thursday!) of getting $2,500 for the retainer fee to begin the process of adopting their boys, Emanual and Isaiah. The boy's birth mother has started a process that requires immediate legal attention by this family to ensure the safety and custody of their boys. Due to extra fees charged on GoFundMe, we are asking for $3,000 but the actual need is $2,500. We will cut this campaign off when that amount is reached! Would you please pray for this family and consider a donation toward this need? Here is their story...
"Five years ago, we were given the opportunity to love on, and welcome to our family, Emanual. He came into our home after having bounced through foster care and ending up with maternal grandparents. The grandmother was terminally ill, and the grandfather was not able to care for all the children. He came into our home with a lot of anger, a lot of bitterness and extreme feelings of abandonment. We knew it would be an uphill struggle for him to learn to love and trust us. But over the course of several years, that is exactly what has happened. The once quiet, withdrawn, angry little boy has grown into a loving, mischievous, outgoing teen with a smile that brightens every room he enters.
In February of 2014, we received a call from the biological dad, asking us to come pick up the older brother, Isaiah. My heart already knew this was going to be happening and when Isaiah accepted the offer to become part of our family, it felt as our home was finally complete. When we picked him up, he had lost a great deal of weight (over 2" in his waist) and the look in his eyes was heartbreaking. Over the summer, we watched him grow, eat (eat a lot), and find his place in God’s plan for his life.
In these five years, we’ve watched all three of our youngest sons come to know the Lord, and desire to seek His face and do His will. They all three have a servant's heart, and always blow me away with their love for others and willingness to help those that are hurting. Did I mention that we have two older sons with autism? You should see how they all love each other and help each other. Emanual has even asked if he can take care of Bob if something happens to me and Chris. (not sure if that’s because he loves Bob so much or because Zack can be moody!)
Two weeks ago, the biological mother moved back to Alabama with the intent to be reunited with her kids. I won’t go into details of the past five years, but I will say that it isn’t in the boys best interest, and neither of them are open to the possibility of it. However, with us just having custody, she can file for custody and keep us in court as long as she wants. The boys have asked us to adopt them, and to be honest, they have already been our sons in our hearts. Our hopes are to push the TPR (termination of parental rights) through and get the adoption completed before we end up in another custody hearing. Having just finished out our basement to give the boys their own space, we weren’t prepared to start this process this quickly. The attorney has said that as soon as we pay the $2500 retainer, he can start the process, and hopefully have our sons that are forever in our hearts, also forever in our family." -Connie
"Five years ago, we were given the opportunity to love on, and welcome to our family, Emanual. He came into our home after having bounced through foster care and ending up with maternal grandparents. The grandmother was terminally ill, and the grandfather was not able to care for all the children. He came into our home with a lot of anger, a lot of bitterness and extreme feelings of abandonment. We knew it would be an uphill struggle for him to learn to love and trust us. But over the course of several years, that is exactly what has happened. The once quiet, withdrawn, angry little boy has grown into a loving, mischievous, outgoing teen with a smile that brightens every room he enters.
In February of 2014, we received a call from the biological dad, asking us to come pick up the older brother, Isaiah. My heart already knew this was going to be happening and when Isaiah accepted the offer to become part of our family, it felt as our home was finally complete. When we picked him up, he had lost a great deal of weight (over 2" in his waist) and the look in his eyes was heartbreaking. Over the summer, we watched him grow, eat (eat a lot), and find his place in God’s plan for his life.
In these five years, we’ve watched all three of our youngest sons come to know the Lord, and desire to seek His face and do His will. They all three have a servant's heart, and always blow me away with their love for others and willingness to help those that are hurting. Did I mention that we have two older sons with autism? You should see how they all love each other and help each other. Emanual has even asked if he can take care of Bob if something happens to me and Chris. (not sure if that’s because he loves Bob so much or because Zack can be moody!)
Two weeks ago, the biological mother moved back to Alabama with the intent to be reunited with her kids. I won’t go into details of the past five years, but I will say that it isn’t in the boys best interest, and neither of them are open to the possibility of it. However, with us just having custody, she can file for custody and keep us in court as long as she wants. The boys have asked us to adopt them, and to be honest, they have already been our sons in our hearts. Our hopes are to push the TPR (termination of parental rights) through and get the adoption completed before we end up in another custody hearing. Having just finished out our basement to give the boys their own space, we weren’t prepared to start this process this quickly. The attorney has said that as soon as we pay the $2500 retainer, he can start the process, and hopefully have our sons that are forever in our hearts, also forever in our family." -Connie
Organizer and beneficiary
Connie Sides
Beneficiary