Not many people know, but 7 months ago we had to take emergency custody of Greyson due to alleged abuse at his mom’s house. Greyson came for a regular weekend visit expecting to go home that Sunday only for his world to be turned upside down. He didn’t get to say goodbye to his friends at school or bring any comfort items from moms, meanwhile his whole world changes especially since we have almost a three hour distance between both his homes. For the first two weeks Greyson would respond to our question on how he was doing with a “I feel safe now” and that will never leave my head. It was an unexpected whirlwind of emotions and a true test for our family, even today still. Greyson’s resilience is unmatched, and he is really just beginning to heal. We are thankful Greyson had Mitch and me, and we are super proud of him feeling for being comfortable enough and vulnerable to share his story with us for the first time, after at least a year of holding it in. That will always be one of my most honored moments, that he felt safe with us to relieve the crushing burden from his tiny shoulders. We have advocated for Greyson from the beginning to be heard despite failures and constant letdowns in the child protective services and police force that was not local to us. Now Greyson has found solace in his community, school, extended family, therapist, and sports amidst the most chaotic situation any of us have ever been in. You always think, wow, that was the worst thing that happened to me, but then it happens to your kid, and it's just no comparison.

We are grateful for a strong family support system through all of this and can’t thank people enough for any support, whether it be physical or emotional, for us or Greyson. Now we are facing a financial need with attorney fees adding up, especially when we had to fire our first attorney we had hired before the crisis because they were not motivated to advocate for Greyson and us like we had been sold after we handed them their retainer money. We are super thankful to have found our current attorney who provides us confidence and security knowing we are doing the right thing for Greyson but that comes at a price. Our hopes on buying a home this year have been postponed but as long as Greyson is safe, secure and in a stable home we are grateful for that. We have already racked up almost 10k in legal fees, and it’s only pre-trial status until the beginning of June, where multiple trial days will be anywhere from 3-5 months long before we even know what his future looks like. We also are court-ordered to pay for half of mom’s supervised visits, which just eats through our whole child support budget every month. We expect to have 15k more in legal fees when this is all said and done. Never would I have thought I’d be on GoFundMe asking for donations, but it is for the right cause. At then end of the day, Mitch and I just want to ensure Greyson is happy, healthy, and most importantly, safe. Any donations are so appreciated, or just prayers and positive thoughts for our family as we navigate our unfair legal system that claims to protect our children.