I haven't posted in a while as it's so hard to find time raising a now...1 yr old. I've had her since birth. I received temporary custody of her twice in the past year. Just had a court date on her first birthday. Haven't heard from the mother since September...nothing....not a word. Father has drug issues and legal issues as well. The financial costs with attorney and the mental stress has really taken me for a ride. I can't believe she was really fighting for custody....no job...meth addict...homeless. You never know what the court system is going to do though. In my state, a grandmother is only given temporary custody for 3 years. They want the parents to make some kind of effort in that period. So to court we all go. Attorneys talking to each other (her's court appointed) mine...costing me by the minute. Guardian for baby talking to attorneys. It was a whirlwind and I really didn't know what all was going on. They called us to court. No witnesses (I had 10)...just mother, father, attorneys, judge, guardian ad litem. We had demands that we asked for, she agreed to them. One of the demands was for her to provide a stable environment. The judge looked at my attorney and said why do you care where she lives. My attorney was shocked. He said, we want to make sure she has a consistency of stability. The judge said...Mr **** I am giving your client 100% full custody of this child. Why do you care if she is stable or where she lives? I about dropped to my knees. This never happens in my state. I wanted to jump and scream, but had to compose myself. The law did work for me. They did protect this child and I'm assuming the judge realized that chances of the parents situation changing any time soon is not likely. I know it's a fight and I know it's a struggle and it takes every bit of mental, emotional, financial tole on anyone to make sure children are taken care of, but it was worth every sleepless night, every bit of overtime I worked and every time I wondered if I could get through another day. Fight for these children ...it wasn't their fault that they had crappy parents that couldn't take care of them. I'm not 30 years old, but I'll tell you that I feel like the biggest weight of my life has been taken off of me. No more courts...not for a very long time. She is safe and loved more than every imaginable. Just wanted to share my story as it's been a very long year for me. Thanks to all for listening....