Still Waiting...

Jackson:

We are still waiting to hear about a court date with the Utah Supreme Court. We haven't given up on you and are still fighting. We will never forget about you even if we are quiet on this blog. We don't ever stop thinking,worrying, or loving you

We were hoping and praying that there was going to be a miracle we were going to be reunited, but it seems that is not going to happen.

Jackson, we can't believe that 2 and 1/2 years of your life have come and gone, and we don't know a thing about you. We hope that one day soon, that will change and we get to be involved with your childhood, with your milestones and in your life. We hope with the many changes happening in the courts daily that we can finally have justice prevail, and have you reunited with your dad, where you belong.

We love you with all of our heart and will always have a special place for you.

XoXo,

Your 1st Family

Next Step.

We have heard back from Judge Hamilton on the constitutionality motion. He has denied Jake's motion. He felt like Jake's constitutional rights were not violated and he did not file timely.

This means we will be moving on with appeals as we originally had planned. It is our belief the judge felt like he was not able to rule on constitutional rights at his court level. We have another 1-3 years of court battles ahead of us.

As you can imagine we are all physically, mentally, emotionally and financially exhausted. Any financial help would be greatly appreciated to help with the ongoing legal battle. You can donate at the paypal account located on the right side of this blog. Jake will not let money get in the way to fight until the end for his son.

We still have hope that the Utah Supreme Court will rule in our favor due to the constitutionality motion. We feel like if we can also get the law changed, there is a hope we can potentially be grandfathered in, but will most likely not happen.

We will be doing some fundraisers in the Spring, and would love any help we can get with donations, or volunteers.

Thank you so much for all of the continued support and prayers. We will never give up on Jackson. He deserves the right to have his father in his life.

Jackson, we will be with you one day, we are hoping it's not when you turn 18, but nonetheless we will be with you! We Love You.

Under Advisement.

Court went well on Wednesday, the 19th. We weren't quite sure what to expect of the hearing since it was an uncommon procedure our attorney felt for judge to call a hearing on a discrepancy on an order. The judge allowed our attorney Wes Hutchins to argue for over an hour on the Unconstitutionality of the Adoption Act, which blatantly cut Jake of his rights to parent Jackson, due to the fraud and misguided direction of Whitney Pettersson Demke. The Judge told us he would be making a ruling that day because he did not want us to have to wait over the holidays. After he went to his chamber to collect his thoughts, he came out and felt like he was still uncertain about a few things and would taking it under advisement. Judge Hamilton did not give us a timeline of when he would have a ruling, but it is our feeling it will be in the next 20-30 days. 

This gives us hope that the Judge is seriously pondering and questioning about the constitutionally. We feel like since he did not make a ruling that day, he is trying to figure out how he can rule in our favor. Judge Hamilton knows that either way this goes both parties are likely going to appeal his decision and really needs to make sure he gets things right so the Utah Supreme Court doesn't over turn his ruling. Jake is fortunate enough that Wes thought about bringing up his constitutional rights were violated, because many of the other fathers out there didn't bring that up at the district level and so it wasn't an argument that was able to be heard in the Utah Supreme Court.

We have strong hope and faith that Jack will be in our lives very shortly. 

In the meantime,  Jack we wish so badly we could have you with us right now during Christmas. We think about you all day long, and would give anything to see you, and know what your personality is like, if you are healthy. Jack more than anything we wish your adoptive parents would allow Jake in your life now rather than when you are 18. 

Merry Christmas Jackson Strickland! We Love YOU to the moon and back!