Hi ladies,

My daughter Sofia needs your prayers. I have been gone for a month and didn't have internet access. I had to go to Blacksburg, VA to help my daughter out.

In a nutshell, the father of her baby, Zoey, and his mother had Zoey taken away from Sofia. They pulled a scam and coerced Sofia to be taken in a psych hospital. Encouraged Sofia not to tell me about it under the guise of "you wouldn't want your mom to worry". Therefore, isolating Sofia from her family even further. While she was in the hospital, this woman called child protective services and told them Sofia was neglecting her baby. And while she was in the hospital, they retained a lawyer in order to get full custody of Zoey.

We were very worried and felt that something wasn't right. When Zoey's other grandmother turned on Sofia after she was discharged from the hospital, Sofia called the step-grandmother and me. She was very frantic, and the step-grandmother called me and told me what was happening and told me I needed to get there right away and get Sofia a lawyer.

It's been a nightmare and thank God we were able to retain a very, very good lawyer. This other grandmother is not happy at all about this and I don't care. Because we were able to retain a lawyer and find out about the court date, Sofia was able to show up with representation. So now, Zoey's dad has to follow some guidelines as well as Sofia before the final hearing on May 27th. Oh yea, they only gave the court the address of the hospital Sofia was staying at, therefore, she never received a summons. Thank God for the step-grandmother who told us the court date. This woman, the boy's mother, is very devious, and was hoping Sofia wouldn't show up in court, and her son would've had full custody of Zoey and they would be on easy street.

Anyway, Sofia is at home with us because her resources are best here with us. She has to go to counceling for a couple of weeks and then the councelor will determine if Zoey is safe with us. The good news is this, the therapist and Dr know us and Sofia. They have assured us they didn't think Zoey would be in any harm around Sofia and us. In all honesty, I watch Sofia with Zoey during her supervised visits. She is really good with Zoey and I don't say that because I'm her mom. I am really proud of Sofia and those maternal instincts.

Anyway, I am continueing my FMLA for another 2 weeks while I try to help Sofia get her counceling, go to parenting classes, get a job, etc... These are court ordered and hopefully in a couple of weeks we can go and bring Zoey with us here in Chesapeake.

Please pray that our Father will lead, guide and direct us during this time.

I was very suspicious of this woman since August, but I couldn't say anything because I didn't want her to have her guard up. In the meantime, I made notes and now the lawyer has them. I couldn't say anything to Sofia because she wouldn't have believed me and she would've told this woman.

The good news is this, Sofia has come to her own realization that she messed up and wants real help. With that, her dad and I are more than happy to provide the help and guidance.

I have to say, we are fortunate to have found this lawyer. She is a boomer woman, and her passion is helping women who are victims of domestic violence. Mental abuse is a part of this and she knew immediately that Sofia was a victim of mental abuse. In the pre-trial, this lawyer even brought an advocate from the Women's Resource Center to come with Sofia to court for morale support.

I know this is a long read and I talked to Dotsie earlier and explained what was happening.

Thanks ladies and know that I love you all alot!

Love,
Cathi