I would have to say my best present was my oldest granddaughter, Katelynn. My son was subpoenaed for a paternity test in August 1999, in Clinton County, which was positive. He had a 1-year-old daughter he had never been notified before this time that he had. Katelynn was taken away from the mother for severe neglect. To give you an idea of what Katelynn went through, when she was 2 months old (which was in February when it was about 20 degrees at night), her mother couldn't stand to hear her crying, so she took her down to her car and left her in the car overnight (without heat or food)by herself. Katelynn's mother and her mother's husband always had several beer cans laying around, which was also documented in Children's Services' notes. Katelynn was also found on more than one occasion to be at home alone when Children's Services stopped by (this was when she was 6 and 9 months old). Still, they gave Katelynn back to her mother and still my son wasn't even notified he had a child. Needless to say, my son and I were enraged. He said one way or another, he was getting custody of his child. I told him I would help him any way I could. We went to several court hearings (these were held in Clinton County, three hours from where we live) besides going to Clinton County's Children's Services every Saturday to visit Katelynn. Then came the overnight visits. We would drive out to Clinton County on Friday afternoon, take her home and then drive her back on Sunday afternoon. This went on for a month. My son missed so much work during this time, but he didn't care. He was going to do whatever it took. Luckily, his boss was understanding. We had so much snow that year, and it began early. The court hearings were always held at 9 a.m., so several times when there was snow, we would leave home at 4:30 a.m. just to make sure we were there on time. We went to every hearing and were there for every visit. Unbelievably, they were still leaning towards reuniting Katelynn with her mother. They had Katelynn's mother going to parenting classes, which she attended half the time. We really started losing hope because it seemed no matter what my son did, the judge was still in favor of giving custody back to the mother, despite Children's Services' recommendations that my son be given full custody. Finally, not even a week before Christmas, my son was awarded full custody of Katelynn, my first grandchild, with the mother having supervised visits by Children's Services. Katelynn is going to be 8 years old this year, and I thank God for her every day. She is so precious. No other present I've ever received comes near to matching that.
Yes Lorri, our God is an awesome God 
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