Well, if Jack and I had thought our quiver was full before, it was overflowing now! Suddenly we had two babies in the house that demanded everyones attention! But there was always someone there to help out. The younger three loved being aunt and uncles to the babies. And I was thrilled with the fact that I always had one to hold when ever I wanted. One of the interesting things was that Becca had blond curly hair, and Christy had brown curly hair. I remembered those dreams from the year before. I had to thank God for those dreams because looking back, I see how He was really preparing me for them. For a while we had a great time. Kacie was working at a really good job and Becca was being babysat by her boyfriend's sister. CJ didn't work, but Ryan was taking care of her financial needs. By this point he had entered into the Air Force and was in basic training in Texas. I looked at my family and felt blessed.
Kacie and her boyfriend seemed to be getting very serious about each other. In fact they
had purchased furniture together and had set it up in her room. Meanwhile Ryan was
heartsick for CJ and wanted her to come to Texas. It got to the point where he began to
accuse her of cheating 
on
him because he wasn't with her. Finally in January she came to me and told me she was
going to Texas. I was sick at heart. She was days away from 18 and she was now a
married woman (girl), and I knew I had no say in what she could do. But I could offer
advise. (Which she didn't take.) She felt her marriage was in jeopardy and needed to go
be with him. They had decided she would stay at a motel just outside the base gates.
What could I do? I had to accept it. I hated the thought of her taking the baby away from
us. I begged, I pleaded, but I knew she had made up her mind and with CJ, once the
mind is made up, that's it! So, we prepared for her and Christy to go to Texas.
After they left, Jack and I decided it was time to move into a new house. The one we rented was falling apart because the real estate company that was taking care of it didn't care. The roof was loosing it's shingles, the carpet was old, and it just was not worth what we paid every month in rent. So we drove around and looked to see what we could find.
After miles and miles we finally found a house that fit our needs. And it even had a pool!
One thing it didn't have though was a fence around it. Jack worked out a deal with the
Landlord. 
He would pay for it and Jack and my father would put it up. So right
after we moved in, the fence went up. This house also had a garage that had been
converted into a bedroom. So Kacie and Becca moved into it. She and Dwayne were also
having a lot of problems and decided to break up. I was disapointed but I believed it
wasn't for me to say anything. One of the problems Kacie and her boyfriend had was
they both seemed to want to be the boss. They were both stubborn and fought a lot. We
had suggested on SEVERAL occasions to go in for counceling. We believed they were
supposed to be together but we also knew that Satan came to kill, mame and destroy . . .
and he wanted to destroy their relationship. And . . . he did. Kacie was bitter about it
and started hanging out with a different breed of people. The guys she started dating
really concerned us. We tried to give her advice but as I said earlier, she was (and still
is), a stubborn person. (Kind of like her mom!)
In March CJ called to tell us she was coming home. Ryan was done with basic training and was getting ready to go to the next phase and she couldn't go with him. I was so thrilled to be getting them home again.
The day finally arrived for us to go to the airport to pick them up. Ryan's mom and dad
also went with us. 
What a thrill to see the two of them get off the plane. Christy had
gotten so big! And SPOILED! But she was glad to see her Papa (Jack)! I didn't know
how long we would have CJ and Christy again before Ryan was done with training, but I
had decided I was going to enjoy every bit of it.
Shortly after CJ came home (a week or so later), she began sharing some things that had
happened to her while living in Texas. Ryan had continually accused her of cheating on
him while he stayed on base. It didn't matter what she said. He
insisted she was lying. He had also gotten physically abusive with both she and the baby.
CJ told things that made me physically ill. He also got a thrill out of taking the baby and
holding her upside down to scare her. He had in the words of my husband, become an
animal since basic training. It wasn't long before Ryan started calling our house and
making threats to CJ. He again accused her of cheating on him and having a boyfriend. I
tried talking to him on several occasions but he wouldn't listen.
When Ryan came back to Phoenix after his training we tried to get the both of them to go
in for counceling. 
CJ was willing but Ryan wouldn't budge. The changes that had come
over him were dramatic. He did so many things to hurt CJ and us and I couldn't believe
this was the same kid I had known for years. I have decided to not go into detail on what
happened because it is dead and burried. God has given us the grace to forgive him and
move on in our lives. However, it has been and will always be my prayer that some day
Ryan will find his way back to the Lord.
There came the day when we knew the marriage was over. CJ filed for divorce and he
agreed. 
My heart broke for Christy because I knew the damage divorce could do
to a family. After all, I had seen it first hand and had experienced it myself.
Duriing this time CJ was involved in a street witnessing ministry. I was so thrilled for
her. She was reading the Bible and getting totally involved in the Church. It was
an answer to prayer. But I never really talked to her about her walk with the Lord. I
didn't want to push her or try to influence her because I was afraid if I did she would go
in the opposite direction, away from the Lord. So I just kept quiet and prayed.
Meanwhile, Kacie met a young man named Fabian. I could tell he was totally in love
with her and would do anything she wanted. 
I don't
think she was in love with him at first, but she liked him a lot. They spent a lot of time
together and he even would come over and visit with us (me and Jack) just to talk. He
started going to the church also. But I never thought anything serious would happen
between the two of them since he was almost a year younger than her and I couldn't see
him settling down with a ready made family at his young age (19). Kacie has always had
a problem with anger. She tends to say things she shouldn't and a lot of times I just shut
my mouth and say nothing because I don't want to fight with her. (I know this is wrong,
and the Lord has changed me in this area, but it cost me much.) One day she was
particularly abusive verbally to her little sister Sandy. I told her she couldn't talk to her
like that anymore. I was tired of hearing her be so cruel to her and she had to stop. Later
that day, she did it again and I told her I wasn't going to warn her again. She either spoke
respectfully with her sister or she find someplace else to live. She was an adult by this
time and I didn't have to have it under my roof. (Kacie and I see this conversation
differently...she said I threw her out, I said I told her she had a choice.) Anyway, Kacie
called Fabian and he came and got her and they started living together. It wasn't long
before I found out she was pregnant, (she was pregnant before they ever moved in
together) and they decided to get married. It was a very small, quick wedding. We tried
to give her as nice a wedding as possible, but with two weeks notice . . . you can't get
much.
One day CJ met a guy named Ron from the church. I couldn't put my finger on it at the
time, but something was not right about him. However, CJ was totally drawn to him. She thought he was wonderful. This
concerned us since her divorce was not final. She tried to tell us they were just friends
but we weren't sure. Eventually we realized they were dating and we told her as long as
she was married and living in our home she was not to date. (This is the advice we
received from our pastor and we supported it.) At first she agreed but later we found out
they were seeing each other behind our backs. So we gave her an ultimatum. She either
stop seeing him until her divorce was final or she'd have to find another place to live. We
felt that we could not knowingly bring sin into our home. What a shock to us when Ron
moved her out of our house! The next thing we knew, they were living together! I was
devistated. And the church did something I really had a hard time accepting, yet I can
find no evidence in the Word of God to say what they did was wrong. The church told
them that as long as they chose to live in sin, they could not come to the church. This
broke my heart and to be honest, caused me to do a lot of soul searching and praying. I
knew the church was right, but the pain was just as deep. I almost left the church
because of it, but God spoke to my heart and showed me in His Word that what the
church did was correct. So, I did a lot of crying, praying, and I'm ashamed to say,
worrying.
Ron was an even more possesive person than Ryan. He wouldn't even let us come over to see her, nor would he bring her to our house. Months went by and we had no contact. I also heard a rumor that he may have been abusing her. Someone told my pastor that and he went to visit them. He said they denied it but he also suspected it. So Jack and I decided to make it a point to go over to her apartment and visit. It was so hard for us. He didn't even allow her out of the house while he was at work, and he came home everyday at lunch to check on her . . . so our visits had to be secret. Christy would cry every time we left cause she missed us so much. And I cried too. I knew he was abusing her but she wouldn't admit it. We also found out that he was doing drugs, (i.e. cocain, crack, etc.).
Jack and I had decided in January that we were tired of renting a home and decided to purchase one. The mortgage company was right down the street from CJ's apartment. So we decided to start going over there more often and Conie even got brave enought to tell Ron about it. He wasn't happy about it, but he didn't stop us. One day we even decided to take Christy for a few days. I found out later that she got in trouble for that. (As I said before, he was abusive.) I had lots of people praying for her.
In April Kacie and Fabian gave birth to my first grandson, Jared. CJ and Ron showed up at the hospital with Christy to see them. We were all floored since Ron had prohibited any family visits for the last five months! At one point I was able to get her off alone and she told me she wanted away from him. She admitted that he was abusive and she was afraid of him. I didn't realize it at the time, but she wanted me to get her away right then and there. But I didn't get a chance to realize this is what she was saying because Ron approached and we never finished the conversation. However, Mother's Day was the following Sunday, and we were having a big picnic at my mom's that day. I got Ron to promise he'd bring CJ and Christy there for a visit. (I wasn't sure he'd really bring them.)
Well, to our surprise, Ron, CJ and Christy came to my
mom's house that Sunday. We had a wonderful day. Jack and I left to go to church but
everyone else stayed there. After we left, CJ was able to talk to my mom about what was
going on. She told my mom she wanted away from him but didn't know how. So my
mom walked out back and told Ron that CJ and Christy were going to spend the night
with her. He didn't have an opportunity to say no. (He wanted us to think he was such a
great guy so he wouldn't have dared say no!) Meanwhile Fabian make sure Ron left
without her. The next day CJ came to my house and we helped her move out. It was not
an easy task. He tried to get her to stay but we had a lot of help and got all of her stuff
and she moved back home. However, since we had now moved into a little house, we
didn't have any room for her so we found her a little studio apartment to move into. It
was very cute and perfect for her and Christy. CJ
also came back to church. Kacie and Fabian were also going to church. So I again was
feeling everything was wonderful and perfect with my family . . . only what I didn't
know was that everything that had happened in my life so far was absolutely nothing
compared to what was about to come. Not in a million years would I ever had thought
my family was about to experience the worst kind of tragedy. One that still, three years
later, causes such heartache and pain. In fact, today, three years later, we still have not
recovered as a whole.
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