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#Post#: 3181--------------------------------------------------
Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Jack Date: January 24, 2018, 4:35 am
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Jeremy turned 18 on 4 Oct last year.
He's one of the four 'Colter boys' (even though Ethan was never
actually a Colter, the two of them lived together from the time
they were about 7, I thnk, until they ended up here a few weeks
before Jeremy turned 12, and they consider themselves brothers.
Leif and Kenny are half brothers to both of them (Ethan on their
mom's side, and Jeremy on their Dad's side).
Actually, thanks to Leti's meticulous bookkeeping, we have all
the details from when I first met them, so I think I'll just
share those here.
[font=arial black]Quote[/font]
Today, she called to ask me about four younger boys. It's an
interesting, and fairly complicated, situation, but they're
basically brothers, and she wanted to place them in a home, so
the four of them could stay together. The four boys are Jeremy,
who's 11, Ethan, who is also 11, but about seven months younger,
Leif, who is 8, and Kenny, who is 6. Ethan was sent to the
office this morning. Apparently he and a friend had sneaked into
the school room area, when all the kids were supposed to be in
the gym, which is a paddling offense. When Ethan was informed
he'd be getting swats, he broke down crying, begging not to be
paddled. The principal was a bit flustered, by what seemed an
over the top response (he'd paddled Ethan last year, and the boy
took it fairly calmly). It turns out that Ethan's Dad had
'whupped' him last night, and he was still sore. That got the
principal's mind turning, and they got the nurse in there, and
bared the boy enough to see that his bottom was almost solid
bruises. CPS was called. The other brothers were called out of
class. While the younger two were okay, Jeremy was also heavily
bruised, though his were older and starting to fade.
The parents had told the kids not to talk to anyone about things
that happen in the house. It took a while, but the family court
appointed a (guardian - there's a specific term, but I can't
remember it), who was there while the police talked to the kids,
and it turned out that Dad was the one who did it, but mom was
involved in it. Not only were both arrested, but Mom was
arrested at home. When she answered the door to find police
there, she slammed it in their face, and she was caught trying
to flush someone's stash. Both parents are now being held with a
fairly high bond.
There is some question of which kids belong to which parents.
Though they all say they're just brothers, and they all use the
same last name, Ethan is actually enrolled at school under
another name. Further, Maggie said that the mom's driver's
license isn't in the dad's last name, so either she's never
changed it or it's a common law marriage (she used his last name
when she signed the school forms, though).
Anyway, after the drug stash was found, the police had to get a
warrant and search the house before we could go in there. I took
the kids to Dr. Sammy, and all four of them got a check up. Not
only are they all up to date on their shots, don't have any
listed allergies, and got a clean bill of health, but I get to
rub Aspercreme (or use a heating pad) on Jeremy and Ethan's
bottoms for a while.
When we were through there, we went to lunch. Furr's Cafeteria
was their idea of a good time, and it made a pleasant change for
me. By the time we were finishing lunch, Maggie called to tell
me there was an officer waiting for me to retrieve the boys'
stuff. We went by their place, picked up what we could (their
clothes weren't high quality, so we left some of it. I'll fit
them with new stuff from the hand-me-down closet tomorrow, then
we'll go shopping for the remainder). Then we came home. I
introduced them to the animals, then parked them in the theater
with a movie. Would you believe that all this was done, and my
kids weren't home from school yet?
I just checked on them. The boys have emptied a drawer each and
made some closet space. That should be enough for now. At this
point, I'm just holding on while relatives (and answers about
who belongs to whom) are sought, then they'll probably be moving
on."
It's hard to break things apart to focus on just Jeremy at the
first, so part of this is going to be about only the younger
boys, but it's part of the story.
[quote]"Van woke me about an hour ago to let me know that Kenny
was crying. I went to check on it, and it turns out he'd had a
nightmare. I got him up, made sure Van was going back to sleep,
then took Kenny into the living room, where we could sit and
cuddle. Once I washed his face and calmed him down, he fell back
asleep pretty quickly. I tucked him back in, then checked on the
other boys, but now I'm wide awake, so I thought I'd do this,
before trying to get a few more 'zzz's.
Lief had wet the bed when I was checking, so I'm going to pick
up some Good Nites while we're out. I still have a few lying
around some place, but I don't think I have any that size left.
I'll probably get a pack for Kenny as well. Considering how
shook up things are for them, it's not surprising, actually -
the poor kid is probably trying to escape into sleep right now.
Most of their clothes looked a little worn out. I know that not
everyone can afford new clothes for all the kids every year, but
it some of the stuff was different sizes for the same boy, so
I'm going to have them all try everything on, then we'll hit the
hand-me-down closet, then we'll go shopping. I'm also going make
sure each of them has a back pack and (size appropriate) duffel
bag, so they'll have room for everything.
Kenny and Lief were fading by the time the movie ended, so I
left the other boys playing (and gave Jeremy and Ethan a chance
to get to know some of the older boys), and got the younger two
ready for bed.
These four boys don't seem to be shy at all, which is very
helpful (well, they're a little shy around my kids so far, but
they're not physically modest at all). Van was a bit jealous
that I was going to bathe them, but I thought it needed to be
done. I let them show my how they bathed themselves, then
stopped them. I pretty much scrubbed them from head to toe,
showing them the proper way to do it. They protested a bit, but
they were squeaky clean by the time I finished.
The big reason it was good they aren't modest is that, to keep
him from being jealous, I let Van help me - fetching their clean
undies, towels, and handing me stuff. When they out and dry, I
sent them to the bedroom, then tickled Van out of his clothes
and gave him the same treatment. He's a bit old for Dad to bathe
him, but he needed his hair washed anyway, and he loved the
extra attention.
When I was through with Van, I tucked all three of them in, read
a bedtime story, then kissed them good night. I think Kenny and
Lief were asleep before I got the lights out."[/quote]
(Cont in next post)
#Post#: 3188--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Jack Date: January 24, 2018, 12:04 pm
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[quote]"I went through the same basic procedure with the other
two. I didn't actually bathe them, but had them show me, then
corrected them, to make sure they're getting good and clean.
There was a bit of protest, but neither of them seems to have
much resistance, which is understandable, considering the state
of their bottoms. They'd never seen a bath brush before, and
were purring like kittens after I showed them how those work.
After that, I didn't let them get dressed. We'd used my
bathroom, and I laid them out on my bed. Because his bruises are
fading, Jeremy got moist heat (a warm, damp rag, covered by a
piece of plastic, then the heating pad) and Ethan's fresher
bruises got a cold pack. After a while, I used aloe lotion on
Jeremy and Aspercreme on Ethan. Then they finally got to put
their undies on. We had a nice talk while they were both
stretched out though. I learned a lot about them, but the best
thing is that they both enjoy the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, so we
have something in common (and their little brothers play
Pokemon).
After that, they were both ready for bed. I got them tucked in.
Bryce had cleaned up while I was with them, so, after tucking
his new roommates in, he and I went to my office where we could
have some privacy to snuggle up together and read his bed time
chapter, before I took him back to his room and tucked him
in."[/quote]
[quote]"Maggie has called to update me on what's going on with
the kids.
When the police searched their house yesterday, they also had
permission/authority to search for details that might lead to
other relatives (since the 'parents' were keeping mum). Some
stuff was found and has been followed up upon.
In the first place, I said that Ethan was registered under a
different name, but that was actually the woman's maiden name.
I'm not sure if she told me that, and I forgot, or if she just
expected me to catch it.
The boys' birth certificates were found in the house. Ethan
doesn't have a father listed on his. Jeremy's was from Arkansas.
A couple of calls found that the man is wanted for interference
with custody. I'm not sure how serious that is, but they're not
calling it kidnapping. From what Maggie heard, the man took
Jeremy before any kind of custody agreement was filed with the
court. Attempts were made to contact him, but he replied to none
of them, and a judgement was finally rendered in the mother's
favor. Jeremy will probably be returned to her, but I can tell
you from my experience with Cal, that it can take a while to
move foster kids between states, even if the foster child is a
relative. Of course, since the mother is the custodial guardian
in this case, it might not take as long.
The younger boys are apparently full brothers, and are
half-brothers to Jeremy by the man, and to Ethan by the woman.
"[/quote]
[quote]I did get a phone call from Jeremy's mother today. At
this time, Jeremy is a ward of the State of Texas. They have to
make sure his mother's place is acceptable before they release
him to her. She is married, but doesn't have any kids, so they
don't have room for him, so they're going to have to move before
he can go home. However, she wants to come out and see him as
soon as she can. She wanted to do it today, but I nixed that,
because of the travel time - I didn't want the kids getting
worked up at what would be after bedtime. Instead, she's going
to be here tomorrow afternoon.[/quote]
When I first met Jeremy, I didn't think I'd like him very much.
He gave Van and Kenny a hard time about stuffed animals. I know
he'd learned the attitude, but he still seemed like an uptight
little jerk. Then, the truth of things started coming out. His
father had told him that his mom didn't want anything to do with
him, so he (the dad) 'had' to keep him. When he found out his
dad had basically kidnapped him, he didn't believe it at first,
and then he broke down. He really changed after that. It might
have just been because I was the one who was there, but Jeremy
and I really bonded, and he became the first Colter to call me
Dad.
While his mom regained custody, and he's been there ever since,
the judge gave me visitation, to be sure that Jeremy maintained
a relationship with his brothers. It's a few hours to get
between our places, and that got harder after the first year,
when he started playing football every fall, but he still calls
me dad, and he still visits as often as he can, usually spending
a major part of summer with us.
His mom and I are never going to be close, but she is grateful
for what I did for her son, and she's never complained about our
relationship. As a matter of fact, she once was going to let me
have custody of him, when Jeremy and his step-father were having
a ton of trouble a couple of years ago. To me, at least, that's
pretty much 'no greater love' territory and I will always
respect her for what she's gone through.
The reason I'm posting this this morning is that Debra (Jeremy's
mom), Jeremy, and I came to an agreement last night: I'm going
to adopt him.
A lot of 'my kids' weren't legally mine. Two years ago, when I
was working to take care of Zeke because he was going to age out
of the system before they could help him, someone (I think
Dmitri/1strappedboy) joked about not being in a rush to adopt
him. I replied i woudn't even have time. Then I thought about
something I'd read before. While I wasn't in a hurry to adopt
Zeke, I did some investigation and talked to many of the young
men who were my sons, but not legally. Many of them were happy
to be adopted, and we went through with it.
In the past, I didn't adopt Jeremy for a number of reasons.
First, he wasn't living with me. Second, because he was trying
to develop a relationship David, Debra's husband, and I wanted
to leave that open.
At this point, while Jeremy's not planning to cut ties with his
mom and sisters, he wants to move here for his base of
operations. That's partially because his top choice for college
is University of Texas. Despite that, what he really wants to
do is go to school locally for his first year or two, so he can
be here with Kenny and Leif. He sees himself as their brother -
he IS there brother, but he hasn't legally been since I adopted
them, and he wants to change that.
We don't need his mom's permission, since he is an adult now,
but she understands and grants it, which was really his last
problem with it. As of now, I've asked my lawyer to submit the
paperwork, and he's coming down this weekend to let his brothers
now.
#Post#: 3191--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: David M. Katz Date: January 24, 2018, 1:24 pm
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First of all it is hard to believe that Jeremy is 18. :o :o
Great news - the adoption! ;D
#Post#: 3194--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Leti Date: January 24, 2018, 2:54 pm
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It is great that Jeremy will share last name with his brothers
now!
Hugs Jeremy
Hugs Jack !
You need to have a party!
Leti
#Post#: 3198--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Jack Date: January 24, 2018, 4:26 pm
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[quote author=Leti link=topic=352.msg3194#msg3194
date=1516827266]
You need to have a party!
[/quote]
Well, we don't want to take away from Colt's birthday, but I'm
sure we'll do something to celebrate - maybe a nice, family
dinner.
#Post#: 3324--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Leti Date: January 30, 2018, 6:48 am
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How did Jeremy tell his brothers about the adoption?
:)
Hugs
Leti
#Post#: 3331--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: kalico Date: January 30, 2018, 9:45 am
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Congratulations to you and Jeremy I'm so happy it will all work
out for him...
Hugs kal
#Post#: 3333--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Jack Date: January 30, 2018, 2:02 pm
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[quote author=Leti link=topic=352.msg3324#msg3324
date=1517316501]
How did Jeremy tell his brothers about the adoption?
[/quote]
As I said, we didn't want to take away from Colt's birthday. As
I think I said elsewhere, we ended up having a Sunday brunch as
Jeremy's celebration (though I'll repeat, we just submitted the
paperwork so far - my lawyer had someone meet us on Saturday so
we could get that done).
Sunday, we poured wine and sparkling grape juice*, and then I
proposed a toast.
All of you know Jeremy. You know that he's been part of our
family for over six years now, and that he Kenny and Leif's half
brother and Ethan's step-brother before that. Most of you also
know he lives with his mom and why. Some of you may have known
that Jeremy will be staying with us next year and attending
college here. What none of you have known until know is that
Jeremy and I, with his mother's approval, have started the
process of legally adopting him, so he will also be legally a
part of this family and your brother.
There was a lot of noise and celebration, and you'd think that
Colt was one of the Colter boys as well by his reaction.
* It took me more times than I like to admit to type sparkling
rather than spanking.
#Post#: 3337--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Zyngaru Date: January 30, 2018, 2:29 pm
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[quote]* It took me more times than I like to admit to type
sparkling rather than spanking.[/quote]
Hey if Michael Jackson can all it "Jesus Juice" instead of
"Wine."
I see no reason why you cannot call it "Spanking Grape Juice"
instead of "Sparkling Grape Juice."
#Post#: 6459--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jeremy Colter (Wells)
By: Jack Date: June 17, 2018, 4:18 am
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Wow! I haven't updated this in an embarrassing amount of time.
Partially that's because of the mild-grade depression I was
dealing with. Partially it was because school was eating up a
lot of my extra time. Partially it's because some updates have
appeared in other places. So, taking them in roughly
chronological order.
1) The adoption went through with no problem. The weekend after
the court issued his altered birth certificate, Jeremy came down
for a(nother) celebration. He is now legally half-brothers with
my boys (most of my boys simply leave 'mother' blank on their
altered birth certificate, but his lists Debbie as his mother
still), but they're all just brothers, as far as they're
concerned.
2) After graduation (30 May for him, 1 June for Ethan) he spent
a week at his mom's place - more or less. He and some of his
jock friends spent several days camping and hiking and just
having a good time (beer might have been involved, but I'm not
going to look into that too closely). He also spent a few days
on a long role playing session with some of his geek friends.
At this point, of the 8 boys he considers his closest friends
back there, 2 of them have left (or are about to leave) to serve
in a branch of the military, 1 of them is working more than
full-time, and 2 of them are working in summer camps, leaving
three of them at home - working, but still with some free time.
At least a couple of those boys are planning to come down and
visit. 2 of them have actually been here before.
3) Clayton finished moving into the apartment he's sharing with
Huck and Tony last weekend. Clayton was in the garage apartment
for several years, so the college boys used a carpet cleaner,
painted, and the maid service did what they call a cleansing
(heavy duty cleaning and disinfecting) of the entire place. I'd
let Clayton take the furniture from it he wanted, so Jeremy
chose a few pieces from extras we had in storage, and we bought
him a new easy chair and a nice end table/floor lamp
combination, and he finished moving in yesterday afternoon.
He's very happy.
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