Welcome Sonny, Rafe and Lois!!

Dear Family and Friends

We take great joy in introducing you to our new family.

Just when you think you have your future figured out, sometimes the great surprises come. Now that our 3 boys have moved along (Sam and Christine married and living in Black Mountain, NC; Ben at Liberty U; and Caleb at Black Forest Academy), we thought that we were permanent empty-nesters. The last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement. Sorry that we have not been able to share this news with any of you, but this had to be kept confidential until everything was final. Just this week the judge here signed the final papers, so now we can share our good news.

We have now formally adopted these 3 beautiful siblings, now named Sonny Judson Pineda, Rafe Carey Pineda and Lois Taylor Pineda. Their names are a combination of their original first names, second names from heroes of the faith and their new last names.

The story of how this all happened is a complicated one. It begins when their parents, John and Lesley, a former English professional football (soccer) player for Liverpool and a former fashion model, began attending our church two years ago. Without going into detail, they made some tragic mistakes several years ago that have just now caught up with them. They are now both permanently out of the picture. Because we had befriended them and were with them through some difficult days, they asked us to take their children.

The original plan was for Sam and Christine to adopt the children. They were very willing and excited. The problem is that they are not UK residents and thus the process would have been much more difficult and lengthy. Additionally, our company will pay a good portion of the adoption expenses and as they will technically be our children, they will be covered by our company’s medical insurance and education benefits. The plan is that Sam and Christine will eventually have the children (likely when they finish seminary), but we will have them for a couple years at least.

We are excited about the challenge of starting over. Some might say we are too old to have little ones tugging on our legs. Speaking of pulling legs, we are now pulling yours. None of this is true, except that these are beautiful children. April Fools.

[Yes, we know this is a bit premature, but serial April Fool-ers need an edge, don’t they? Maybe this will inspire you to have a little fun and make someone laugh. Let us know your story if you do.]

If you have a response, leave it as a cooment below.

MJSCB&C Pineda