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Speaker 1: Buggle up, hold on tight. We got it for you. Here.

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Speaker 1: It is the Strawberry letter. Subject this is tearing my

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Speaker 1: heart apart. Dear Stephen Shirley. I am a thirty seven

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Speaker 1: year old wife and mother. I've been married for fourteen years,

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Speaker 1: and my husband and I have four children, and we

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Speaker 1: are raising a fifth child, which is my sister's child.

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Speaker 1: Here's my issue. Three years ago, my younger sister called

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Speaker 1: me and said she was pregnant and she wanted to

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Speaker 1: terminate her pregnancy because she already had two children and

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Speaker 1: this pregnancy was unplanned. I talked her into having the baby,

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Speaker 1: and I told her that my husband and I would

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Speaker 1: raise the baby for her. My husband and I were

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Speaker 1: not in the best place financially, but we were committed

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Speaker 1: to raising the baby. When the baby was four days old,

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Speaker 1: she came to live with us. She will be three

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Speaker 1: years old next month. Well, now my sister has decided

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Speaker 1: that she wants her daughter back. My husband and I

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Speaker 1: are devastated. We never really, we never legally adopted her,

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Speaker 1: but we are the only family that she knows. My

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Speaker 1: sister even put our last name on the baby's birth

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Speaker 1: certificate when she was born. My sister is a great mom.

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Speaker 1: I won't deny that, but I know that my husband

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Speaker 1: and I are a little more stable than she is. Me,

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Speaker 1: my husband, and our kids have all adapted our lives

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Speaker 1: to care for and nurture this baby. And this is

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Speaker 1: tearing my heart apart. What should I do? How can

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Speaker 1: I get my sister to leave well enough alone and

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Speaker 1: let the child stay with us? Please advise, this is

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Speaker 1: major right here. I think this is a really tough

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Speaker 1: one because I'm gonna tell you, I see both sides here.

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Speaker 1: I empathize with you the sister. Uh. You and your

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Speaker 1: husband and your family have made great sacrifices to help

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Speaker 1: your sister, UH raise this child and be there for

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Speaker 1: your sister. Uh. The child. You're the only parents she knows,

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Speaker 1: I'm assuming since you got her when she was four

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Speaker 1: days old. UM, but I also see your sister side.

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Speaker 1: Who is her birth mother, who gave birth to this baby,

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Speaker 1: who is feeling that maternal and that maternal pool uh

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Speaker 1: to get her baby? You yourself said in the letter

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Speaker 1: that your sister is a great mom. You're not going

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Speaker 1: to deny that. I understand that. UM. You know you

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Speaker 1: have an attachment to this kid as well, But you

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Speaker 1: already have four children. I don't know how many children

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Speaker 1: your sister has, but I will say this, Um, it's

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Speaker 1: going to be tough, but you have to think of

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Speaker 1: the child. You have to think of the child, what

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Speaker 1: would be best for the child, and if it's going

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Speaker 1: to be best for that child to be with his

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Speaker 1: mom and be with her mother. Children make adjustments very quickly,

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Speaker 1: they adapt very quickly. Um. You know, I say, stay

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Speaker 1: in her life as her aunt and let the the

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Speaker 1: your children and her dad stay in the family. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you're not going anywhere because you are her aunt. So

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Speaker 1: I would say, since you didn't illegally adopt her and

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Speaker 1: the sister to her, I guess give us this. Give

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Speaker 1: the baby back to the mom. This is this is

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Speaker 1: really tough though, because no, no, no, no, no, no,

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Speaker 1: it's not tough. It's nothing here. There's no adoption. It's

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Speaker 1: her baby. Um, she wants the baby back, and the

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Speaker 1: baby's gotta go back to the mom. It's it's it's

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Speaker 1: tough with because of her feelings for the child, but

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Speaker 1: the decision, it's it's a no brainer. This is not

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Speaker 1: gonna hold up in a court of law or anywhere.

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Speaker 1: You're not even talking about taking it to the court

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Speaker 1: of law. I got you all. Thank you all the

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Speaker 1: more stable. It's her baby, too bad. She gave it up,

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Speaker 1: but you talked her into keeping the baby. So now

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Speaker 1: she kept her baby. Now she wants the baby back. Man,

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Speaker 1: I said this Strawberry letters over really really quickly, because

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Speaker 1: there's nothing we can say, any damn thing we can say. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: give the baby back. But but to me, it's tough

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Speaker 1: because I can see both sides, and I know of

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Speaker 1: situations like this. It's tough for the people that raise

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Speaker 1: the baby as their own. They grow attached to the

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Speaker 1: baby as well. You know, I mean, how are you

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Speaker 1: not gonna give it back? What's she gonna come over

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Speaker 1: there and you're gonna what'd you give? You give the

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Speaker 1: baby back? They didn't even legally adopt her, as she

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Speaker 1: noted in the letter. But you know, and like I said,

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Speaker 1: you have to think of the child and the baby

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Speaker 1: will make those adjustments. I'm not talking about did y'all

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Speaker 1: see me, get on this letter and just be direct

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Speaker 1: and blood. This ain't the time to play because this

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Speaker 1: lady don't want to give up this child. Now, you

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Speaker 1: two foods have done enough this morning. That's what happens

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Speaker 1: when you have four happens if your side piece die

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Speaker 1: and you at the house crying uncontrollably. That's a legitimate.

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Speaker 1: That's that's why we give you all y'all's moments the strawberry.

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Speaker 1: Let us stay your ass out this boy, I want

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Speaker 1: my baby back. I'm not all right. Damn Foods didn't

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Speaker 1: know everything is them too, that Steve. She's said, I

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Speaker 1: give me bad not now. Mr Emmy nominated j for

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Speaker 1: that having a place for everything. Jay. These people are

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Speaker 1: in a precarious position. It's it's messed up for everybody

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Speaker 1: on every angle. They've grown adopted to the little girl.

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Speaker 1: The other kids love it, and they want to maybe

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Speaker 1: back time for your damn real song, saying you say

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Speaker 1: it again? Give me They had to get up? Are

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Speaker 1: you saying they had to get her from some all?

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Speaker 1: She's saying, he didn't. You've made your point. He stopped.

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Speaker 1: He he's so dumb, Steve, he might he might fire

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Speaker 1: all three. You don't want to give me the baby back?

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Speaker 1: Maybe you might understand this doing it in a song.

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Speaker 1: You gotta be at least hungry, all right, Listen Steve

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Speaker 1: saying this, It's just that simple giver of the baby back,

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Speaker 1: so we'll part two coming up. All right, here we

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Speaker 1: are with part two of the Strawberry Letter. This is

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Speaker 1: tearing my heart apart, but we really don't need a

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Speaker 1: part to Um. You know, we both agree. I think

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Speaker 1: it's tough. Steve doesn't think it's so tough. We both

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Speaker 1: agree though, that she should give the baby back. Um, God,

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Speaker 1: why did I say that? I don't know, but it up.

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Speaker 1: But thank you, But we gotta get out of here. Listen, Uh,

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Speaker 1: email us your strawberry letters, your issues, your parenting issues,

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Speaker 1: just like this young lady did to Steve Harvey. F

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Speaker 1: M and click submit Strawberry letter. Okay, you're listening to

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Speaker 1: the Steve Harvey Morning Show