Mike and Christie Beale, high school sweethearts, were married in July of 1996, and blessed with the birth of their first daughter, Brooke, in 1998. Mike and Christie both had busy career lives, with Brooke being watched under the careful eyes of her great-grandparents while they worked. Mike is a designer for Lear Corporation and Christie managed at the corporate level at the Old Navy stores in the Detroit regional district.

When Christie became pregnant the second time, they decided it was time to build a larger home for their growing family. The future looked bright, jobs were going well for them and last July, their new home was completed just two weeks before the birth of their second child.

At that point, they had a 'storybook' life.

Little did they know that everything was soon to change!