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"We were fortunate to have each other," says Gene. "Many couples never make it through this type of tragedy. Couples tend either to break apart or stick together like glue. We're both strong-willed people. Yet through this, neither of us was strong. We were both in such horrendous pain, and in a way, that strengthened our marriage."

But dreams of a future for their family also took a harsh blow.

"It's devastating to lose the dreams you have for your children," admits Carol. "Even though they're dreams as a parent, they still affect your marriage. I went through an extreme time of guilt. I blamed myself, thinking I must have done something wrong as a parent or this wouldn't have happened. I was consumed with thinking, If I were a more perfect wife and mother and Christian, God would have protected my family. And there were moments when the Enemy would tempt Gene into thinking he did something wrong as a father. But those are all lies. By God's grace, we caught ourselves before we started to believe them. Many couples don't, and they blame themselves and each other."

As the days passed into months and years, the pain didn't lessen for Gene and Carol. "It kept feeling as if nothing was going our way," says Carol. "We couldn't get a break." The stress kept building, from visiting their son in jail and hearing about him being beaten and having his two front teeth broken off, to seeing the pain their daughter-in-law was experiencing as she struggled to grieve and be a single parent, to having producers from NBC's Dateline and Court TV contacting them for tell-all interviews.

They became more easily agitated over little things, such as Carol forgetting to unplug her curling iron or leaving her makeup all over the bathroom counter.

Sometimes Gene would walk into Carol's office and complain that there was too much paperwork piled instead of filed.

"I'd sometimes respond with the silent treatment," says Carol, "retreating into my wounded soul. At other times I'd explode into a tirade, telling him he could stay in his own perfectly organized space in any other room in the house and leave me alone!"

"We'd get snippy with each other," Carol says, "but then Gene would put up his hands and say, 'Wait a minute. Who's the real enemy here? Why are we acting as though you and I are the enemies?'"

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