Thanks to Texas Thanks Ken, Your post has brought tears to my eyes. We have a lot of court dates and much testimony before I wil be able to type those words but with each passing day I pray for it to happen and we get closer. Your kind words and prayers mean more to me than you can possibly know. Much appreciation, Andy
Hang in there man! You know, it's funny. I live about 1.1 miles from an "Old Navy" store. I pass it twice a day. Once going to work and once coming home. I think about you guys twice a day! Nothing would tickle me more than to see your kids, especially your little girl, waking up at their house and saying "gotta go outside to work on that ol' truck and get it done, othewise, we'll have to eat another breather tonight when dad barbeques!!" Hug them for me, man!!
Hang In There Andy ! Slowly but surely the tides will turn in your favor ~ being still during the unpleasant parts is the hard part but will help your outcome . You're doing it for your kids , never forget , never waver . My son called me up to-day and invited me out to dinner then I drove him 'round for a bit whilst we gabbed about this 'n that , I drove him past the house he grew up in , over in Highland Park and past his grade school etc. , we had some good reminisces , I am glad he remembers the good parts of growing up in that tumultous household .
Thanks Nate. Trying to keep my chin up. Off to church now to say prayers of thanks for yesterday and then to court again. Andy
I'll pray that you feel God's loving hand on your heart. Anytime things get a little tough, just remember how many of us are praying for you, Andy. All the best today.
Another great day in court yesterday. Testimony is going 100% in my direction. Judge and Law Guardian (kids attorney) are playing tag team and jumping off the top rope to get the answers they're looking for out of witness who is also on the same page. Reason I need those two guys in my corner is because even though my attorney cannot ask leading questions, the judge and the Law Guardian can and have been doing so. This is a very good thing because it brings out evidence that normally would not come out. I've been saying lots of prayers of thanks since yesterday. Progress is agonizingly slow, though. It's not like T.V. where you get a bunch of consecutive days in a row and your trial goes start to finish until it's done. We're getting a half day here and a half day there. The judge laid down the law yesterday and insisted that this trial be completed by the last date we have on his calendar which is August 28th. He also said he is not scheduling anything else on the three days we are currently booked in his courtroom which will allow a lot of testimony and major progress to complete the trial. Thanks for all the well wishes. Next two dates are in mid to late July and then the one at the end of August. Summer...ex's atty. and kids atty. are going on vacation and it makes the first three weeks in august unavailable for trial dates. I plan on being well prepared for my testimony and spending a great deal of time with my kids this summer enjoying life and getting the truck on the road. Really looking forward to it. Kids were terribly disappointed yesterday when I told them we could NOT work on the truck because they had to study for final exams instead. Gotta teach them about priorities, you know. Father's Day this weekend. We always go fishing with my Dad on Father's Day. We are all looking forward to it. Thanks again everyone for all your well wishes and prayers. Please keep up the prayers because even though the trial is going my way, taking kids awy from their momma ain't an easy thing to do, no matter how crazy and stupid they are. Andy
Giving a shout out for some positive enregy today. Going to be in court all day. Thought it was supposed to be Thursday, but found out yesterday it is today. I'm totally unprepared. Please say prayers for my kids. Andy
Let me clarify! Andy, when I said shoot from the hip, i did not mean that literally. Do not shoot your ex. I still miss my ex (but my aim is getting better)
geez that must be tough. Keep fighting and we'll keep you in our prayers. Don't back down, your kids need their dad. I hate to think of the woman I would have turned into if my dad had not been such a mojor part of my life. There are many names for the kind of woman that keeps her kids from seeing their father. Unfortunately none of those names would be approriate to mention on the forum. Hang in there.
Thanks guys (and girls). Yesterday was another good day to be me. The court could not have gone better. At the end of the day I testified for about an hour and it was easy and natural. I spoke in measured tones, did not get upset. just laid the facts out as they are. My atty. said it could not have gone better (hard to be objective when it's YOU on the stand). Kids attorney was ON FIRE again, asking the tough questions and getting the right answers. Judge, bright attentive and interested in moving it along. Well versed in the case, he remembers stuff from back in May. Like this guy. The most awake judge yet. All your prayers are appreciated more than you know. Kids psychologist goes on next week on Monday. Has just written a report recommending a change in custody. Andy
I told you so! When you are fighting for something that near and dear to your heart, you don't need to prepare! Shoot from the hip! Remember that always!
Keepin' Y'all updated. Yesterday in court not stellar. Kids psychologist on the stand and he is just not a good witness. First, he was completely unprepared. Was on vacation touring ball parks in the midwest with a buddy till Saturday night. There have been dozens and dozens of incidents involving the ex and her antics with the kids, but he didn't site many specifics, etc. There are four letters that he has written over the years and my atty. has submitted them to the court to be entered as evidence. The letters, including the most recent one where he recommends a change in custody, will be way more powerful than his testimony yesterday. Hopefully, the judge will admit them to evidence. He comes back on August 28 for more testimony. Not allowed to talk to him about case so I hope he is better prepared. My atty. is not allowed to ask leading questions. However, the kids atty. IS allowed to. Bathroom atty. conference yesterday at a break. Kids atty. says, "I still get a crack at him", so I am encouraged. My testimony is going to be key. I have 40 plus tapes of her going off the hook on the phone with the kids nearby. Those can and will be entered as evidence and should nail it. Judge added SIX (6) more dates to the calendar going to the middle of October. It is beyond the time limit, but still the end is in site. Best thing about yesterday is I have a whole month till next date to plan and prepare. You KNOW I will have this stuff 100% down by then. All in all, the kids psych. was not hurtful, just not as strong as we wanted him to be. Some good stuff was said, but we wanted more. Looking forward to the rest. There will be lots of time for the truck as well and it should be running well and possibly driving within the month, certainly by the fall. Andy
Progress ! Well & good Andy ; Remember this is for your kids so let the system do it's pondering thing as once it's all done , it's done .
Please say a prayer for my kids today. I will be on the stand all day testifying in the custody trial. Andy
I won't stop until they're yours~ then I still will, but subject matter will change! Good luck today, Andy. We're rooting for you!
Andy, Hang in there, raising kids is the most important thing that we do, & raising them right is difficult but it seems very obvious that you are so much better suited than their mother. We are all hoping the judge sees clearly and keeps the kids best interest in mind.Good luck!
