Starting a new conversation

As I prepare yet again to go back into the court room and plead my case to have my stolen children returned to me; I'm dumbfounded at the control a Judge has over your life after giving you 30 minutes in a hearing to cram in as many details as possible. Before all this happened to me I was of the mindset that if you didn't do anything wrong...you have nothing to fear. Well, that is a complete misrepresentation.

As it's happened to me, if you haven't done anything wrong the opposing party will make up the wrongs for you. They will be caught in their own lies yet still be found credible, and you can forget having them charged with perjury. It's a laughable notion; more than one attorney has chuckled while telling me that no one in this county gets tried for perjury. Really...then why take an oath at all? I'm seriously debating the idea of posting all my legal documentation someplace on the web. I don't know what good it would do, I doubt it's even a good idea, but part of me just wants some acknowledgment that this process is completely insane! The Amicus attorney in my case told me as we headed into court one afternoon, "If justice happens at the courthouse it's completely by mistake"; or something very similar.

I am part of a pretty amazing group that gets together to learn how to deal with their co-parents; my case is a little different but the asinine details are pretty much the same. One thing became very clear to me tonight during our group; the system isn't designed for justice or even for the best interest of the children involved. Instead it just wears on you...and no one wins. The court awards more concessions to the one who refuses to quit, but both parties lose. The kids lose. Society as a whole, in the long run, looses.

My Teen is no longer a teenager. She has recently celebrated her 18th birthday and is a young woman of her own now. I doubt she knows the plans I had in store for that milestone in her life. I doubt she realizes much of anything I wanted for her anymore. Until her birthday I was restricted from contacting her. I guess the opposing party was afraid she might want to come back home. In any event, I have missed out on her big day. I haven't been able to help her pick out her potential colleges. I wasn't there to take her to get her driver's license.

Sugarbear is almost a teenager now...just a few short months away. I wish there was some way I could whisper in his ear every night just to let him know that I love him and that I think of him constantly. I wonder what amazing things he's doing at school. What does he do for fun these days? What are his favorite sports; things I took for granted when he was with me each day. I want to be there for all his accomplishments, and to be a support in his shortcomings. I want him to learn from failure, and grow to be a great man of character much like he always was as a young child.

My princess looks more and more like her mother each time I catch a look at her. The latest picture of her she is smiling just like Mindy. I miss her bubbly personality and unexpectedly large vocabulary. She always used the biggest of words so accurately. I wonder how much like her mother is she becoming? Does she remember her mother's traits and behaviors? What questions does she have that I could answer?

My Little Angel, my youngest daughter is just three years old. I was with her each day even after my older three were stolen away, until her mother decided to betray me as well. Not that I'm perfect, our relationship was doomed. But it's one thing to have a failed relationship...it's something completely different to alienate a Father from his children and file for termination. My Little Angel has always been a little performer. She loved to dance and sing; just be the center of attention. I would love to watch her dance around right now, just to hear her call out to me again...

Then the baby of them all, my Little Man. He is an old soul in an infants body. I miss his deep guttural laugh and all knowing smile. He has had two serious surgeries in the past year; both of which I found out about after the fact. I'm not sure how he's doing, request for pictures have been ignored...it's as if they think I'll just go away at some point. I just want to hold and comfort my boy. I want him to know that my arms are still a safe place for him to fall asleep. I need to smell his baby skin as I rock him and soothe him.

I miss them all dearly and I'm so close to being reunited with them, but it hasn't happened yet. With the way things have been going I am reluctant to get my hopes up. But I hope the court accidentally does something for their good, such as follow the recommendation of the counselors involved. Review the outlandish allegations and the stark absence of any evidence. Moreover, the perjury that's been committed by the opposing side in both the remarkable and seemingly insignificant points made over the past several years.

For all my children...at some point if you find this, just know; I may loose in court. I may be ordered to do things I don't want to do just to appease some unknown man in a suit making rules for your life. But above it all I never gave up. I will fight for you until you are home with me, or I'm home with God; whichever comes first. They can take all my money (they're doing a good job of that), all my power (seems I have none left), but they can't stop me from fighting for you. They won't stop me from loving you, and they'll never take away what we are...family.

I commit to writing something for each of you here, sometimes all together. Sometimes to each of you specifically. But I want you to know I'm searching for ways to communicate with you, to let you know I'm still here for you when the court says we can't have any contact. I wish I had started this sooner, but make no mistake my thoughts for you are not new or reappearing...I'm just finding a new way to reach out what I've been thinking and dreaming about every minute of everyday since you were taken from me.

I love you yesterday, today, and forever.
Dad

Hello, is there anybody out there?

I started blogging originally to deal with the loss of my wife and the grief my children and I were left to deal with. Then sooner than I thought I found myself with a woman that filled all the gaps left open by our loss.

Things that seem to good to be true usually are. I'll share the entire dramatization over time, for now its sufficient to say I've been betrayed. I find myself gravitating here again to deal with loss. This time my children have been taken from me. They are still healthy and well, but I mourn them all the same cause they aren't with me. I've spent more than two years in court fighting for my children and I'm no closer now than I was in the beginning. If justice happens at the courthouse it'll be an accident.

I've learned over these years that no one loves a child like the parents, and those that wish to hurt you have no greater exploit than your children. In the movies you see the villain take the hero's family for coercion or an incentive to a dark purpose. Only in real life its worse. The villains legally separate your children from your protection ( I'll explain how later) and then systematically train them to believe that you are a monster of a person. You can only hope that they remember what you really are and how much you love them because the court has restricted all access to them. You wake at night dreaming of them and hoping they still dream of you too.

So I've come back here in hoping that my kids, at some point, will find this and read along. Hoping my kids will understand that they were taken from me, never abandoned. Knowing that they love me and hoping to reassure them that I love them too. I will never stop loving them; never stop fighting for them, and will never leave them.

I'm still here; and this is still life as its happened to me.

A new leaf, a new tree...same infallible God

It has been a while since I've found the need or want to post anything here. This was a place where I could relate to other's who grieved and for a long while I felt I couldn't relate. I ran into an old friend from school and a story book tale of finding love proceeded to evolve. I had been looking at my "life of before" all while life was still happening. My new love, my fiancée, gave me new life.

I've never compared my late wife to my soon to be...I think that is a road best not traveled. So that brought me to the conclusion that I didn't want to continue posting about my life here...where there is so much of the past. I don't want to remove these posts because I've gotten some great responses that these words have been a help to a few. If there were only one that would've been enough to make it worthwhile. So I choose to keep this blog alive for new readers who may stumble upon it; but by God's grace my life has outgrown it's scope.

I've found the light at the end of the tunnel. My love adores my kids, and I her's. Together our family tree has grown to include six kids; and we love it that way. We have five between us and a new leaf was added to our tree just a few weeks ago. My mother kept praying that God would put someone wonderful in my life and so he answered her prayers.

Life is still happening and I'm going to really enjoy it! I hope that God shows you all the joy in your life too.