She Did What?

Last Friday Keith had an appointment at the middle school to attend Steven's I.E.P. (Individual Education Plan). The meeting was supposed to be at 7:15 a.m. but the school called and rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. No problem. Keith arrived at the meeting and sat down with the faculty from the school. Principal Petersen began the meeting by saying, "I've instructed my staff that if she comes, they're to usher her into the room." Keith was confused--he said, "Beth isn't coming." Principal Petersen informed him that Patty had called the special education teacher and told him to reschedule the appointment for after lunch because she was flying in to attend this I.E.P. "I've never missed one of these," she told the educator. Once again Keith's jaw dropped to the floor, then he burst out laughing. "She's not coming," he informed them. Principal Petersen is a cousin of mine and is very familiar with our Patty. The other educators are new to the situation, but I'm sure they'll be up to speed in no time. Patty loves C.O.N.T.R.O.L. She knew good and well that she was NOT going to fly 2,000 miles to attend a 15 minute meeting, but was successful in upsetting the schedule of 5 different people. All this is merely an attempt to put herself back in the game! Pathetic--life is too short!
BTW: Steven's I.E.P. was fantastic. After evaluating him on several levels the school came to the conclusion that he was functioning completely within the realm of a normal 5th grader and no further special attention was required. Naturally, this is music to our ears! With the help of dad and that wonderful step-mother of his, he's been able to catch up in a little over a year. Now that's PROGRESS. Thanks for reading!

And . . . ?

Keith and Dad have spent the last two days in Florida for Steven's custody hearing. The first day was spent, once again, with Patty's attorney trying to muddy the waters arguing over past rulings. They attacked Keith and his decisions regarding his job and family, they attacked Keith's attorney, they attacked Steven's attorney (Gloria Winston/former Guardian ad Litem), they attacked the principals at the school and questioned the validity of testing done on Steven. They attacked the testimony of doctors and psychologists who have treated Steven while in Utah. They went after everyone and anyone who felt that Steven might possibly be better off with his dad. The hearing ran long and was very tense. As time was running out on the second day, Keith and Dad had resigned themselves to the fact that this hearing could not be completed in the scheduled two days and a third hearing was inevitable. The judge thought otherwise. He said, "Let's get 'er done." The courthouse was locked up with the exception of one door and the hearing continued well into the evening. At the conclusion, the judge told the attorneys that they were to submit their closing arguments in 3 type-written pages (he even specified the font and size) and have them to him before January. Patty's attorney argued that she couldn't possibly do it in less that 20--he growled, "You've got THREE." So . . . the ruling will be handed down some time in February. I know it's frustrating as we all wanted a ruling now but we believe this is a good time for patience. This judge is taking his time and making sure every thing is legal and properly documented. Once all these legalities have been carefully scrutinized and covered, there will less likely be a reversal upon appeal--which is inevitable. I promise to update my website with more details as quickly as I can. Thanks for your interest and God bless!
C.B.

FYI: Patty was caught in one lie after another. The judge himself caught her in several lies that neither attorney caught. Her own exhibits and claims were filled with discrepencies and this sharp old retired judge didn't miss a thing. We love him!

Hearing Starts Today

I realize that I have not provided many updates to this story. Most of the details are rather boring, infuriating, and just more of the same. This will continue until Steven turns 18 years old and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the court. Patty's "standard operating procedure" is still the same.

Keith--during this economic crisis--lost his engineering job. One of his main concerns has been the impact that fact would have on this custody hearing. After seven long months of unemployment, he was able to secure a position with a government facility, has moved his family back home, and purchased a new home. Being the Grandma--I love this. The grandkids are closer, which affords them easy access to cousins, friends, and "home".

The custody hearing begins today and I have no idea where it will lead. Here are a few of the facts being presented at the hearing:

Steven's reading level (in one year) has gone from 2.2 to 4.8. He is reading at grade level and some of his reading skills are at a 7th grade level (Steven is in 5th grade).
Steven does extremely well in math and science but struggles a bit with spelling. He has transitioned into this new school with no problems whatsoever. He visited with his attorney and reported that he wants to "see" his mother but wants to live with his dad. "He needs to live with his dad." (his own words) He is active in scouts, has made lots of new friends in the short time since the move, he loves his new school and teacher. Steven is no longer taking the FIVE medications he brought to UT with him. His weight remains constant. Other than the "pull" to mom, he's a happy, healthy, normal 11 year old boy. BTW: Patty has not paid her "back child support", does not call Steven (the judge made provisions for one call a week), and other than an occasional package has made no attempt to contact him. She has however "stalked" the principal at Steven's last school--did an internet search on him, called his private cell phone number at his home on the weekend, and placed persistent calls to him at work. This continued even after Steven was pulled from that school and placed in his current school. When the principal questioned Keith on this behavior, Keith just grinned and said, "Welcome to my world."

I'll be sure to keep you updated as soon as I have anything to report. Say your prayers and thanks for your interest.

C.B.