To Cut A Long Story Short, Part II

As I mentioned previously, we have had the SO's girls with us since their mother buggered off to Nigeria leaving them improperly cared for, but it's not been without a fight. Initially, we managed to get an Ex Parte Custody Order, which gave The SO sole legal and physical custody of his kids while she was gone. His ex-wife's reaction when she got back into the country was that he had "kidnapped" her children and hired an attorney to get them back.

I pause here a moment so you can ponder how one can kidnap children that have been abandoned.

Anyway, we have had two Court dates since them. The first one ended with the Judge continuing the Order; the second one was yesterday. The Judge did NOT want to hear the case; it would have taken at least three hours and then he would have had another fifty-odd people to sit through after that. This fact put him in an extremely foul mood and he suggested to our lawyer it would be a good idea to try and work something out, the implication being things would not go well for us if we couldn't. What this says about our justice system is a post for another day.

After a bit of negotiating, The SO and his ex-wife managed to hammer out a temporary deal; we keep the girls until the end of the school year and the summer and they go to mediation to try and work out something permanent. I don't hold out much hope on that, as she is convinced she is doing "God's Work" and that The SO is the "Enemy" that evangelical Christians like to bang on about so much.

We will probably be back in Court over the summer, but at least we have a temporary break from the stress for now and can give our full attention back to the kids.

****EDIT*****
I thought I had posted this on its original date, but after the Court case was over my body screeched to a halt and I've been sick as a dog since then. Today is Saturday and I am finally feeling better. Many apologies.