Domestic Violence is Real

I got a disturbing phone call this afternoon from the boys' uncle. Their Grandma, who they call Glam.ma got beat up by her husband last night. In one of his drunken stupors he threw her across the room and she hit her head. She has a concussion now and 2 staples in her head.

When he called me of course the first thing I'm thinking is if she's ok and how she's doing. But then the memories of being beat up by her son flood my head. My husband is not my kids' biological father. Melodee is my sons' paternal grandmother. Melodee has stuck by my side in the last 7 years that I've known her. The boys and I have been blessed enough to still have Melodee and her other son in our lives even though the boys' sperm donor is not.

I just feel so bad for her. I remember feeling so alone after I got hit by Mike, her son. Rick, Melodee's husband is not Mike's Dad, Melodee remarried just a few years ago after leaving Mike's dad after he beat her up for the last time.

My heart breaks for her. Evidently this has been happening for quite awhile now but she didn't want to tell anyone because she was embarrassed. I want to tell her that she has to press charges against him, that she needs to get a restraining order, and never see him again but I know it's not my place. She is moving out. We're supposed to go help her tomorrow morning but she's moving in with her son, Jeremy who lives in a house owned by Rick. It's just a bad situation overall. I don't know if she's pressing charges but I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't.

He easily could have killed her last night. She's a tiny woman. She can't weigh more than 115 lbs. With her hitting her head like that she could have easily been hurt worse.

Visiting Santa at the Mall

After yesterday's trying day I decided the kids and I needed to get out of the house and loosen up. Luckily the weather was gorgeous and the boys got to play outside for an hour or so before lunch today. The neighbor kid came out and even played with the boys. The neighbor kid is 12 and is a really good kid that has chose to take online schooling since his mother is sick. Such a sweet kid. Anyways I was thankful that they got to get some energy out running around outside.

I almost never have to get the boys ready on my own. Most people wouldn't think it was a huge deal but when you have children you begin to appreciate help. I got the boys bathed and dressed and then I hopped in the shower and got ready. We were doing good and was on time until it was time to go. I wanted to get a few pictures of the boys by the Christmas tree before we left and they were not having it. They wanted to go to see Santa and go now! So I bribed them and got a pretty good picture.

But then Dayton made a mess in his pull up(Yes, my 3 yr old is still not fully potty trained) and Trent stepped in dog poop on the way to the car before we could even leave.

Anyways long story short we made it to where they were offering free Christmas pictures with Santa to learn that the line was 2.5 hours long. After a few minutes standing in line we decided to just drive across the highway where there was no line and pay &25.

So it wasn't a terribly exciting day but much better than yesterday. It's almost Christmas and I'm so excited!!! We have a busy schedule ahead of us:

Friday night: Birthday Dinner with Cousin
Saturday: Shopping with brother
Saturday night: Family Christmas with Mom's side
Sunday afternoon: Nutcracker at local high school
Sunday evening: Another Family Christmas
Wednesday: Ice Skating with Santa
Thursday: Christmas Eve
Friday: Christmas!!!
Sunday: Private ski lessons for the boys at Snow Creek

Whew!!

Perseverance

I found my patience, strength, and loyalty all being tested today. If my Gram was still around I would have called her tonight after the boys went to bed and she'd say, "Manda, it's ok. I love you and so does God. Pray about it, go to sleep, and tomorow will be a new day." If only I could hear her say those words to me. I craved a hug today and some encouraging words from my Grandma who passed away a year and a half ago. I just have to keep telling myself I can do it. I will do it. I have to do it. I have to survive. I have to make it day to day.

The mail brought some horrible news tonight and when usually I would cry and remain in a sour mood for the rest of the night I went to my room, locked the door, and just sat there for about 5 minutes. I don't know what it was this time but I didn't want it to ruin my whole night. I didn't want to treat my boys differently just because I was in a bad mood. I realized that it wasn't their fault that what happened did. And even though the situation the news put us in isn't lovely I can't change that it has happened. I needed to take a deep breath and move on. I can get through tough times.

5 or 6 years ago I would have broke down and laid in bed for days crying, pouting, and wondering what I was going to do. But now I know better. I need to show my kids that when faced with a tough situation you need to face it and not hide from it. You need to learn how to deal with problems and find solutions to your problems.

"I can do this. I will do this."