Well, hello there! Sorry it's taken me so long to blog again, but as you all know things have been crazier than the usual craziness here. I'll start with the most important thing: court.

We had our hearing on Wednesday, and I won't know the outcome for a mnth or so. However, last Sunday, Loni yet again did serious damage to our home. This time he put his head through a wall. He was upset that his sister got a drink before he did, so he tried to take it from her. She started crying, which always upsets him, and he banged his head 3 times on the wall and put a nice hole in it. It's probably about 4-5 inches wide. Anyway, then he physically attacked his sister by pulling her hair and banging his head against hers. I was trying to pull him off of her, but wasn't too successful, so I was screaming for my hubby at the same time. He came out and helped, got Loni a drink, and then let him go into his room to calm himself. Knowing the hearing was coming up, as soon as everything was calm, I grabbed my camera and took pictures of the hole and his forehead.

I spoke with the opposing attorney several times before the hearing and she was actually quite helpful. At least as much as she could be, all the while reminding me that she was the attorney for the opposing side. She did give me one bad bit of info though. She said that the only evidence allowed was what had previously been given to the Agency when they made their determination. She informed me that she would object to all new evidence (such as the hole in the wall photos, etc). I decided to bring it anyway, and spent most of Tuesday establishing relevance between the new information and the old, so as to hale it allowed. Turns out I didn't need to. The first thing the judge said when we sat down was that we were starting from scratch, as if no one knew anything about the case at all, and she would only consider the evidence brought to her attention that day!

They only had one witness, and that was the actual person that denied him the services. She explained that the reason for denial was based on the facts that :

1. No one had had to seek emergency medical treatment as a direct result of Loni's behaviors

2. Social services has never been called

3. the POLICE had never been called on him (umm...he's 5?!) and

4. that there was a plethora of services available here in my area.

So my counter argument? I happen t be a good parent, who is completely stressed out because I cannot take my eyes off my son for a second or ER treatment will be needed. I also happen to believe that it won't be too long before ER treatment will be needed if we don't get this help. I refuse to call social services or the police because he is 5, and what would they do? As far as the so-called services available, I have exhausted all posibilities, as few as there are around here, and it turns out that my own support group is the only one!

I had to literally be Loni's lawyer that day, objecting to things, calling witnesses, questioning them, redirecting, etc. It was quite stressful, but I think I did pretty well. As the matter of fact, I think what made the whole thing worth it, was the look my husband gave me when I finally got home that night. He had to leave the courtroom early because Loni was causing such a disturbance, so when I walked in the door, there was a look in his eyes that I have never seen before. It was a look of sheer admiration and I could tell he was so proud of me. Everyone that was a witness said they thought I did a great job, and I felt pretty good about it too. My witnesses were all wonderful, and I was honored that they were there on my behalf.

As for now, I have to get going. There is no school today, so I have t try and keep up with the kids, along with pack