My parents have always felt that they come before my husband and our children. They not only feel that they deserve and are entitled to it, but are extremely punitive when we don't conform to their "needs". I finally came to grips with the damage that this was causing. I told them that they were not invited over anymore and they kept showing up anyway and starting arguments. We finally just moved out of the area and didn't tell them where we were. They then hired a detective to find us and tried to have us excommunicated from our church because we would not let them see our children. Our church basically told them to "cool it" or they would be the ones in jeopardy. We have not heard from them in almost 8 years. I finally feel like I am healing and I only wish I had done it sooner. Our children are growing up without family nearby - that part kind of sucks - but we felt confident when we had to choose the lesser of the two evils.

Lori