My heart goes out to you and to your daughter and grand kids. Especially the little boy who has been hurt. Just being there for them and offering a loving and stable environment is what they need right now. And you must allow yourself to get lost in your books when you can find a little time. Reading removes you, even if for a little while, from the stresses of the everyday world, and I believe it can be healing. Take care of yourself. When the time is right, you will start quilting again.

Well, I'm the mom that hired a babysitter when I went to buy groceries or to shop. LOL. My DD and DGD moved in with me after her divorce and I loved having them here. I also kept DGD while DD worked. DD put her in day care two days a week so I could have time for myself. She loved playing with the kids and having group activities those days and it wasn't over whelming her to go just a couple of days a week. Maybe you could find a mommy's day out at a local church or day care for a day or two a week.

The child will do a lot of testing you to see if you are going to get mad at him or spank him. Please be very patient with the little one. With a lot of positive love and attention, he will survive and blossom -- we can hope. Staying on a schedule should help, too. I think I'm singing to the chorus. So, I'll close with we are all thinking of you and sending your family lots of love.

I have been exactly where you are - kids moving back home because of divorce and child abuse. We spent quite a few years worrying and doing our best to protect our grandson. Thankfully, things are looking up. The best advice I can give you is to just take time to adjust to the changes and do what you feel like doing. Your sewing machine and fabric will still be there when you get in the mood again. I find that working on my quilts is very therapeutic and restful at times, but not so much when the rest of my life is chaotic. Just concentrate on what needs the most attention right now - your family - and most important, take care of yourself first.... I will be praying for healing for your family.

Be there for them Gma. it is what they need right now. My DS and DIL are getting divorced. He is here with us and she took the kids to FL to live with her mom. She has a no contact order for son but isnt letting us talk to them either. havent had any contact with them since before Thanksgiving. She is telling them they will not see their dad until they are 18 and able to drive themselves to see him. I hope the divorce agreement works out different than what she wants so we can see/talk to them again. So heart breaking for the kids. The "adults" just dont realize what they are doing to the kids.

You are on the right track take care of those precious grandkids and daughter they need you right more than a quilt. And don't forget to take care of yourself or you will not be any help to anyone right now. Best wishes/

I second the motion on this one. Do what's important at the time. Those children probably need your attention and distractions more than you need to quilt. And it's so special to have them with you. There's a time for everything and this time may not be for quilting.

Exs who keep the kids away from grandparents for no other reason then spite are the lowest of the low. My DGD loves her other grandparents as much as she loves DH and me. If my DD did that to her ex's parents she would find herself out of our house with no help from us and she knew it.

Take some time for yourself and your family - quilting will happen later when you are more relaxed and have more time for it.

I had to take a forced break from quilting (I fell and broke my right arm and it was almost 9 months before they did surgery to repair it) and it has taken me a long time to get back into it. It has been almost 9 months since my surgery and I find that I am quilting a little more each day.

I finally started paper-piecing the Farmer's Wife blocks - one each day is my goal - not a lot of sewing time but over the long haul it will net me something nice to have. I am also trying to learn how to use a new longarm too and it is so overwhelming that sometimes I just sit with a good book too. Sometimes I feel bad that I am not using it as much as I thought I would, but if it isn't fun I am not going to push it - sometimes I just don't know what to do with the quilt that is loaded on it and it sits for a week or more while I figure it out.

Prayers are with you and your family as you navigate these difficult times.

I understand how you feel, my daughter and her husband lost their jobs about four years ago, they kept going about another year with my help, but when the economy tanked, I told them to move in with us, next thing you know, tada, we were expecting, three years later I have a beautiful GD, that loves to be with grandma, thus to make this story bearable, I don't have time to quilt or so, I have two days each week, and spend them with her and cleaning house, by the way my daughter and her husband are going to school to finish their degree programs. Just a little thought for the boy, you need to have him talk to a councilor about the things that have happened to him, My prayers are with you and your family