Dear friends and family,

For those who haven't heard yet, we will be leaving Calif. for Iowa next Wed. We tried to reach a settlement with Tina only to find her completely unreasonable. That means we have no choice but to go ahead with the custody trial. The trial is set for Nov. 30 & Dec. 1. We will be driving out there for Thanksgiving and spending that weekend with Rowan. Then the custody trial.

We are asking for good fortune blessings/energy from anyone who wishes to send it. We are planning a small ritual here tomorrow (Sun., Nov. 21) to bless the van for a safe trip and us for strength, compassion and good fortune. Anyone wishing to join us in the ritual, is welcome to show up at our house around 7:30 PM.

We have no idea what will happen in this custody trial. It is really a gamble. We could win primary custody (long shot), lose all rights including visitation, or gain partial custody with visitation ranging from minimum to liberal. The whole spectrum is there. Of course, we hope for primary custody, but the least we would like would be joint custody with lots of visitation time.

For those who live in or near Iowa, we would love to see you while we are out there. In fact, we were hoping to have friends over for dinner Saturday, Nov. 27. We will be staying at the Alexis Park Inn in Iowa
City. Let us know if we can see you while there...

We could also use witnesses on our behalf at the trial. We especially need people who can testify about our relationship with Rowan. Our witnesses would need to be available the morning of Dec. 1.

Driving to Iowa in the winter with little warning, hardly any money and this kind of stress is not exactly ideal. But at least we have a trial date and will be able to see Rowan and our friends. We hope we have much
to be thankful for after this trip. We hope your Thanksgiving is blessed as well.

Dawn, Troy & Lon