My Beautiful Children

Hello my name is Alysia! Five years ago I left a very ugly situation with the father of my two children, Leyla (now 8) and Sean (now 7). He was abusive and extremly controlling. Unfortunately I never reported any of the abuse.
Because I was so done with dealing with him I stupidly signed the worst parenting plan in the world. It is 50/50 the kids live with me for one week (Monday-Monday) and then live with their dad the next week (Monday-Monday). This schedule was a good transitional period for them but now they are older and understand whats going on. There are a few huge problems with this situation. The first is that he lives 230 miles from me over a mountain pass. In the winter time the pass can be absolutley aweful and very dangerous for anyone to cross. Currently the recieving parent picks up the children from the other parents house. So every other week I drive across the moutains to get them, and he does the same. The second huge problem with this situation is that the kids are unable to attend school, they are homeschooled. Each week we pack up thier school stuff into a bin and haul it back and forth. they have two seperate teachers, two different teaching styles and are unable to participate in extracurricular activities or make friends. I listen to them cry about how they want to do sports or dance and all I can say to them is "someday". There have also been some issues with the living situation at their fathers house. His wife is not nice to them in any way. In June 2014 my daughter came home with a very strange bruise on her upper thigh it looked like a handprint. After talking with her and looking at it she told me that it was from her step mom hitting her. Needless to say I lost my mind! I called CPS they came out and interviewed her, took pictures, and did a full report. I requested the report and it took a year for me to get it. I read all of it and they had decided that with everything they had gathered this was a case of child abuse, but have done absolutley nothing about it. I filed a protection order so that she could not be around the kids and it was denied, even though I had pictures and an open CPS case. There have been multiple times that the kids have ccome home and told me that because they were "bad" they were only allowd to eat fresh cabbage and shreadded cheese for breakfast lunch and dinner while they are there. I put the kids in counseling so that they had someone else they could talk to about what goes on over there. They told her that as punishment the get "thrashed", meanind they are to do military style excersies while holding weights over their heads. When their dad yells at them they tell me that he gets in their face  and "Dad went drill sergeant on us". 
I have been fighting so hard to give my children the stability of a loving home that they deserve. I hired an attorney to help me through the process and after a few months he reccomended that I get a Gaurdian Ad Litem (GAL) so we could take his report to trial On January 19, 2016. So we found one and hired him onto the case. He is to write a report and submit it to the courts. The judges decision is heavely affected by what the GAL writes.  The GAL made a visit to my home to talk to the kids and see what the living space for them is like here. He is supposed to make a trip out to their dads house and do the same there but has not done so yet. Court is now two weeks away and we have found out that I have to come up with another $1500 for the day of court. If we do not come up with this money everything that I have put into this everything that I have fought for will be a waste. I cant risk loosing my children so I am swallowing my pride and asking for help!! The money raised will be going strictly towards the case for the kids!! Anything you can do to help will be so greatfully appreciated!! Being able to gain full custody of my kids would change their lives forever!! Thank you so much!!