So, we wrote back to our DIL and about two weeks ago got a reply in which she said that she was cutting off direct contact with us. DIL stated that since she and our son would be divorcing at some point, she didn't see the point of trying to keep a relationship with us. Also made it clear that the kids are never coming to the states without her. If at some point they do come over, she'll accompany them with our son and once here, she'll go off on her own while we vacation with them. So that essentially means it will be years before we see them over here, forcing us to travel to the UK if we want to visit, and only where she designates.
In the interim she's set up a FB page for the kids and set the privacy such that only family and some close friends can see the pictures, so at least we're getting that.
The idea I had mentioned in a prior post about recording stories for them on video has gone over big time! Each recording is about 4-7 minutes in length and we focus the camera on the book so that the kids can see the pictures. We've been uploading these to YouTube but made them "unlisted" so that only our son can access them since he's the only one with the link. I put them all in a playlist so the stories are all in one spot. The reaction from the kids has been great. We have a bunch of books that we're about to record. Our local library is great with a wonderful collection of stories for children.
So, I guess we'll be going to England next year, but I think we'll combine it with a much larger trip, perhaps to some other destination like Iceland or perhaps Switzerland. I don't see the DIL situation getting any better and at least we now know that she has no desire to make things better. It's sad, but that's the reality.
