custody

[BUTTERFLY75]

 This is going to take a while, so bear with me. I have bipolar disorder, and I am the mother of 3 children. When my 2 oldest were 2 and 3, I checked myself into the hospital, and when I came home, my childrens father urged me to visit my sister who lived out of town. After I was at her house 3 days, she threw me out and told me not to go back to Brian, (my 2 older boys father) that he no longer wanted me there. I called him, and he didn't know what to do, and waited a month before moving to Springfield where I was. Before he moved with the boys, he told me if I didn't sign custody papers I would never see them again. So I did, but the papers stated he had to reside in Sangamon County, which he did for 3 years. Last year, I was hospitalized again after he told me he was moving to Iowa. He said he would allow the children to stay with me this year for school. And just to let everyone know, I take medication and see a Dr., and I am employed full time and am financially independant. On July 9th , I picked up my 2 boys and brought them to Springfield, and there dad was still saying he "think about" letting them stay for the school year. Last Friday he went to my house and tried to take the kids while I was at work! My fiance was home and called me at work, and I immediately came home and talked to my ex, who agreed to let them stay til next Sun, even though school in Iowa does not start til 8/17.
  I would like to file for custody as he is hostile and makes negative comments about me to the kids, does not allow them to visit frequently, and avoids my calls when I call to talk to them., and also broke my leg when my son was 5 months old. He was thrown out of his girlfriends house that he moved to Iowa with, and is now getting married to a woman that he has known for 2 months. To make things worse, the change of venue was awarded and it shows in Cook county that it was transferred here, but Sangamon County has no record of it. My lawyer is going through their storage now, but said it will take a few days, so until that order is located, I can't file a contempt of court charge for him trying to take the kids out of state. He believes that I won't ever get custody because of my bp disorder, but I know that I can provide a better home life as I don't move all the time like he does, and I am in a stable relationship with a man who loves my kids, and not going from relationship to relationship. Also, I am honest with them about my illness, and have a plan in effect ahead of time for the childrens care in case I do become ill.  Any advice/suggestions are welcome.