Thanks for the answer. I can't even imagine what that was like for you and your kids.

The closest I came to something like that was this: When I was 10 and visiting my father (who always had a temper but had never hurt me), he had some sort of an episode and snapped and hit me and then chased me around my grandparents house threatening to kill me. I locked myself in their tv room and hid in the closet (I tried to call 911 but I was shaking to hard and I kept hitting the wrong numbers). My grandparents heard the yelling and him trying to break the door down and they came and fought with him and threw him out of the house.

As horrible as it is, it sounds like your kids were prepared and had a plan because they had a good mother. Who knows if Maryssa has anyone who has told her how to handle that situation, plus the other kids are so young still I feel like it's mostly on her. I really worry for them.