I have been married to my wonderful wife for 9 years, and we have 2 awesome boys, ages 6 and 4. After our first son was born, everything was just peachy with us and my parents. They would keep our son while my wife and I worked, for about a half day at a time, and we paid them for it, just to help them out. We are both Christians and my mother professes Christ, but sad to say, my father is lost.

After we had our second son, my wife stopped working and is a SAHM, and does a wonderful job I might add. Things were starting to change, it was almost like a grudge had started with my parents, against our youngest son? They never wanted to keep both of our boys at the same time, they said it was too hard on them, both are in there early 60's, and are fit to keep them both. Over the past few years, they would want to get our oldest son from school or take him to their house to play or spend the night, but never asked to take the youngest, unless we would ask, or insist on taking him also. Whenever our youngest would get to visit with them, they would never let him play with the oldest sons toys that were at there house. We have noticed that our oldest son has become stingy and would have an attitude toward us and his brother, when he would come home from a visit with the grandparents.

My parents always try to put there two cents in on raising our boys also, and I really think it is none of there business, when they start out saying, " don't get mad when I tell you this", it never goes well. As this problem has progressed, I have tried to talk to my parents, about the favoritism they show in our oldest son, but the refuse to admit it and say, " we love them both the same, but you know we have a special bond with the oldest." Our youngest son cries and is sad when his brother gets to go with them, and he cannot. I told them this, and said they needed to take both, or neither one.

Since then, they keep our youngest for a few hours one day, while my wife was at our church, starting her part time job. They picked up our oldest from school and took both of our boys to our house to drop them off. When they got there, they asked if they could take the oldest back to there house until I got off work to pick him up, my wife said it was fine. Soon as they left, our youngest son got upset and wanted to go, so my wife called them, to see if they would come back and get him. They said they were already home, and they would not, so she said she would bring him. Well, the tone in my mother's voice was not good, and she told my wife to, " do what ever you want." My wife said she would just come get the oldest and bring him home, when she got there, well it was not pretty. She never loss her cool, but they did, and said things they should not have said to my wife.

My wife and I have met with our Pastor since then, and he recommend to cut ties with them for now, 100%, with no contact at all. This situation has taken a toll on our marriage also. My wife has been on edge for sometime, and thought I was ignoring the problem, but I was not. I think the decision to stop all this has made our marriage stronger, and I can see the difference in my wife. We still have our issues, just like every married couple, but God has given us strength to get through this situation.

Sad to say, my wife's sister passed away on Christmas Eve morning, with a 2 year battle with cancer. Even though we are on a no contact basis with my parents, they knew she had passed away, and never offered to keep the boys or went to the funeral. I paid a sitter to watch our boys, and all my mom sent was a sympathy card to my wife.

Any advice on this situation, or anyone been through this before??