End the Silence on Domestic Violence

Dr.Phil has been campaigning to "end the silence on domestic violence." Although I'm not a huge fun of Dr.Phil, I can't help but tune in daily to his show. Tonight's show really got me thinking about domestic violence and the situation I have personally been involved in. Although my "story" is nowhere near the tragedies of the guests on Dr.Phil's show, I still can't help but feel a bit scared at the reality that I once lived and how blinded I was to it.
Today's show really focused on what happens to children who have witnessed domestic violence and what can happen when children are alone with previous abusers. I'm not suggesting that Aaron is abusive, but Aaron has had very abusive tendencies in the past, mostly when he was using. I've covered black eyes, dodged flying objects being thrown at me, and ignored the verbal slurs he sent my way. Again, the physical events were limited to the times he was using, I assume, but the verbal slandering continues to date, though not nearly as badly.
I've "allowed" the kids to visit Aaron in MN three times now. Each time they go, I welcome the time alone, but every time I fear that he might be "up to something" deceitful. As we enter a second year living apart, in different states, I think the time has come that we get something set up through the courts to insure that Aaron doesn't keep the kids longer than our agreed limits. Although I have documented each and every day of our time apart (mostly for when the time came to go to court for this exact reason), and nothing makes me fear that my side of the street is dirty. I've put off going to court with Aaron mostly because I am afraid that he'll be granted "too much" time with them, or will be ordered to pay me even less than the measly support he pays now. But regardless of what happens, I know that I have nothing to hide, nothing to worry about, and most importantly, I know that I'll be doing it to insure my kids safely return from MN each time they go. This is a very difficult decision for me to make, but after watching Dr.Phil today, I know that things can go terribly wrong, even if I don't want to believe Aaron has that side in him still.