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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 8-690 / 08-0471 Filed December 17, 2008

IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF RYAN STEFFEN AND PAMELA STEFFEN Upon the Petition of RYAN STEFFEN, Petitioner-Appellant, And Concerning PAMELA STEFFEN, n/k/a PAMELA BIRD, Respondent-Appellee. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Duane E. Hoffmeyer, Judge.

The petitioner appeals following the district court's grant of the respondent's modification petition. AFFIRMED.

Randy L. Waagmeester of Waagmeester Law Office, P.L.C., Rock Rapids, for appellant. David L. Reinschmidt and Robert B. Brock of Munger, Reinschmidt & Denne, L.L.P., Sioux City, for appellee.

Heard by Vogel, P.J., and Mahan and Miller, JJ.

2 MAHAN, J. Ryan Steffen appeals the district court's order granting modification of the physical care provisions of the dissolution decree of Ryan and Pamela Steffen.1 We conclude the district court's ruling modifying physical care was proper , and we affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. Pamela and Ryan were married in October 1992 and have two children: Josh, born September 1994, and Amanda, born July 2000. The parties' marriage was dissolved by a contested decree in July 2004, and physical care of the children was placed with Ryan. In February 2005 Pamela filed for modification of the child support provisions of the decree, and in June 2005 the district court lowered Pamela's child support obligation to seventy-five dollars per month.2 At the time the decree was entered awarding Ryan physical care of the children, both parties worked full-time, were active in the children's lives, offered the children a suitable home environment, and were in committed relationships with new partners. Although the court noted that Pamela was arguably the

primary caretaker of the children, it ultimately determined, "Ryan is the more capable, stable, and responsible parent. He is better able to care and provide for
1 2

Pamela Steffen is now known as Pamela Bird. Pamela's original child support obligation was $445 per month, based on her full-time income of approximately $20,000 per year while she worked for Cyclone Securities. Thereafter, Pamela lost her job with Cyclone Securities and was unable to find other fulltime employment. In its order modifying Pamela's child support obligations, the court found as follows: The testimony that [Pamela] sought and is seeking employment ever since she lost her last job in August 2004 is credible, and the court does not believe her job search was merely perfunctory. . . . The evidence shows [Pamela] was actually seeking employment and not until her unemployment compensation payments had expired and [she] had no income of any kind did she institute this modification proceeding.

3 the children. It is in the children's best interest s that Ryan be awarded the

physical care of the children." In reaching this conclusion, the court noted Ryan's involvement with his church, his stable employment and financial future, and the support provided by his family. In contrast, the court noted Pamela's "financial weaknesses and

lapses in judgment." Specifically, the court pointed out Pamela's 2002 conviction for shoplifting items in excess of $500, her withholding of the parties' mail to conceal credit card debt she had incurred, and the fact that she convinced her future fianc

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