Back up to Date

So, since it's been two months and things have finally calmed down a bit I decided that I should bring my blog up to date. Here is a synopsis of our lives through December and January.

Early in December, before my birthday I think, our landlords came to us and said that they were foreclosing on the big house they were in and had to move back into their smaller house, the one we were renting. That night I went through various stages of panic, anger, fear, and more panic. After a few days I began to calm down and just accept that it was what it was. At least they had given us two months to move (we had paid up through January, so they kinda had to). We began looking online at rentals and keeping an eye out around our neighborhood. We also contacted a real estate lady in our ward that several people recommended. We really didn't know her at the time, but we are pretty good friends now. :o)

Craig was done with school for the semester about a week before Christmas and we really looked hard at our different options for a few days. Then we took a break in order to get ready for and celebrate Christmas. We had a great Christmas and this was the first year that the kids really got into it. They both talked all the time about Santa and they loved singing Christmas songs in the car on the way to parties.

On December 30, just after all the Christmas festivities had wound down, Craig decided to throw a little monkey wrench into our plans. (okay, it wasn't really his fault, but still ;-)). He woke up feeling fine, and then started having a small stomach ache about 10:30 in the morning. We though it was just because he hadn't eaten. However, after eating and then after taking a few different meds to try to help it, his stomach just kept getting worse and worse. Five hours after the pain started, just after 3:00, he couldn't even stand, much less walk, and let me take him to urgent care. They sent us immediately over to the emergency room and at about 9:00 that night he was in surgery having his appendix removed. What a surprise! Fortunately it hadn't ruptured yet and Craig would be fine, but we spent 4 days, including celebrating the new year, in the hospital. (We were on the sixth floor so we had a great view of fireworks from his window.) We were able to leave after one infection, one fever, two different allergic reactions, a whole lot of walking around the halls, and being away from our children who had a rather difficult time with the whole experience. We learned that Craig can no longer take anything with a codeine base. We were very grateful for living right next to a hospital, grandparents that love their grandkids and don't mind taking them for 4 days at the drop of a hat with out much more than the clothes they were wearing and a few diapers, hospital food that was surprisingly good, and a Heavenly Father that allowed all this to happen in between semesters at school. It was quite an experience.

Anyway, Craig healed up nicely and aside from having to be careful not to lift anything, we got busy with the moving details. We dug in our heels and spent almost every waking moment looking for somewhere to live. We tried to pack a box here and there, but we mostly just wanted the assurance that we had somewhere to go at the end of the month. Along with all the home hunting and packing, Craig's semester at school started up on the 12th. It was interesting and difficult to figure everything out, especially because we had the feeling like we should move in with a couple of Craig's siblings and share rent. I'll spare you the details, other than telling you that it is not easy finding a place that works for 3 separate family units to share and have enough room for a year or two. We finally decided on a place with about a week and a half to spare. We were able to start the lease 5 days early and began moving stuff over. We officially moved in on January 31, Craig's birthday.

So, it's been crazy. I am glad that the last two months are over. Not that they were bad, because December was actually a pretty good month, but they were just a little too busy for me. Now the biggest task ahead of me is unpacking all of our junk! The kids have adjusted well to the new house, although they had a pretty difficult time while we were kind of in between homes. Can't really blame them. Anyway, for those of you who may have been wondering if we had dropped of the face of the earth, we are still here, we are still kicking, and we will hopefully keep you up to date a little better now. :o)