I'm still here!!

Man there are just not enough hours in the day...

I spent the first several days here just figuring out where we fit. We struggled with cousin-rivalry for a few days- I think we are finally starting to figure that one out. I started working with my mom on the seemingly endless list of things that need to be done only to find myself repeatedly hitting a brick wall- for various reasons...

Yesterday we sort of hit an impass and I went over to a friend's house and just let loose. All the exhaustion and frustration from the trip and then my first few days here just came out. Thankfully Stacy is an absolute doll who loves us like her own family and wants nothing more than to help us get through this. She made some things more clear for me and gave me a realistic starting place for everything we need to get done while we are here.

Next stop: touch base with my brother. He and his wife have been struggling here for years. They want so many things for our parents but every time they make progress somehow things end up back where they were. I would be frustrated and fatalistic at this point too- but we have to believe that this really is our one big chance to help them make some permanent changes.

We have already hit a couple of major obstacles that no one has any control over. My parent's refrigerator is 20 years old so of course it decided that now is the time to quit. A refrigerator is not something they can do without, so of course we scrambled to find the best solution for the time being. So now they have a working refrigerator again at least. My parents' home is over 30 years old now so the plumbing all needs to be replaced...so we get an estimate for the half my brother can't do (YIKES!!!!) and my brother gets to work on what he can do. Here and there he hits some minor (inexpensive) setbacks- but of course just as he is about to finish and turn the water back on (they were without water for 2 days) he discovers a major leak in the hot water heater. Some corrosion on the inside had rusted a hole straight through to the outside. So now my parents have no water in their bathroom (brother wasn't able to finish the job before he had to go back out on the road driving truck) and no hot water anywhere. Needless to say, now they have to find a way to buy a new hot water heater. This too shall pass...right?

In the meantime we had a family meeting this morning. All of us in one room at one time ( to those of you who get the significance- it was 11:11a.m. ;o) and it was great. We are now all on the same page. We now know what mom and dad want us to do. We are all on the bandwagon- the same bandwagon and it took a lot of pressure off of my shoulders.

You all know how I am- HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!!!!- boy what a crock. So I am back down where I belong now- among the ranks fighting this fight with the rest of them. No pics b/c I am on my brother's computer. I'll post more when I get a chance- I've been so busy I've hardly taken pics (sorry honey) but when things settle down a bit I definitely will.

The good news! The cousins are getting used to each other, my boys are getting quite comfortable with all of these new relatives (Isaac would only shake hands with his grandma at first-now we get full-on hugs!), Mom really is getting better, she is ready to actively seek mental health support (to help her deal with the pain of her past and move forward out of this mess), my brother and sister-in-law and I have sort of an unspoken pact to stick together in all of this and not let the stress get between us. But perhaps the best news of all! Matt is coming for sure for Christmas!!! Prayers for a safe and uneventful journey please! The boys and I are so excited to see him again-we miss him SO MUCH!!! Oh yeah, and the Seahawks won! GO HAWKS!!!!

Love to all! I will post again before a week goes by!