My Mums

Fall has always been my favorite season. Every year a farming family drives around our neighbor and sells mums off of their trailer. They are bigger than any you can buy on the market and cost significantly less and last three times longer. They always make me smile.

Before Chaz was injured I bought three every year. Chaz knows that for me mums signify Fall is coming and Fall is my favorite season. In 2011 and 2012 we were still in Walter Reed, so no mums for me. 2013 we were traveling, again no mums for me. I really had forgotten all about my favorite mums until yesterday.

I had a very exhausting week this past week. It was full of great things and also bad news. It was a true roller coaster.

We traveled to Maryland so I could work. While I was working Chaz and the girls visited friends. They had a great trip. My trip was a crazy train.

My week ended with me in tears on Friday. Of course Chaz hates that, but the things that occurred were beyond our control. Everything had just built up over the course of the week and Friday's news was the last straw. That straw broke the dam and the tears poured out.

Last week was one of those weeks that started with bad news, a little good news sprinkled in, then more bad, then a little good and this was all in the midst of me working from no kidding 5am to 11pm for a days in a row. When you are super tired and you add crazy to it, something has to give and this week it was my tears.

To say I need a vaca, is an understatement. I am hoping to find some quiet time very soon. But we have so much going on, it will be interesting to see how many days I can actually take off. I grabbed my calendar first thing this morning to see what days I can take off so I can mark them off now.

Yesterday Demetria and I went for a nice 3 mile walk. I just wanted to get out for a few minutes before Cutie #1's birthday party started. When we came back I found these on the front porch.

I was so excited I could have cried, but all my tears had evacuated 24 hours before. My super cute hubby knew he had done a great thing for me, but played it all cool. He's so stinking cute sometimes.

I have always known I caught a great one, but this week I was reminded once again how great he really is. I know I would not have made it through this week without him by my side. I took a picture of the mums to remind me of all of this when he forgets to put his laundry in the basket or does another husband thing that drives wives crazy. ;)

This morning as I sit at the desk I sat at on January 22, 2011 when I got the call that he might not make it, I can't help but thank The Lord for letting me keep him for a while longer. His super sweet actions yesterday were exactly what I needed to start a new week off right. I am one blessed lady for sure!!

Fulfilling Broken Promises

Have you ever made a promise to someone and then felt horrible that you couldn't keep it? Have you ever made a promise to your child to discover that not keeping that promise hurts your heart a gazillion times worse? Well that was what our house is to us....a broken promise made to our children that wasn't fulfilled.

In our opinion, our girls have suffered the most through all of this. They were only 5 and 8 when this all started. January 21, everything was normal. January 22, a whole new life began. They went from having a stay at home Mom to having a mom traveling back and forth to heal their Dad. They went from having a Dad who could run and play with them and had no boundaries to a Dad who lost both legs and an elbow.Their lives were completely turned upside down.

The girls had to leave everything to help their Dad heal. They went from being little social butterflies who had tons of friends to being the only school age children at Walter Reed. We were so thankful when finally other kids in their age range appeared. As Chaz and I say, thank goodness they had each other. We know that helped them a lot.

Then enter the promise breaker. We allowed this person into our lives. We allowed them to set us up for failure. Chaz and I take full responsibility for our actions. At the time, we truly believed that person was going to stand by their word and help us build the home Chaz needed. We believed they truly wanted us to move on with our healing. I think our biggest mistake was letting this person near our children. They made promises to them directly. They glamored them with things we truly believe they never intended on actually doing.That still makes me angry to this day. Every Momma Bear out there probably knows exactly how I am feeling about that.

What we didn't know was that person had made the same exact promises to so many others. And what we didn't know at the time was that this person was totally full of it.

Our girls have been hearing about "the house" since September 2012. For 2 years now we have talked about how things will be easier "when we get the house built for Dad." Our girls have watched almost all of their friends PCS out of the area. They have made new friends only for them to PCS too. They've watched their Dad get hurt in our home again and again and again. They are tired of talking; they are ready for this house to actually happen.

Friday we got to show them the house under construction. It was a really exciting day. There was gravel on the land so they could see what the driveway looked like. Then they got to walk around the actual house. It was so cool!! I have to admit I was right there with them checking it all out like I was a child myself.

Here's a picture of them standing where their bathroom and then bedrooms will be.

I cannot wait to take more pictures of the progress. Especially the ones of the girls and their rooms. Those pictures will be such a fun memory to keep. It is our hope that when their children are their age they will love seeing their Moms in their rooms before they were actual rooms.

Friday was a great day for our family. We have waited for this home for so long. We are working so hard to make it happen. I never wanted to build a home. It was just never on my to do list. But it seems that when you make your own plans, higher intervention seems to take over.

Building a home is absolutely exhausting and frustrating, then add in everything Chaz needs and it takes it to a whole new level of frustration. Seeing the girls' reaction on Friday helped me forget that frustration. Seeing them so happy that this is really happening just warmed our hearts.

The one lesson I hope the girls learn from all of this is that sometimes people will break promises and even lie to you, but you have the strength and power within yourself to make dreams a reality no matter what might try to get in your way. Sometimes making that dream a reality might take a little while and it might be the most frustrating thing you have ever dealt with. Sometimes you have to trust your faith and add a little dash of hope and then The Good Lord will put the right people onto your path and you will make your dream happen.

In just a few weeks we will return to our building site and we will start writing names on our framing wood. The girls are as excited as we are to do this. If you would like to be a part of our forever home and have us write your name in our home visit this link https://secure.west-point.org/9linefoundation/chazallen/ and find out how!!