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!!