Four Months.....

We are four months out.  Four months ago our lives changed forever.  Some days it seems like it was just yesterday and some days it seems like an eternity ago.  We have been on quite a rollercoaster as anyone can imagine over these last four months.

We are to the point now that we really miss just hanging out in our house.  Other than clothes, electronics, and some kitchen things, MJ and I haven't replaced anything else.  It is wearing on us.....it is so very hard to not have things that are our own.  We want curtains on our windows and pictures on our walls.  It's the little things really that are the most maddening.  We will get there though....

The boys are great. Kids are so resilient!  Drew has just blossomed into the most enjoyable 4 year old and Jack is crazy as ever.  They truly keep us going and are our heart and soul.

The rebuilding has not yet begun as it has been such a process.  We started thinking that we would definitely rebuild on our property and then once the dust settled a bit we figured we would take the opportunity to start fresh elsewhere.  We met with builders, we found a piece of land, we were sure this was it.  And then another curveball was thrown at us.  The mortgage company (who has all of our insurance money) has been difficult to deal with; there are rules about what you can and can't do with your insurance money that we didn't know about.

So, the bottom line is that we will be going back to our property and rebuilding there.  Drew is elated!  He can't wait to see his friends in the neighborhood and is happy that we can swim in the lake this summer.  We are excited about the prospect of designing and rebuilding our home.  We meet with our builder tomorrow to get the ball rolling.  The advantages are that we already have a well, foundation, and cleared lot.  That will save a lot of time!  We are hoping that we can be in for a good part of the summer.

We are very excited about our meeting tomorrow so that we can get going!  We need to talk about how to creatively add a few more square feet to the house as it was getting a bit small for us.

Spring is coming, the snow is melting, the days are longer, and things are headed in the right direction.

Three Months

Three months out is turning out to be a much better place to be.  We are finally coming out of the fog, there is a tiny light to be seen in that long tunnel, and we have some vision (finally) for moving forward.

Our house has been torn down, we have met with a builder, and we have found land to build on.  All of those are great moves in a forward, positive direction.  We are in negotiations with the builder, headed to the bank in a few days to secure a loan, and getting ready to put our land where the house burned on the market.  All good things.

It is still hard to have basically nothing that is our own.  We have not replaced things for a few reasons.  We don't want to have to move it, we might as well have all of our stuff be new once we move, and we don't know sizes of rooms, etc to buy things.  It is humbling though to realize how little you really need and how much you really can live without.

MJ and I have set up a "craft room" in our basement as we are really itching to be crafty.  We have some scrapbooking and stamping stuff that people have so generously donated to us to get us started.  We will get down there soon to work and I am sure that it will be some wonderful therapy.  We so love scrapbooking and stamping and it will be good to get back to doing something familiar and enjoyable.

The boys are doing well.  Drew still has his moments and I will save that for another post.  I can't wait to have a home for them that is ours where the stuff is ours and we don't have to worry about them ruining anything or being careful with things because we are just borrowing it.  I can't wait for them to have a great yard for them to play in with their swingset and water table and all of the things that are familiar.

Our ultimate goal is to be able to spend some of the summer in OUR home and hopefully spend most of the spring with the excitement of watching it be built.  Our builder is saying we could be in as early as July 1 - we are keeping Aug 1 in our head so as not to be disappointed.

And so the baby steps continue.....