Peace in the midst of the storm

November 16
So, just to get this up to speed on what is going on with our case and to get it out of my head - Basically nothing is going on.

So, Clint called the State office on Monday and found out that nothing had been done to our case, despite talking to the case worker and having her word on it being "reinstated" once the second try at paperwork is turned in. So, our case is at a standstill.

Since Clint filed a hearing, we have a number to call and the lady was very helpful in giving us contact information and just speaking to us. Clint called the BIG supervisor and she called back yesterday and put me on hold while she went to speak to our case worker. She said it was on her desk and that she would input the information needed to get our case moving along.

On Monday we found a number for legal aide and I just had an appointment over the phone with them about pursuing a case. We shall see what comes of it.

We just took our car in because it was pulling to the left and because it had just been repaired in April, they told me to take it back to the place that I had it worked on. I changed mechanics because it felt like we were being raked through the coals w/ this Euro-tec place - I call it "Euro TAKE my money!" Of course it looks like it's going to be a pissing contest between the two places. "don't tell me I did shoddy work because we work on import cars only you Midas shop on every corner what do you know?" I can feel it now. So, with our schedules we now have to drive our car to eurotakemymoney and let them have a look at it and see if they take any responsibility. Work was done in April - not that long ago. It was a small fortune worth of work and I'm sure we are still paying for it today. So, we will see what comes of that as well.

In all of this I can say that it hasn't shaken me and made me feel like I want to give up or I can't take anymore. I am very thankful that in this time we have been blessed with money coming in from here or there. Never had we had to eat top ramen for dinner or had a hard time paying rent or our bills. My group that I attend, sent me a little blessing in an envelope and at the time I didn't think we would need it but now I know that it will come in handy soon. I feel totally watched over and taken care of and nobody is going without.

With the holidays around the corner, money will be tight but not to the point where there will be no Christmas or at least for the boys. Slade has been diligently saving his money for an MP3 player and will graciously leave it out for Santa to take and match. I'm so grateful for his unbrattiness in times like these. Of course if it was up to me, I would say there would be no Christmas for the next two years and leave it at that. (Mom and I would make great Jehovah's Witnesses in the sense of no gift giving!) Clint will take on 3 jobs if needed to make Christmas happen. The boys know this year will be low key but hope to get at least a gift from Santa. It's all good and I don't feel stressed out about any of it. Clint and I are in agreement about how much is too much (first year ever - I think)

Anyway, just wanted to write down what was going on so I can look back at this and feel how fortunate we have been, even in the midst of calamity. We are like eagles - when they feel a storm coming they sit up high and wait for the winds to come. They set their wings so the wind will pick it up an d lift it above the storm. While the storm rages on the eagle is above it all. It uses the storm to lift it higher - rises on the winds that bring the storm. I came a psuedo-journal I have that I have written in since 2002 and this was one of the things that I wrote about from a daily devotion on Isaiah 40:31. I got my bible out to see what the scripture was about and it was so awesome and I felt so comforted and protected in this time.

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I wrote all this on Wednesday, but didn't have a chance to post and I thought I would get back to it that night.

Since then our car has been fixed by just buying new tires. We knew we needed tires for a while but kept pushing it. So, our car is running just fine and we have a new set of tires - ready for the snow! Clint took Thurs and Fri off from his field placement and we had two wonderful days together. We took everything in stride and went about running our car here and there with no fuss. I love days like that when we are both on the same page and we can keep the peace about us even when we are doing all this running around. We have also been able to watch movies together before bed each night. Every Sunday, Clint will get a ton of movies from the library, but we never have time to watch them and this week we made the time. We kicked the boys out of our room (of course not crispin but he fell asleep around 8:30) and made them piddle around in their own rooms without disturbing us. We watched: The Notebook, Thirteen, Bridget Jone's Diary, part of the Motorcylce Diaries and last night we all watched The Village. We went out for lunch yesterday and enjoyed some Mediterranean food. We were stuffed and had a great time even with Crispin poking holes in the styrofoam cups the nice waiteress gave him.

Ahh- these are the days that we will remember!
Next post - Crispin is 18 months old today! Boy, do I have some things to write down but for now, I need to get the heaping pile of dishes out of my sink before it's time to pick Slade up from his tournament!