About 7 1/2 years ago we moved into Illinois not knowing what to expect. KC's job had moved us there and plopped us down in the flatlands of Illinois.
We moved in with our 2 precious sweet little girls :)
The house that we were able to afford was less than desirable.
It had become a bachelor's party house, complete with dirt and beer stained carpet, weeds waist high, cigarette burns in flooring, shoe prints on the ceiling, fist holes through the walls, even a keg of beer.
But it was big enough for our family and in a neighborhood filled with children. And when we moved, my two promises to Zoe were "to find her friends" and "to put her in school". At two and a half, they are easy to please.
And ... in those 7 years, we made that home ours. We made it beautiful again, a place that we were proud of and a home comfortable to raise our family.
I placed Zoe in Park District classes, including a dance class and I found her lots of new friends.
That home is full of the best of times and a number of hard times for our family. The memories that I will cherish forever and the ones that I am happy to forget.
Now we have moved further north where we can be together more as a family, and be surrounded by more cousins and aunts and uncles. And most importantly, see KC (daddy) more.
We have moved on and said "see you soon", not goodbye to our Plainfield family, of wonderful neighbors who we already miss.
We now have our hands full with a few more boys that have completely changed the family picture!
Now we wait for a home. We wait for the banks to decide if it will be ours or not. This "short sale" stuff is no fun at all.
So we are "homeless" in a sense.
Not to worry, we have been taken in :) And they are the ones you should worry about.
My sister and her husband have opened their doors to us and have made my children feel like it's their home too.
Their family of 4 has become a family of 11. Which sounds crazy. And in a way it is. But in a more incredible way, it seems to be working.
Sure, with 7 kids in the house ... there is crying and fighting and competition .... but now, I am sitting here and they are happily playing.
We hope to start getting answers from the bank. Getting an idea of when we will be able to have our own home again.
I have heard "I want to go home, but we don't have a home", "I don't want someone else living in our house" and "I miss my friends", which is hard on a mommy.
But we are starting to turn a corner, and they are starting to accept the change, as children always seem to have the ability to do. They are definitely harder to please at these ages, but I have promised the same promises. I will help find them new friends and I will put them in school.
And soon, we will have our new normal :)
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