What a Year

Wowza!

Let me repeat what I've said before...this year has been full of more stuff than any other year of our marriage.

January
We started off the year praying about our church change. At the end of January, we joined the church we had been visiting for several months. We were finally learning a new normal after my daily schedule and church change. On the 28th, we buried Kents aunt Wilda. It was a cold day and it was icy. It was also the day we got the first call saying we needed to start looking at homes in Ohio.

February
Bam! It was official. We were moving. I learned firsthand how difficult it is to tell people you are moving. We saw how different people treat you when you say you're moving. It sucks, but it's how some people deal with change. We made the long list of things that needed to be done to the house. And worked tirelessly. The month is a blur because it was working non stop and dealing with the shock. We also had a huge debt problem to work out.

March
House went on the market. Got sold. We bought Ohio house. Lost contract on KC house. House back on market. March was nuts. We were in final planning mode for the move and Kent had a start date of May 5.

April
House still on market. We said a ton of sad, teary goodbyes all month long. So many, that I was just ready to go. The Saturday before we left, my friends threw us a going away party and birthday party. Since I'd be in Ohio away from them next year for my 40th, I wanted to celebrate my 39th with them. On the 29th, we packed a few things and made the trip to Ohio. We took possession of our house and had to spend the next four days cleaning the mess that was left. Meanwhile, our stuff and car was loaded into two moving trucks.

May
Our stuff arrived. We unpacked in record time, four days. We visited our church for the first time and then a month of terrible churches. We were homesick and frustrated and lonely. Our house was still on the market with no action.

June
I started to get sick all the time. I blamed the water. We went back to the first church and found a home. Our house was not showing at all. We started to get to know our neighbors. We had two guests. One came over for dinner. She was visiting family that live an hour away. Another friend flew in from Kansas and stayed a week.

July
We spent the 4th with neighbors and it was great. We had friends stop for dinner on their way through on vacation. It finally stopped raining so much. I was really sick in the beginning of the month. The nausea subsided, but then other issues came up that made me sicker. We fired our agents in KC on the 28th and I went to the ER on the 29th.

August
I began August being tested for cancer. An uncertain diagnosis and continued illness led to a referral to a new doctor at the end of August. In the meantime, we secured a new agent for the house. By mid August, we had a contract. We were within days of foreclosure and bankruptcy.

September
On the 3rd, I had surgery. On the 5th, we made the trip back home to visit family. On the 8th and my husband's birthday, we finally sold our house. We disposed of all of our debt. It was amazing! On the 17th, I learned that my illness all summer was a pregnancy and miscarriage that had been missed. They did find suspicious cells, but the miscarriage was the problem. By the end of September, I was in a full blown meltdown.

October
We had another miscarriage in the first few weeks. During that time, we traded in the car for a Tahoe and started to meet more people. We took a vacation to Lake Erie. We spent a lot of time praying about fertility treatments and school for me.

November
I committed to Liberty University and things started to get a teeny tiny bit easier. I went to the ER twice. Once with a possible blood clot in my leg and once for a gallbladder attack. We made the trip back for Thanksgiving. We took a few days in Branson for vacation and then spent time with friends and family.

December
We didn't do a lot this month. The holidays were hard. Developing new traditions was hard. We mostly spent the month learning to praise God in the tough times. The last week of the month (now), my brother and his family visited.

It was a crazy year. Our faith was strengthened. Our love was tested. Our tolerance for adapting was forever changed. Our trust in others was renewed. Our hearts were broken. We survived by faith and with those who walked with us through it all.

I would never change any of it, but I'm glad it's over.