Mach 8

HI!

Well, I thought I would update this site in case anyone out there is still paying attention...

Since my last post a LOT has happened, so I will just sum it up~

I did nanny for a while, but it proved to be more work and more responsibility than I felt I could handle right now. The family was paying me $5 an hour and I was working 11 hours a day, with 4 kids under 5 years old. It was hectic and I couldn't actually interact with Aspen, so she spent her days in a backpack on my back... which also gave me back pain. Lesson learned: the grass is always greener.

We also got robbed. Our neighbors watched as 4 young wanna be thugs pulled up and took anything of any value out of our home. There was some vandalism, but mostly I was thankfull Aspen and I weren't home when it happened. The very worst feeling I have experianced so far in my life is the moment I realized our laptop was stolen along with every picture we have ever taken of Aspen. I felt like someone had ripped my heart and soul out, and then pissed all over them. The pictures of Chris and I fixing up our first house, all of the pregnancy photos, preparing the nursery.... BIRTH and the first few precious months of our babys life!!! I was devistated, simply crushed that people in this world could be so awful. Along with the robbery, someone let our dogs out of the yard, and they are gone forever. There was a posting of a dog matching Duke's description dead on the road... again, I am thankful Aspen is not old enough to ask any questions. We filed insurance claims, but the amount of stuff and damage done far exceded the amount of money we got back.

THEN we sold the house! After being listed for only a few days we had a nice young couple make an offer we couldn't refuse. They loved Aspen's room so much they had it written into the contract that we would leave all the decorations!

SO, we were temporarily homeless when we got the news that Chris was soon to be out of a job because the Bank was closing down. Neat. We decided to move into my Mom's house until life settled down. Aspen was in HEAVEN!!! Wake up, Grandma and Grandpa are there... nap time, kisses from Grandma and Grandpa... Bed time haha etc. It was nice to be able to go back home. I think about all the people who aren't as fortunate and it makes me sad. In this economy more and more people have nowhere to go, and we count our blessings that we have so many great people in our family that we won't have to worry about going without the basic needs.

NEXT, I go back to work at the sleep lab. It was a great move, as hard as it is to be up all night and a Mom all day... It was smart to jump back into a long-term (hopefully) career field, and with Chris still looking for employment I make enough here to keep things floating if necessary.

UHM, then we bought a house. Yep. We BOUGHT A HOUSE! We were keeping our eyes open for great deals, and found our dream home. It is in the best school district in Colorado Springs, close to walking trails and parks... such a great size for our little family, with an open floor plan and and and and. The list goes on and on. It is definantly a little risky to buy a house without guarenteed income from Chris, but he has a bunch of leads to great jobs. We also used equity out of the old house to pay off ALL our bills. So, we own our cars outright and don't have any more debt at all! YAY!

Sheesh. You would think all of that happened in a whole year right? Nope, 2 weeks. Hence the title "Mach 8" because it often feels like our lives are moving at warp speed. :)