To Catch You Up

I know it has been a while since I posted on here, so I need to catch you all up on things going on around the Zehr household.

As I posted before we have moved into our own home, a mobile home, but still a home. We began moving in on May 23 and finished unloading the truck on May 24. We are currently trying to make it all fit, get rid of it or store whatever won't fit and can't be sold at a yard sale. The weekend after the move in was spent putting up a shed at the back of the house to store Christmas decorations, things that we can't get rid of but don't have room for now, and things for the yard sale. In the process of getting the shed up, Mom and I were at Home Depot to pick up things, we ran into to a nice man who offered to help us load the supplies into Mom's car. During the process we learned he is an active duty Air Force Sargent who asked if we needed help putting up the shed. I gladly accepted his offer. The next day he came by and spent the entire weekend helping us get everything done. We have a beautiful shed for all the stuff we have overflowing the house at this time. This has helped with getting some room to walk around, it also allows us to unpack boxes one at a time and then bring in another one. The process of setting up the house has been slow, as of today we are still living with boxes and looking for stuff that we need.

The week before we moved we were in Trinidad to watch our daughter graduate. It was a bittersweet weekend. We were excited for her but with the past problems it was not all happiness. She looked beautiful and is now engaged to be married to her love, Derek. That was a surprise of sorts, we had been saying we thought sometime within the year after graduation they would get engaged, but we didn't expect it at graduation. We are happy for them but a little concerned that she might be rushing things, she is putting off college for now to work and plan her wedding. I pray she will decide to go back to college even it is only for her Associates from Trinidad State Junior college.

Ben had surgery on his left hip to correct the same problem he had with the right one, on June 2nd. He is doing well with his recuperation other than one set back. Just before his two week check up, he slipped on the kitchen floor and landed on the left hip. We had to take him in to see his surgeon the next day. We got the good news, seems he may have popped an internal stitch and torn a muscle but no need to go back in to fix anything. He seems to be much better the last couple of days. He is looking forward to his four week checkup when he might be able to get to go swimming. I hope this will come about as he has been so cooped up so far and is so bored.

James has been working so hard at Elitch's. He must be doing so well cause he just began a 10 day schedule of no days off. He has been having a great time when he is not working, the benefits of working at an amusement park are good. He took Ben and Chance to spend the day at Elitch's a few days before Ben's surgery so that Ben would have some fun to think about while he was recuperating for 6 weeks. Then he went to a concert at the park after spending a day there with his girlfriend, they both said it was great.

David has been playing house husband for now. I am hoping he will get a part-time job soon as he is going crazy as well as driving me nuts. I started a job at a liquor store in Watkins, about 3 miles from home. I am working for a man that Michelle works with, she recommended me for the job. Thanks Sis!! So far it is OK, not exactly what I want for a career, but for now it helps with the bills and what VA Disability does not cover. I am still submitting applications in hopes of a job that will suit me more.

That's about all the news here for now. I will try to be more diligent about posting more often to keep everyone up to date. For now, God Bless Everyone!! Come visit when you can!

Moved and Unpacking

We have moved to our "new" home in Aurora. We bought a 1994 Liberty Single wide mobile home that was previously a rental. Yes we have a few things to repair and it has not been cared for in the best manner. Needless to say this has eaten up the remainder of our backpay from the VA. We will try to start saving for a few other things such as a swamp cooler. For now, we have gotten the storage shed up and just about finished the roof, James will get up there tomorrow to put the ridge shingles on for us. Then we need to caulk it in spots and prime the new wood that the company did not prime. Eventually the house and the shed will be painted the same color as this is a requirement of the park we live in. Much discussion will go into choosing a color.

Right now it feels good to be sleeping in our own bed and having much more room to move around without tripping over each other. We are tripping over boxes but I think I have come up with a plan to stop this. I have asked David and the boys to put all the boxes in the shed for the time being, then I will go thru each box one at a time and put things away in the house. This way we can clean the rooms first as they got really tracked up with mud and dirt from the move. The mud came from all the rain we received while moving over Memorial Day weekend, we layed towels down and asked everyone to wipe their feet but you still get it tracked over the new carpet.

Things are slowly getting back to normal for the four of us, seems strange to say that but with Beth living in Trinidad and planning a wedding, I need to get used to it. James is working very hard not only at home but at Elitch's, an amusement park for those of you who do not know. I have not been able to work at this time due to all the moving chaos and the fact we have no phone. Ben is preparing for the surgery on his left hip, Tuesday, June 2nd at noon, I will keep you all posted on his status. David is going to start looking for a job very soon, again, he and I both have a lead on one about 3 miles from here for a friend of my sister, Michelle. Everyone please cross your fingers and toes and say some prayers for this job to work out for us both.

God Bless you all!!

Goodbye THS and Trinidad

Graduation is done! May 17, 2009 we watched our daughter walk across the floor to receive her diploma from Trinidad High. It was a bittersweet moment for both of us. We were thrilled to see her complete her high school education but it means the end of her youth. There are several other factors that go along with this milestone. Most of you know about the problems we have been having with Elizabeth in the past year, many of which have been compounded with our move back to Aurora 6 months ago and her 18th birthday in January. She continues to tell us, not in specific words, but with innuendos, that we are not wanted in her life, yet when something big happens she comes running to us first. This is such a hard thing to deal with, I want to take her in my arms when things happen and just hold her but she pushes me away. So I have come to the conclusion that I must stay away, take the news at a distance and wish her all the best. I was able to hug her and tell her congratulations on her graduation and I told her I love her but the reception from her was very cold. Take it and move on..I told myself. The news of her engagement was a shock to a point but was also expected at sometime within this year of graduation. So I took it with shock the night before graduation when they came to our hotel to tell us, wishing them nothing but happiness which is what every parent wants for their child. The next day I was over my shock enough to go to her party and wish them both the best and to welcome Derek into the family. Going to take some time to get used to saying son-in-law and at least for now I can say she is not pregnant. She does have a job lined up and will begin working soon, I even know and respect her boss, so I am proud of her for doing this as much as I am proud of her for graduating.

We will be saying our final goodbyes to Trinidad this next weekend when we take a moving truck down to retrieve our household goods which have been storage there since the move to Aurora. We have been approved for and will close on a 16x80 ft single wide mobile home in eastern Aurora this week. Though David still does not have a job and I only have my part-time job, we did get a partial increase from the VA which is enough to live on. The mobile home is pre-owned and in good shape, not our dream home but is much better than continuing to live in my parents 5th wheel. We are going to live in this place for at least a year to see if our credit scores improve to purchase something more like what we want. For now, it is 3 bedrooms - one for each of the boys, 2 baths and more square footage than we have had in quite a while. The best part is the laundry room that is so large we can put our freezer in there along with the washer and dryer and still have room to move comfortably. I will take some photos this week when we do our walk through and post them soon.

Thank you everyone who reads this blog and keeps us in your prayers. We will continue to pray for all of you. God Bless everyone!!

The New Year!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009! I pray you will be nicer to me and my family than '08 was.

With all the turmoil in our lives since June 30, 2007, things have got to get better this year. We are now in a new (old) city. We are looking for new jobs. We are sleeping in a camper and sharing the use of the house with 5 other people for a total of 9 people in this house most of the time. Things are slowly turning around for us and I must be patient.

Please keep us in your prayers, David and Mom especially. Mom for her health and David that he will come out of the depression and other problems he has been dealing with. We pray for all our family and friends everyday and wish all God's Blessings everyday!

Family Happenings

Since the last time I posted, Ben has now been school for five weeks at Hinkley. He seems to be doing well, misses his friends of course, but he is making new ones. He has signed up to play Lacrosse during the winter season which involves practices thru the week with games on Saturdays. I look forward to watching him and learning more about the sport, it will be nice to see more than one or two games like I did when James played.

Beth seems to be settling in at Derek's home and with school. She has had a few problems with some of the girls at school but I think the plan that Mrs. Mason and Beth worked out for next semester will benefit all involved. She is going to be attending her core classes in the mornings and have the afternoons free, hopefully she will find a job so she can stay busy until graduation.

James is almost done with this first semester at TSJC (Trinidad State Junior College) and has applied at Aurora Community College for next semester. They should be able to transfer all his credits and financial information to ACC so that he can just come up here and enroll in classes in January. We haven't determined whether he will work or not when he gets here, I think it will depend on his class schedule and how much homework is involved.

David is finishing his semester at TSJC, then he will move up here to find a job. If things work out for him to go back to school part-time in the evenings then he will apply at ACC. First things first, he has to get a job. We have been sending him emails with some prospects, not sure what he has done about them. I do know that he has been so preoccupied with moving, cleaning and school that today, he backed into another car causing a dent in the door. Then of all things, he didn't leave his information for the person he just went off to school to take one of his finals. He arrived home to find a police officer waiting for him with two tickets. Now he has to face the judge to see if he can keep his license as one of the tickets was for leaving the scene of an accident and is 12 points. I pray he gets a really lenient judge that will forgive him.

Things are going slowly for me, I have posted my resume with several companies and have tried to get an appointment with the temporary agency but have not been able to speak with them or have them return my calls. I am not giving up! I have also put in some hours with my online company to help get some income coming in, but with all that I have to complete for moving, looking for a job and other things, I have moved slowly getting that done.

Gotta run and take care of things, God Bless you all!!

Packing part 3...the final packing installment

We did it! We got the apartment packed and all of it into storage except what we needed here. As I looked at the storage unit one last time, until we unpack it to move it here, I couldn't believe it all fit. As we were packing it, Dad had to keep telling me " it will all go!" Mom and I discussed it on the way home, it would not have worked if we had put the boys beds and Beth's things in there. We were lucky that she needed and took all of her furniture to Derek's house.

As we left Trinidad, of course the tears flowed. It was very hard to say goodbye to all my friends and the "family" we had made in the 14 years we were there. Leaving Trinidad was as it had been when we moved there. I remember those first few years, I was so miserable without my family and my friends, that I begged David to take me home. Now I would give anything to be staying there. Don't get me wrong, I am glad to be here with my family and those friends I still have here, but there is nothing like small town life. The closeness with those friends and our church family is such a heart warming thing it will be hard to be without that. But I know that just as I got used to life in those first years, I will adjust to life in the big city again. For now, it seems overwhelming and suffocating but it will get better, part of that will come thru prayer.

Goodbye Trinidad!! We will miss all our friends, please keep in touch!

God Bless you all!

Packing part 2

Update...we got so much done this weekend! Not only did we get the storage unit re-packed to put more in but we got quite a bit packed at the apartment and moved to storage.

After Church yesterday, we had a nice lunch as it was the annual Thanksgiving potluck for all. Then we came home to hit it hard for a few hours before having to return to Aurora so Ben could be in school today. Beth and I had started working when David and James arrived with news that our friends, Burt and Lorna, were right behind them to help. Once they arrived things just went fast and furious.

We got the china hutch completely emptyied and moved to storage, the cabinet in the bathroom, the video cabinet packed and moved, and quite a bit of the kitchen stuff that won't be needed for a while. We got so many boxes packed and moved that the apartment is looking quite bare. What a feeling of accomplishment! Thanks so much to Burt and Lorna, if they had not been there with their vehicle we wouldn't have moved as much as we did.

It is back to Aurora for two weeks now to continue the job search, then on December 5th or 6th we will be going back down to pack and move more. We are giving our notice to our landlord on December 1st so we will have to be out in 30 days. Things are looking up, Ben is very happy at school and is happy to be out of all the drama at THS. Of course he misses his friends and would love to be able to graduate with them but he is tried of the history that follows him. A fresh start for him and for us is looking like a good thing. Brother Dave said yesterday that I looked more rested than I had in several months. I really appreciated that.

More later until then God Bless Everyone!

Packing part 1

After two weeks in Aurora getting settled in the fifth wheel, sending out a few resumes, and getting Ben in school, we drove back to Trinidad yesterday to start the packing process.

We have had most of our household in a storage unit for three years now due to the fact we moved into a small three bedroom apartment. In order to get the current furniture and other miscellaneous item from the apartment into the storage unit, it had to be cleaned out and re-packed. We started the process at 8:30 this morning and did not finish until 5:00 pm. We got rid of so much stuff between taking it to the dump or to the used furniture place here in town. I think we made five trips to the dumpsters or the dump and four to the 2nd hand store. There is now about 1/4 of the stuff in the storage unit that there was originally.

It feels so good to know that we will now be able to put our furniture, kitchen and miscellaneous stuff in there until we find a place to live in Aurora or some city around the metro area. First, we have to find jobs and make sure we have the deposits we will need to rent a house or apartment.

I started the packing process here at the apartment tonight. Didn't get very far due to the sore back, legs and arms from earlier today. I did get my china hutch packed for the most part. We plan on coming back in two weeks with Mom and maybe Dad in tow to help with packing things that David and James will not need for the last few weeks they are here. That will give them the room to clean a little bit each day so that there won't be so much to clean as we move the last bit of stuff out.

Well it is well past midnight and if I plan on getting to church tomorrow, I need to sleep. I don't think Brother Dave will appreciate me falling asleep in church. Then it will be time to pack the car with the rest of the stuff to go back to Aurora for the next two weeks.

Take care all and God Bless Everyone!!