59 Days and One Bathroom...

Hey guys. Sorry for the lull. We have had a birthday, Spring Break, and a toddler taking the fireplace covers off the fireplace for weeks on end, to then tripping and falling face first on said fireplace. It was a hard hit on his precious head and on my heart. So, we are just coming out of the woods on that bit of continued head drama. BUT, he will be fine:) Thank the Lord above.

I have had some awesome friends text and ask what the hold up was on this blog and it made my day. I love that I get to tell my story and people actually want to read it. Kind of like an accident on the side of the road or a bad episode of Vanderpump Rules (Bravo at its best!) You know the story is hard and such, but I believe people can relate on life trials, no matter what the topic. So, let's keep peckin' away.

Immediately, we had a new roommate at our house. My mom and brother really did swoop in and save our little family. They literally quit jobs, used sick days saved to take off for us, and came on an every other night rotation. They truly rose to the occasion and we will forever be indebted to them. We would cook dinner and have them both meet over here to talk about our latest phone calls, character witness progress, lawyer hunt, detective update, polygraph appointments, and so on and so forth. The kids ate it up. They loved all the company and play partners to tuck them in. I mean, Jeff and I couldn't be in the room alone with the kids, so they literally had a fan club following them around!

I can laugh about it now, but our guest bathroom had a bunk shower that we had talked about replacing since we moved into this house 9 years ago. I was sad we had not done that when we had an extra adult living with us for 59 days. I bet they wished we had to. Needless to say, the bathroom has been redone, with a second working shower. Perhaps too late? Perhaps.

The baby was home and recovering with a tube (shunt) on the back side of his head. It drains the fluid and goes all the way down to his stomach to empty the fluid into his urine. So amazing really. It was a tough surgery on his comfort level, but he was feeling better after a week or so. His head expanded with all the pressure, so even though the fluid was draining, his head size is well off the charts at the pediatrician's office. He will have to grow into it, which is okay since he is a big, little dude anyways.

Meanwhile, I had to call my principal at the school I worked at to give our story, so she knew I was going to have to leave my teaching gig right then and there. I had a dynamite group of co-workers that took care of my school stuff. I remember getting a call from my friend Shannon while in the hospital, telling me to hold off on making any emotional decisions. She said my school would hold my job and I had to think before I acted. I did end up leaving mid-year to stay at home, but boy was it nice to feel so loved and supported. Once again. The kindness of friends in these times make me realize how lucky I am in life.

We had to wait weeks at a time to get answers from cps. I mean....WAIT. Wait on this report, that meeting, a phone call. It was brutal. They FINALLY gave us an ultimatum to either wait on the investigation to be completed (which was not going anywhere because the other pending party hired a lawyer) or we could polygraph and clear ourselves. Finally. Ok. Let's do this.

A polygraph it is.

This is a good stopping place for now. I feel like I am all over the place, but that is about right. We spent our days in this very place. Instead of finding the sunshine today, I shall find my bed. Hopefully, I can dream of things that are not stitches and blood. Ugh. I am still coming off that fireplace incident if you can't tell.

Thank you to all that came back to see me. I appreciate you being here.

- Jenn