A couple of weeks after moving into the barn, we packed up and "moved" again. We headed up north to the Pine Bluff Resort to spend a week of togetherness with the Lotterman family. After a visit to Mackinaw City to stock up on yummy fudge for the week, we arrived at our destination in the late afternoon. Much fun was had together. We kept quite busy in the indoor and outdoor pools, playing many games of kickball with cousins and uncles, watching the Tigers and playing games in the game room, going for walks at dusk, sitting around the campfire, dodging hungry mosquitoes, taking day trips to Tahquamanon Falls, Pictured Rocks and beautiful waterfalls, having church together in a cabin, kayaking, cruising around the lake on the pontoon, and generally making wonderful memories. I'm sure I've missed a few things, but all in all we had a wonderful trip and were a bit sad to head home the following Saturday.
After about a week at home we "moved" again. This time it was to the basement of Dad and Mom Lotterman's condo. The only room left intact in our house (the bathroom) was finally being torn apart so we couldn't stay home anymore. Russ and I and Calvin and Gracie slept in the bedroom, while the boys sacked out in the family room. It was nice to have a real kitchen to work in again, and to not have to walk across our backyard whenever we had to use the bathroom. Russ enjoyed his stay because there was always ice cream in the freezer (something we rarely have at home). After about 3 weeks at Dad and Mom's we were able to move back home again, after the plumber reinstalled the toilet in our new bathroom. This time back home, we settled into more of a routine and were able to have a somewhat "normal" life again without having to pack up and move every few weeks.
During the first week of October, Russ went to Iowa for 5 days to work on a friend's house through Tru-Built. I'm not going to say it was easy or fun staying in the barn for 5 days by myself with the kids, and there were a few days where I cried all day, but we made it, and were so excited that Russ was able to fly home on Saturday evening. We were so very thankful that he did not have to stay longer than that. We were also so thankful for the work bee that was organized for the Saturday Russ was gone, where a bunch of siblings and a few of my uncles came and were able to get a lot of the drywall hung for us.
About a week later, God provided us with a way to rent an apartment through my uncle who works at Innotech in Zeeland. We gratefully grabbed this opportunity, as it was getting rather difficult to stay warm in the barn and trailer, even with two space heaters running all the time. On Saturday, October 19, we packed up yet again, and moved into an apartment on the backside of the Colonial Clock Building in Zeeland. After that ensued the whirlwind that made up our lives for the next 6 and a half weeks. I would go work at the house for as much of the day as I could, painting, staining and doing whatever needed to be done, and Russ would come there from work, we would have supper and I would stay until it was time to go back to the apartment to put the kids to bed. Russ would come home later, usually around midnight or so, and we would collapse into bed, only to do it all over again the next day. Sundays were even more welcomed, as we were able to really rest from our labors of the week. We are so thankful to God that we were able to finish what we had to so we could finally move back in to our home on December 4. With the help of Dad and Mom Lotterman and Heidi, we packed up the apartment and loaded our stuff into three vehicles and headed back home.
Since then, things have slowed down considerably. We were able to decorate a bit for Christmas, the kids were happy that we were able to put up our tree.
We still have a few odds and ends to complete.....wood on the living room ceiling, building the bookcases by the hallway, finishing some trim and baseboard in the kitchen and laundry room, and building shelves in the storage room. All in all though, we are settled in quite nicely, staying nice and toasty warm in our newly insulated house and currently right smack in the middle of a busy tax season. Looking back we can see God's hand in all that we have been through. There were many ups and downs, (seemingly more downs) but God was with us through it all, and brought us through on the other side so much stronger than before. We are so very thankful to all you who helped us, and continue to help us, but above all we are thankful to our faithful heavenly Father who keeps His promise to never leave us or forsake us.
