GOnna have a better 2010 because we're starting it at WDW

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OK, so I guess I"ll begin at the beginning(ish).

The cast: Patrick (DH) 28, sailor in the USN, can fix anything that needs to be plugged into a wall, loves to hike, is the best dad in the world, I love him a whole lot and I think you should too!

Liz (Me) 27, SAHM, loves to cook (but hates doing the dishes), love knitting, crocheting, The Price is Right. OMG! I'm 85 years old! I try my best to be logical about things, even things that defy logic.

Patty (DA) 58, my aunt who lives with us. She has Down Syndrome, but don't feel sorry for her. She's a hoot and a holler! She's probably on the mental level of your average kindergartner, but don't play cards with her because you will leave broke and she WILL be laughing at you.

Nora (DD1) 4, almost 5, she's my miniature adult. She can be reasoned with, understands things that are far beyond her years, and has a vocab that is out of this world. I fear her becoming a teenager. I think one of us will have to move out.

Katie (DD2) 3, my boy trapped in a girl's body. Sweet and caring, but will jump out a window if you aren't looking. Food thief extraordinaire. She wants to be Brain Urlacher or Peter Pan when she grows up. I hope she gets her wish.

A Pic of my kiddos because I think they are too stinking cute for words.

Next up: Why we NEED to go to Disney.

 

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So 2008-2009 have not been terribly kind to us thus far. My husband deployed last summer, and I moved home to live with my mom and her sister.

Well that wasn't working out because my mom's house was just too tiny. So my in-laws asked us to come stay with them. They had more space a back yard, closer to my kid's pre school, etc.

A few weeks after moving over to my in-laws I got a call from my mom's boss that she had collapsed at work and was being rushed to the hospital in a ambulance. My amazing BIL took my kids so I could go be with her. They thought she was having a heart attack, but it turned out to be terminal cancer.

Never thought I'd WISH my mom had had a heart attack.

She had tumors in her liver, her bones, and her lymph nodes. It was very advanced and they knew she would not live through it. She went through chemo in the hopes of shrinking the tumors to elongate her life and make her more comfortable. Now I'm no doctor, but I don't know a SOUL who is MORE comfortable while on chemo.

I went back to living with my mom to take care of her and my disabled aunt. I think taking care of Patty was the hardest part of it all. She has watched everyone she loves grow up around her and die. Her parents, all of her brothers and sisters, some of her nieces and nephews. And she just keeps plugging along. GOd bless that woman. She has taught me SO much about patience, compassion, and laughter through tears. And now she's teaching my kids. I could not ask for a more wonderful person to be a part of my family.

So six moths go by and my mother passes. I wish I could say it was peaceful but it was not. My MIL was there with my holding my hand with me, crying with me, something I really did not expect. It was a turning point in our relationship and it did bring us if not closer, at least to a better place.

So now I go through the rigmarole of getting my husband home from deployment, having a funeral, moving from Chicago to Seattle, finding a place to live, and doing it all in 3 weeks.

We ended up with a BEAUTIFUL rental house 10 minutes from the base here and we just love it. The kids, Patty, and I got settled in and my husband went back to his deployment.

He's come home and been in and out since then. The ship he's on has an insane schedule and he's been home 1 year of the last three years. Not all at once, a few months here a few months there.

Well I've always dreamed of taking my kids to Disney. I never got to go growing up because we just didn't have the money, but I got to go as an adult and I KNEW that if I ever had kids I'd get them there, by hook or by crook. I"d sell toenail clipping sculptures if I had to!

My husband was playing around with the finances and when we sat down and looked at the numbers, it was TOTALLY feasible. Something that quite honestly surprised me. I was expecting to have to sell my left kidney or something!

Patrick's parents have the DVC membership and have been to nearly every resort on property, so he called them just to get some pointers/opinions on some things before we booked our trip. His dad asked if he could call them back in about an hour and my husband said sure. When he called back his father told him that they had called DVC and were ready to book us a 1 br villa at OKW if we wanted it. It was our anniversary/Christmas/birthday/you survived this year present. OF COURSE we accepted and we both cried a little. It was really overwhelming and SO kind of them.

Thanks for reading my novel!

Up Next: To DDP or Not to DDP? That is the question?