We went from 5 to 5+2 :)

It was around October 2009 when I got this very strong impression that we were supposed to move my mom and dad in with us. I wasn't really sure why, but the prompting came many times. Our lease wasn't due to end for another 6 months, so I thought I would just wait and see what happens. We knew for sure we wanted to move when our lease was up because there were a ton of electrical problems in the house we were renting. The strange thing happened when not one, not two, but all 3 of the other adults who would have to agree to the move came to me at separate times and mentioned all of us moving in together. Well obviously this was meant to happen since all 4 of us (Kevin, my mom, my dad and I) had all felt it. We sat down and discussed some "ground rules." After this talk, we started looking for our new home. Only 6 weeks later with the help of my grandma... we were all moving. The week of Christmas was not the time I would have chosen to move but the deal was just too good to pass up. We all moved out to Herriman into an amazing neighborhood with a ton of awesome people. I met some people out there that I will be friends with for the rest of my life.

About 6 months after we all moved in together, we began to see a small glimpse of why they needed to live with us. My dad is already disabled, and my mom has taken care of him for many years. She held down a very physically and mentally demanding job for over 20 years. Just a few months before we moved in together she lost her job. Her health began to slowly decline then took a drastic turn for the unhealthy. She because having trouble performing daily tasks and would "space out" often. Her memory got worse and worse, so she went into the doctors. This is when her medical roller coaster began to take off. She got diagnosed with 2 or 3 different types of siezures, alzheimers, dimentia, parkinsons and a few other things all within about 6 months or less. They kept adding medication after medication, and her care became one of my main "duties" (for lack of a better word). Then... just when we thought things couldn't get any worse.... We were getting ready to go to church the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and it had been snowing all night. She hit the steps wrong, and ...you guessed it... she falls. She broke her ankle in 4 places, chipped a bone, and dislocated her ankle. We had to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital, and she had to be taken in for an emergency surgery. She had a 7 inch metal plate and 12 screws put in place to basically reconstruct her ankle. This left her wheel chair bound for about 2 months and then restricted to a walker. Well that left us with another problem to face.... Our house was definitely not wheel chair or handicap accessible. We had to move again!! So exactly one week after Christmas on New Years Day we moved again. This was something I never wanted to do, but after only 4 months it has already proven to be a great blessing.

Let me tell you that year was about as insane as they come. I had my 2nd knee surgery on my left knee. Our basement flooded just a few short weeks after my knee surgery while my parents were out of town. This is when Alyssa got sick. Let's just say moving into a new house with a fresh start for the new year seemed to only bring promise..... wrong again.