Hardships

So it has been a while since I have posted anything...I've thought about it but never did anything.  Today I need to take a load off of my chest and lay it out in plain sight!

As many people know we moved to Texas south of Austin end of May.  Robert started working at the same company as his father June first, a start up company that does computer security software.  Robert has been enjoying his work and learning a lot.  He even has his name on several patents now.  We live really close to Robert's mom, dad, and sister  which has been awesome.

The area we are living is nice.  It is green, there are rivers and streams, there seems to be flowers blooming all the time.  It reminds me of Malaysia when we were there in December of 2016...complete with heat and humidity!  We are close to Austin so we can easily go into the city anytime for shopping or entertainment.  The people in our new ward are friendly good people. I have a calling working with the Young Women, which I am really enjoying.  Our apartment is nice and has the amenities I think are necessary...washer, dryer, dishwasher, ice maker (very important here...didn't think about that until I was here), there is even a gym and swimming pool.

Preparing to move here was beyond frustrating.  We were told around the beginning of May or the end of April we needed to be in Texas June 1st.  The company was suppose to help move us here and a change in management nixed that plan. We were then offered a possible solution of a truck in September...well let us just say that is not happening either.  About a month to pack a 3 bedroom home that was very full (I had a lot of boxes that I needed to go through from my childhood home), and trying to find solutions for getting us to Texas.  That in itself is a daunting task.

After the plan for the moving truck was nixed we decided we should go through things and only pack movies, games, books, and some sewing stuff (mainly my machines) and pretty much start over.  We sold our car to my brother in law and his wife, sold our bed to a friend, sold our fish to a pet store, and started purging stuff.  I got through a lot of boxes, so many trips to Goodwill. If that is all that was going on maybe I could of finished boxing the stuff I wanted to keep and get the house cleaned up, if only...

Robert was working and finishing school during this time, he helped when he could with what he could.  One of my best friends was getting married, thankfully before we left for Texas, so a weekend and several hours helping plan was devoted to that...no regrets it is just where some of my time went.  An other friend who said they would help sort and pack injured their back so they couldn't help, and I spent a small amount of time helping them with a couple of things.  Yet another friend was having some serious issues and needed someone to be by there side, so while I packed and sorted I tried to make sure they had food and water and the support they needed...mainly someone to talk to.  With all of this I was not able to finish dealing with the house.

My brother in law and his wife and child  lived downstairs and were going to take over the whole house when we left.  I ended up leaving them a huge mess to deal with, it broke my heart.  The last day we were in Moscow Idaho we were suppose to leave and drive to Bozeman Montana and visit the Museum of the Rockies the following morning.  We were going to try and have some fun while we drove.  Robert finally told me we can not wait any longer around 10 or 11 pm.  Stopping at a friend's house to say a final goodbye we got in the rented minivan with our three guinea pigs and the very basic things we needed (including one of my sewing machines of course) and headed out of Moscow.  We only made it to Coeur d'Alene area that night, but we were at least started on our long journey.

We didn't make it to the Museum of the Rockies the next day and we barely made Yellowstone
in the daylight.  We did see some of the scenery and some bison before it got dark, we even stopped at old faithful, not that impressive in the dark.  We continued our drive into the night and decided to stop in Jackson Hole. We didn't like any of the places that had vacancies and places didn't have vacancies. We finally decided we would stop at a Motel 6.

We had an adventure with the Motel 6 in Jackson Hole.  It was late at night and the keys we were given were not opening the door, we thought we heard someone in the room so we went back to the front desk where they reprogrammed the keys and assured us there was no one in the room.  The keys didn't work again and I saw a hand move the curtain aside so we tried knocking and they would not answer the door (understandable).  Robert stayed to see if he could have the people in the room call the  front desk while I went back to the front desk. The person in the room never came to the door but they finally called the front desk.  The answer to this problem was they had paid for the room next to ours but  opened the door between the rooms and was staying in our room and had the door deadbolted.  Good to know if the door is locked with the deadbolt the key won't work.  We got the attendant to refund us and we decised to keep driving for a little longer.

We finally stopped somewhere down the road that was a better price and a nicer facility.  We took our guinea pigs in so they could be comfortable and so I could change their cages.  We discovered that the water bottles leaked all over their cages and poor Quincey wasn't feeling well.  Poor little guy was in standing water with the AC on him.  The girls cage wasn't as bad thankfully.  We tended to our poor piggies and got some rest.  The next day we started out again knowing we were behind schedule and hoping to make up time.  We ended up stopping at a pullout for a little while to try and rest, but I couldn't sleep.  I drove for a little bit but was to tired to go far so we stopped at a rest stop  with a nice clean bathroom and slept for a couple hours.  When Robert felt rested enough we continued our journey.  We stopped in midland to spend a little time with family there; it was fun respite.  After a nice lunch and visit we were eager to get to our end destination so we started out again with the end of this long journey in sight.  We made it to my in laws house around 10 pm.  We were so glad to be done with the long drive.

Sunday we went to church, unloaded the minivan at the appartment, and got some much needed rest.  The following day we needed to find a car, return the minivan, and find a bed.  It took a good portion of the day but we found a car I liked and got all the paperwork done...Paperwork is what took the longest.  We had barbeque for dinner and spent time with family.  We decided we had to go to walmart and saw a Mattress Firm.  They were suppose to be closed but the sales rep let us in and made a sale, so two of the biggest needs were taken care of.  We stayed at my in laws until the bed was delivered to our apartment.

We have the essentials for our apartment, we are comfortable for the most part.  I do wish the rest of our stuff was here but I know we will get it here eventually....We really do have most of what we need but there are several things that will make things easier and nicer.  We have a lot of hopes and plans that we have not been able to fulfill or meet due to unseen issues with Robert's work. Our cost of living has gone up a lot and we had made plans expecting this job to cover all of  these changes, and so far that has been a far cry from what we were expecting financially.  If it wasn't for my in laws Robert and I wouldn't be surviving down here.

It has been one slap in the face followed by an other.  I know we are so very blessed but it is still hard, it is heartbreaking.  We have done so much to get to Texas and for this job, and now that  we are here, we are far away from friends in family in Idaho, we are in worse debt than we ever have been, and struggling financially.....  Some how I know things will work out, I know we are suppose to be here, I just don't know why we have to struggle so much.  We thought a minimum wage part time job, and paying college tuition was bad....  All the struggles to get here, losing poor Quincey who got sick from the move, not having all my stuff that I wanted to be moved here, constantly in a state of being too poor to buy the groceries and small frivolities I want that make life easier and more enjoyable...

My in laws take good care of us, they feed us and help us with making rent and bills, I will forever be thankful for the help they have given us these past 5 months.  I know they will continue to help us in whatever ways they can, but for Robert's sake I hope we will be able to make it on our own and eventually pay them back.

Robert and I desperately want children, to eventually own a home, to be able to live comfortably without worries of debt hanging over us.  I am not looking for sympathy or handouts, I just really needed to vent to the world, I have been holding all of this in for so long and seeing the struggles around me I couldn't hold it in any longer.