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juststartn
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 9:27am | IP Logged
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Well, some of you may remember me...whew. What a year.
I think I posted about the boys arriving early, back in May (the dr's induced me at 34 wks, and while both boys were head down, we had some heart deceleration issues with one of them, so we ended up with an emergency c-section). They were nice and reasonably healthy, but being only 4# 11 and 5#2, they stayed in the hospital for around two weeks each...they were home a week and DH left for Iraq..supposed to be gone for 15-18mos. He was sent home in mid-October. His back being as bad as it is, precludes him from doing basically anything over there (going to work/chow/mass/shopping requires a 1/2 mile walk in each direction, and he gets 1/2 way there, and is in agony...).
Anyway, the army is looking to retire him, either medically, or "regularly"--he's post 20 yrs, so he can retire regularly if they will let him. But things are moving fast, and we may be "out" by the end of April/early May, depending on when the Army moves itself. We are looking at moving back nearer to DHs family in KS (most are in/around Wichita), or OK..maybe AR. Somewhere in that area.
But thank you for your prayers. Things have been...crazy. LOL. Homeschooling, getting thru the wee months with the twins, spending almost a month with my parents (August), my sister's wedding in October...sheeesh. I feel like I've been run thru the ringer.
But there is much good news, in spite of the rapid changes in direction. DHs spiritual 2x4 last summer has helped IMMENSELY, not just in the obvious issues of religion, but in the way that faith affects our day-to-day life. I cannot prove it is because of that 54 day rosary novena we/I did last winter/spring, but I did ask for him to get a wake up call that didn't involve someone dying to get it...and boy, did he get it!  The Blessed Mother really must have pulled some strings for that one, lol.
The boys are healthy, and are about 6 1/2 mos now. We're dealing with colds/upper respiratory issues thruout the family, but the boys are apparently on the recovering end of things, so we are doing alright there. The homeschooling is coming along, although I am delaying teaching my 2d dd phonics because of her speech delay (not being able to sound out the blends makes reading phonetically difficult--she does do well with sight words, though, so we are working on getting some of those "down", so that she will be able to help read along, til she can make some more progress with the speech therapist...
But any prayers you ladies can throw up for our transition will be appreciated. We should get a decent percentage of disability, so that will help, but as bad as things are, well, every penny (and every prayer!) will help.
Thank you, ladies...
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
Helena(Layna) 5/23/02
Sophia 4/19/04
John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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Rachel -
All last week I kept thinking of you, wondering how you all are, etc. Thank you so much for updating us! It certainly sounds as if you have lots going on (understatement?). You and your family are in my prayers.
Peace,
Nancy
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 10:10am | IP Logged
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I've been wondering how you were doing too Rachel! The Blessed Mother has surely been busy with you guys! So many answered prayers in your family. I'll be sending up prayers of thanksgiving, and prayers for your continued needs - though it seems clear that Our Lady has your family safely tucked away under her mantle!
Blessings for you all during the upcoming season of Advent Rachel!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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MichelleW
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 10:23am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the update Rachel, it helps to know how to pray!
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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Willa
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 11:07am | IP Logged
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I will be praying. It sounds like God is really working in your lives right now; may your family be covered with grace and discernment in making decisions and seeking His will.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
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mary theresa
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 3:25pm | IP Logged
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Rachel, I too have been wondering how you are! I will pray for you.
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Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
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Leonie
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 3:27pm | IP Logged
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Rachel - prayers and hugs. You've been through a lot and I pray for you and for discernment.
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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Erin
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 3:44pm | IP Logged
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Rachel
I have often thought of you and wondered how you were coping with all the little ones on your own with dh overseas. And I did wonder how the wedding went, very surprised to hear you went for a month, I remember the thread when you were debating whether to go, I can well imagine what the month was like 
Now I have a new direction to pray for I'll be praying for you to receive the best monetary outcome possible and for discernment as to where to move to. Will your husband be able to work at all in a new type of employment ? Or are the back injuries such that he can't? I grew up in a household dominated by back injuries, my dad had smashed discs in his spine, praying for your dh's pain.
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Nov 26 2007 at 6:20pm | IP Logged
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Good to see, Rachel . I am praying for your intentions.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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juststartn
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| Posted: Nov 27 2007 at 5:10pm | IP Logged
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Well, DH "could" work at something else...maybe. We're honestly hoping that he does't HAVE to, if we can move to an area with a lower cost of living. And if he gets enough from the army, with disability, as well as from the VA. But we'll have to see how that all works out--the Army is the fastest part. The VA can take f-o-r-e-v-e-r (or so I hear). But we really need to just get out of this house and move someplace cheaper. The Army will move us once, within a year of his retirement. But the longer we wait to do it, the more it is going to cost us.
Fortunately, the housing market has not really slowed here (too many soldiers coming home with $$ and a decent amount of housing here, in various price ranges...), and this area sells pretty quickly (its nice for starter homes, as well as for those looking to invest in rental property). So we're pretty sure it will sell decently quickly. But we want to maximize our return. We've got about 15k in equity right now, based on our purchase price, but still...that's not going to go "that" far, really.
If any of you ladies are in, or know of anyone in the OK/AR/KS areas, particularly someone in the OKC/Tulsa/Wichita/Little Rock areas, and they know of any property outside of those towns..well, we're looking for about 5-10 acres, and a decent house (preferably over 2000 sq ft), with no structural problems....I don't care about the cosmetic--I am going to want to make any place we buy "mine"...but its hard looking from this far away, so any and all "feelers" we have out, are better than what we are doing by our lonesome here, 2 days drive away...
DH and I want to do a bit more self-sufficient living--small animals, a good sized garden, etc, to stretch our income. He's not completely and totally physically disabled, you see, but the painkillers he has to take that take the edge off of the pain, also take the edge off of his ability to focus/care/do any mental work (which is probably the hardest part of his issues, cause he's such a mentally intense man).
Fortunately, his 2x4 moment came at a good time--he is able to offer up as much of this pain as he can....it may not be good for him, on the surface, but why waste a perfectly "good" back problem? 
Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Its been absolutely nuts here the past couple of weeks--DH got home mid-Oct, and then we had the onset of the never-ending chest cold/virus...apparently its going around town and has a really loooong lasting effect. I know one boy who has had it for a MONTH and there is nothing that the dr's can do, except to say "use Sudafed" ---yeah--for a MONTH?!?!
Anyway, my dc seem to be on the tail end of it--well, mostly. They still have coughs, and the girls are not really keen on eating as much as usual, but the boys seem to be rebounding faster, thank goodness.
Thank you for the prayers...they've been felt...
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
Helena(Layna) 5/23/02
Sophia 4/19/04
John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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Bethany
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| Posted: Nov 28 2007 at 8:03am | IP Logged
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Rachel,
I grew up near Little Rock and attended college in Jonesboro, AR. My parents now live in Ft. Smith (pretty close to Tulsa and right across the river from OK. Housing in the LR area is not necessarily inexpensive. I grew up in Cabot and it has definately grown a lot! It's about 22 miles from LR. You would probably have to go further out than that to find acreage at a good price. Have you considered TX? Low housing costs and no income tax. Property taxes are higher but I still think you come out ahead over other states. Arkansas has pretty high taxes (income, property, personal property and sales tax on everything, including groceries, near 10%).
However, you can find acreage pretty reasonable in eastern Oklahoma (places like Sallisaw or McAllister).
PM me if you want any other information. I've lived in Arkansas and Texas, as well as Arizona, Georgia and Virginia  .
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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juststartn
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| Posted: Nov 28 2007 at 10:46pm | IP Logged
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Wow, thanks for the heads up on AR! The things you don't know til you ask someone...
Well, AR is actually the third ranking place...we'd prefer OK or KS, just cause those are closer to some of our friends and DH's family (who are primarily in the Wichita area). My folks are going to be settling in NW MS, about 45 min outside of Memphis on 78...so AR would be a faster/shorter drive for them...but you know, I can deal...lol
Thanks for the info...
Rachel (who grew up in GA, and doesn't ever want to live there again, lol--too expensive, too crowded...well, you get the idea..lol)
__________________
Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
Helena(Layna) 5/23/02
Sophia 4/19/04
John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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Dawnie
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| Posted: Nov 29 2007 at 8:22pm | IP Logged
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Rachel,
We are in Wichita, KS! :)
Sorry, I don't have time to read this whole thread...I'm in the middle of trying to get my littles ready for bed...I'll come back to this later....so sorry if I'm giving you info that you don't need anymore...
Anyway, there's a FANTASTIC, Catholic homeschool support system here. Cost of living is very reasonable and I know several families who own land around the city. PM me if I can help you in any way...
Dawn
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juststartn
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| Posted: Dec 07 2007 at 11:44am | IP Logged
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Do we have any Tulsa ladies? DH and I are looking at some places outside of there at the moment....
Rachel
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Married DH 4/1/95
Lily 3/11/00
Helena(Layna) 5/23/02
Sophia 4/19/04
John 5/7/07
David 5/7/07
Ava Maria, in the arms of Jesus, 9/5/08
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: I'm not sure where to put this..update
