I am amaze at the change in our children. We had to do without a lot. This is one of the best things that ever happened to us. My two oldest daughters birthdays are in the summer. I remember asking them what they wanted for their birthday. One of my daughters wanted pencils; the other wanted something of equal value. They understood our situation and were content with whatever they got. As a family we pulled much closer together, we circled the wagons you might say. It was tough I was working seven days a week long hour days. On Sundays I would work before church and after mostly soliciting business with little to no success. When we did our taxes we realized that we would have been better off financially if I had sat on the couch and watched television instead of worked. But that work paid off dividends with the kids.
My kids watched me work. They worked with me and many times it was long hard physical days. One day Hannah and Claire helped me and my brother-in-law build a deck (pro-bono) and wheel chair ramp. We left the house at 7:00 AM and returned at 11:30 pm. It was hot, lots of bugs and the smell of dog excrement was intense. The girls never complained. One helped me and one helped Lee. We could not have completed the task without them. They learned how to use a level and became proficient with a nail gun. 
I had won a bid on a repair job and Timothy who was six at the time came and helped. One of the things that needed to be done was repairs to the deck. It went from repairs to a tear out and replace. The deck was on the west side of the town house. It was surrounded on three sides by a concrete block wall that irradiated the heat. It had to be 20oF cooler in the sun. Timothy helped me all day. I would rip out boards and he would carry them to the trailer to be hauled off. He never complained. The next day he was ready to go back and rebuild it. I must say he makes me proud.
This past summer 2009, we bought 10 acres with a nasty 1000 sf doublewide in need of a lot of work. We started working on it June 6th and moved in August 5th. The kids worked ten to twelve hour days. We didn’t take days off. It had to get done. One day Timothy and I were mixing concrete for the AC pad and Lucy who was four at the
time came over and helped. She got the hoe and mixed the concrete for me for about an hour. When we finished she went inside and cleaned out the fridge without being asked. Keep in mind this place was vacant for years, and the fridge was nasty. Lucy cleaned the rest of the day and when she was finished it needed almost no touch up from Mom to make it usable. 3.J
I am proud of my family. We have never been closer. My kids value hard work, family time, and each other. We have grown a lot and I am thankful for the trials we have experienced. The economy drove me back into the classroom in 2008. May have been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Every day I look forward to going to work, I truly love my students and have a supervisor who make being there a pleasure. God has a way of getting you to the place he wants you.
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