I'm glad '09 is over, but I am blessed...

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog. I've really gotten into the interactive nature of FaceBook, but even before that I didn't blog much.
You know I usually have something to say, but why wasn't I saying it on my blog?
Years ago my mom used to tell me that typical saying "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all".
Well,....
It wasn't that I didn't have something NICE to say. I just didn't have anything GOOD to say.
Overall 2009 was a lousy year.
It all started...(imagine the movie screen blurring at this point and looking back in time...)
December 22, 2008 (or thereabouts) Not quite a day to go down in infamy, but for the Val Ziegler family, the beginning of a lot of crapola.
Up until this point Larry had been doing construction type work as his main form of income. In 2008 most of the clients &/or banks didn't pay what they owed. Not because he didn't do the work or because they didn't like the work he did.... Mainly because they didn't have the money, but it meant the Trickle Down left us with an empty pot.
Our main "investment" wasn't paying & at this point in time (2010) I think the guy in charge will be wearing federal stripes soon.
Then Larry got a part-time job working evenings at the Canyons ski resort. He would go up & help stock the lodges on the mountain. To get to the locations they would ride snowmobiles or sno cats. This particular night, Larry was riding a snowmobile. In a freak, how stupid can this accident be, way Larry dislocated his shoulder.
Made for a very merry Christmas in '08.
So 2009 begins. Larry isn't working at all. He can't do any viable construction because he can't lift or hold anything with that dislocated shoulder.
Then on January 23 my dad passed away from heart disease. He was 79 years old. He'd lived a long and amazing life. We had no unresolved issues.
I just had known for the longest time I wanted to get out & see him one last time, but we just couldn't afford it.
At that point, we didn't have any connected phone lines so no one in my family could call to let me know about his passing. My lovely niece & her husband drove to our home from West Jordan to give us the news. They let me cry on their shoulders then lent me their phone.
I had to be a total mooch to attend his funeral. I didn't have a dime for a plane ticket, a hotel room, any food, etc.
My wonderful sister Cynthia paid for me to be there & then put up with me in her hotel room. My brothers Jeff & David pitched in too.
Then the night before I fly out to Texas, I find out you now have to pay for your luggage to be on the plane with you. I just about lost it. I was sitting at our dinner table crying because I had $13 to my name & I needed at least $50 so my bag could fly both ways.
Then my girlfriend Cathy Witbeck called & wanted to know if she could swing something by for me. Some of my neighbors had signed a card, thrown in a bunch of money and gave me a bag of munchies for my flights.
Okay, I have some wonderful siblings and fabulous friends.
Oh! And besides the fact that we couldn't afford to fly Larry out, we didn't get him a ticket to the funeral because he was scheduled for surgery the day before I flew to Texas.
Which brings me to another low point of '09.
Larry's all prepped for surgery. They've taken his history & everything. Larry's mom has traveled to town from St. George to help with Larry & the boys while I'm out of town.
Then the anesthesiologist comes in & says he wants Larry to get a cardio work-up prior to surgery since his blood pressure is elevated that day.
Um, well, don't you think it could be elevated due to stress?
1. Mom in town
2. Wife leaving town
3. Wife's dad has died
4. You're not working
5. and won't be working for a LONG time
6. Good points do exist--you don't have to change any diapers for a LONG time either
Well?
So they cancel the surgery.
Larry does get his cardio work-up and he's...wait for it...FINE!
Surgery doesn't get rescheduled again until the end of FEBRUARY!
Oh and in the mean time, Larry broke the thumb on his other hand while he was playing basketball with the ward Scouts. He had surgery for this in March.
So he has one are shoulder in a brace then one hand in a cast. He's not allowed to even hold the baby.
Now remember, he's not working. Because he can't help with the baby, I can't really work either because I need to help him.
So in April we ended up moving out of our big, beautiful home. I'm okay in a lot of ways with this, but I do miss the space & our wonderful friends.
We had no clue where we were going. We had an offer for the house & needed to move in 10 days. We accepted the offer not knowing where we'd be.
That very night one of our neighbors offered his finished basement as a temporary home. It was awesome because the boys were able to still ride the bus to school.
Later that same night one of Larry's friends said something about having a rental he'd never even thought of for us. It wouldn't be available until about two weeks after we'd moved out.
I know! I'm complaining because it really is a lot of stuff to happen in one year.
On the other hand, is anyone else seeing how amazing the Lord is at helping us overcome all the crapola?
Now, this is just to May. The rest of the year isn't quite as traumatizing, but I'm going to do that on the next post just because all this venting is exhausting!