Four months later...

Wow - 4 months..I can't believe I haven't blogged in 4 months!
In 4 months, a lot has happened. To start...about the time I posted my last blog, we rec'd a letter in the mail that we had to go to court for our interest in our house.
Let me back up a little…
We bought our house through land contract in 5/05. We were very excited b/c it was so large & it was a beautiful, old house. We bought it through Westhaven (I know, some of you from Toledo are shaking your heads). At the time, they were the largest land contract comp in Toledo w/great reviews from the BBB & over 300 properties in their possesion.
In 11/05, John Ulmer (founder & owner of Westhaven) was arrested for Securities Fraud, Bad Business Deals, Check forgery (apparently forging his investors signatures) & Falsifying Lead Paint Reports.
We freaked out, we had given them a large down pymt & had already invested 6 mos worth of house pymts into it.
We rec'd laters in the following days, advising us, nothing would change at this time, just continue making house pymts.
Life carried on & nothing else was really heard on Westhaven. There were lawsuits being filed by investors & property owners, but really nothing new on John Ulmer surfaced.
Everything was fine until 4 months ago when we rec'd the letter to go to court.
Court was quick & to the point - we either get financed in 10 days, or we lose the house. Yes, 10 days!
We tried to get financed, but the time table was very hard to work with. That & the fact that finding an investor that would work with a Westhaven house was about a joke.
We were unable to get the financing in time & had to move. We were devastated.
Thankfully my mom & mike let us move in w/them. We are lucky that they now have a place big enough for us to stay. Funny, how last year around this time, they were moving in w/us. It's good to have family, really, what would someone do in these situations if you didn't have each other? It's temporary, just to save for a down pymt, but it's a huge relief to not have to try to find something for us & our dogs. Thanks guys.
While you ponder over why it took 3 yrs for them to get John Ulmer in court (he was in court for these charges 2 wks before the letter arrived) & why he still hasn't gone to jail, I will close with…
Life throws huge curves in our path - sometimes they are angles that you wouldn't think you could round, but God has provided us with amazing strength, so we round that angle & continue on the path, knowing that there will soon be a path so beautiful, we'll be happy that we had the angle to overcome, so we can truly enjoy the beauty we are to receive.
Lastly - here is a short story about our moving adventures...
We're about 95% moved. I'm going to the house tonite to finish up any leftover cleaning & packing. Dennis will move it tomorrow..i'm relieved to be about done!
The point of this email is to share the joy of animals…
We started staying at my moms yesterday, so on our last trip out there, we take the dogs. Scooby & Gizzie still don’t get along (going on 2 yrs strong!), so Scooby rides with Dennis. The other 4 pile into the car w/me & Cadence. Dennis grabs the cat carrier, only to realize it's our old one w/the broken hinge & the new one must have been put in storage somewhere (I just want to mention, I bought this 2 wks ago specifically for the move)…grrr..
So he duct tapes the bottom hinge so it will stay shut. Meanwhile - Cadence, me, Quinn, Bella, Gizzie & Sandie are sitting in the car where the winds were funneling the fur that each & everyone of them is shedding, to look like a white & black tornado in the car. After what seems like an eternity (I should have just done it myself, it would have been a lot quicker!), he comes out w/the cat. He says "I'll put her w/you b/c Scooby is crazy in the car & I don't want her freaked out"…sure, what's one more in a 2 door car…
As I clear my eyes from the fur & try to listen for any sirens (we live down the street from the fire station) over Sativa's loud annoying meows, we pull away from the house. Cadence yells b/c Gizzie is freaking out & standing on her.
I'm continue to remind myself that it's only a THIRTY FIVE minute drive. About 5 mins into the trip, Sativa comes wondering up to the front seat with me…meowing extra loud. That door that took Dennis a million years to rig, broke. Again, shoulda just did it myself. So the layout is - front seat - Quinn, Bella, me. Back - Cadence, Gizzie, Sandie. Back & forth - Sativa.
I have to roll my window up quickly b/c Sativa realizes it's an escape route & isn't at all concerned that it's a 65 mile an hour escape route.
I try to turn on the air, but it chokes me w/more fur than the window being down, so I turn it off. Sativa decides that she wasn't really meowing at full strength in the crate, so puts all her effort into it - driving Gizzie crazy. [For those that haven't had the pleasure of meeting Gizzie, she's a former PPI dog that has SEVERE separation anxiety. When we fostered her 5 yrs ago, she hated other dogs, cats & would foam at the mouth & eat the walls, doors & windows when left home alone. However, when she was w/us, she was fine -lucky us - & didn't mind the other dogs (although she still doesn't play w/them) & doesn't eat our home (at least not usually). She doesn't hurt that cat either, but does have a very disturbing stare while watching her. My mom said she's the type of dog that would probably eat her puppies. We call it her "crazy eyes". So we adopted her - thanks Doy - b/c at our house she's a semi-normal dog.]
So here we are, still 20 mins from my moms, when I look at the picture of us - from an outside point of view… Windows cracked, hotter than heck, Sandie growling at Gizzie b/c Gizzie is pacing the back seat & has some SERIOUS crazy eyes going on - intently watching Sativa who is undecided about where she wants to lay. Cadence crying out every few mins b/c Gizzie is stepping on her. Bella & Quinn standing w/their hot stinky breath breathing on me & their gross doggy spit dripping on my leg & arm. And of course me, trying to stay calm, while driving THIRTY FIVE minutes w/4 dogs & a loose cat.
It was a great trip & I was relieved to get to my moms. Once there, the fun didn't stop - Gizzie, Bella & Sandie are trained to stay w/us - Quinn & Scooby laugh at us & try to escape whenever they can. So, I'm trying to open the door & keep Quinn & Sativa from escaping & keep Gizzie from climbing on Cadence. Once I accomplish that, Cadence is screaming b/c she's still buckled into her carseat. I'm trying to fight to get the cat in the house & Quinn decides he's going to use the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs, while Sativa is trying to escape from my arms.
I finally get onto the porch & the neighbor kid comes running over making Cadence yell even louder b/c she wants out to play. As I'm getting the cat in the house, Quinn starts dragging me off the porch b/c he wants to check out the new yard. I fight w/him to get him to the car so I can unbuckle Cadence. Nathan has joined her at the car w/his bucket of frogs…how do I know it was FULL of frogs? Because as I was bending over to try & unbuckle Cadence with the arm not being yanked off by Quinn, Nathan proudly shoved it right into my face w/the a huge smile boasting - "look at all the frogs I caught". Ewwww…
I shuddered, mustered a smile & said, wow. Cadence was freed & went to help catch more…Quinn went to the bathroom & I was able to drag the 4 dogs into the house.
Dennis pulls up 15 mins later, brings Scooby out & she walks calmly to the tie out & gets hooked up & starts checking out the yard - peacefully - Dennis looks at me & says - "Did you unload the trunk yet?"
His services will be Thursday - please send dog food in lieu of flowers...