We've been in Jacksonville for only a short time, but in many ways it feels like an eternity. It is a constant struggle to remind ourselves of God's miraculous mercy because one constant concern continues to fester above all others: housing. Let me preface this statement by saying on November 20 it seems this issue will finally fade away, but there is still eight days from here to there. Yesterday we made contact with a fully furnished apartment company that will rent to us for two months, which is a major blessing. Of course, it is a little small, but it will do until we can move on with our lives. The apartment becomes available on November 20, which is a major praise because we are ready to wash dishes, cook, and wash more dishes :) Regardless, we had hoped that the Ronald McDonald House would allow Rachel and three of the children to continue to stay in the room they are currently at in the Wyndham Hotel until the 20th, but we have been mislead by this assumption (I will explain shortly). Here is a short compilation of rules and guidelines for housing provided to families facing serious illness: # Fact 1: The Ronald McDonald House will only house a family of up to four individuals. # Fact 2: The rooms are for families staying longer than two weeks, but under six months. # Fact 3: There are many arts, crafts, and meals children can participate in to feel special on a routine basis. I know I am about to get on a rant, but please indulge me as I step up on the soap box. Before we left Memphis, we had discussed with St. Jude that we would be staying at the RMHouse, and that we would also get an extended stay hotel for the other members of the family that could not reside in the house. This sounded great to them and to us. I reiterate that there was no problem with this arrangement before we left for Jacksonville. Then the day we arrived in Jacksonville we discovered that no one placed our reservation for the RMHouse. We contacted several people shortly after arriving to find out that the RMHouse was full. This is no problem because when they are full they let families stay in local hotels until room is made inside the RMHouse. The RMHouse finally found us the Wyndham Hotel where Rachel and three boys stayed from Sun. to Wed. morning; however, on Mon. we began to ask the question where the four troopers would be staying after Wed. morning in an effort to be proactive. Following our question on Mon., we have been constantly badgered about our family size; We have been denied the privilege to reside in the RMHouse; We have been told our children could not partake in the activities designed specifically for them; They cancelled our room at the Wyndham on a day when we had doctors' appointments, and we were given a list of hotels we could pay for ourselves. All this has come about due to our family size, but I remind my fellow bloggers that only four members of my family have and/or would have stayed in any hotel they would provide for us. We are hurt and feel that we are being punished for no good reason. We are together as a family because Tzadok needs his Momma and his Daddy, he needs his brothers, he needs their tears of joy, their comfort, and the sense of normalcy they bring. We have not tried to make waves here, in fact, we have smiled and laughed even when we have been done wrong.
Among all of this chaos and turmoil that was supposed to be a stress reliever for us, the Father blessed us with the short term apartment that will come to fruition shortly, and the staff at the Wyndham Hotel have continued to work with us extending our stay when they didn't have to. However, this will be an additional cost that we were not expecting to have to cover. Tzadok's health and well being are our chief concern, and if my family size offends some they can choose to live their lives however they see fit, but I have chosen to live my life raising Godly young men that are wonderfully and perfectly made. I wouldn't change a thing, and all of these struggles only knit us tighter together as a family. Praise Yah!!!
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