Apologies for the long wait for this post, but things have been very busy around here!
After 14.5 weeks in the hospital, Braychan came home with me on Thursday, 5 November. He is officially the best birthday present ever. He's doing well, and he's gained at least 5 ounces since he left the hospital, so he is now 5 pounds 13 ounces! He is on a small amount of oxygen, and he will be for quite some time, it seems, but we're getting more and more comfortable with dealing with the tanks and tubes in the house.
Cole is very curious about Braychan, but he hasn't spent much time getting close to him. He loves rocking the carseat (that used to be his) when Braychan isn't in it, and he frequently brings me the pacifier that we keep in the carseat -- such a big helper. Today, while I was holding Braychan, Cole came up and gave us both a hug. He is a real sweetie.
Last week was busy for other reasons that were not quite as happy, too. The mortgage bank we had been trying so hard to work out our short sale with decided to foreclose instead. While it was a terrifying, frustrating, and humbling experience, at least it is finally over, and we don't have to worry about selling the house anymore.
The most frustrating part was that we had almost no notice. When I received a letter two months ago saying that foreclosure was pending, my realtor said that it was simply procedure and not to worry about it. Since that time, my mail has been forwarded all over creation, and when I opened my thrice-forwarded mail last Monday, I came across a letter sent about a month ago stating that a foreclosure had been scheduled for the Thursday morning. (Yes, also my birthday.) By that time, it was too late to reverse the decision, though not for lack of some serious persuasion on our part. We found out for sure that they had turned down our appeal on Wednesday morning, and we weren't sure how much time afterward we'd have before we had to be out -- as in, it was possible that they could expect us to have our stuff out by the next day.
My good friend Kate, who lives in the DC area, was able to help organize the move, along with her husband Brian and Charles. We managed to get some movers to come over that same day and get everything out of the house and into a storage unit in Herndon. Then Charles left to stay with his parents for a few days, and he's on his way here to Colorado now! He should be here late Wednesday night. So I guess you could say that we're just trying to make the best of a tough situation.
Anyway, like I already said, there's too much good stuff going on to be feeling bad about the other stuff!