We started to approach other estate agents and were quite frankly disgusted with the treatment that we received from many of them. Now I know that our situation is a little............colourful lets say, we certainly are not criminals or bad people which is exactly how we were made to feel.
We were open and honest about our past bankruptcy and explained how it came about and how we have come forward to taking the plunge with the business again and how successful it is becoming. They werent interested! Some refused to see us, refused to even speak with the landlords, some wanted 6 months rent upfront each time and some werent even willing with a guarantor. We were so scared as to what would happen. The local council just dont have property for a family of our size, which in lots of ways is fair enough. We would never have decided to have 7 children if we couldnt pay for them ourselves but things happen sometimes.
Luckily a very very special friend of ours offered to be a guarantor for us and that on top of a fabulous landlord, who we will be forever grateful to for giving us a chance, we found the most perfect house and moved in March. We really hope that this will be the last time for a while now. The uncertainty of rental properties is scary, especially when you are a family of our size who cant easily be helped. Keep everything crossed for us that we get some years here. We would never afford to buy it! haha. The very best thing about this house is that it means I get to walk Jack to school everyday!! No more taxi. We do all miss Liam who was Jacks taxi driver before but we get to see him in the mornings which is lovely!
Business is going well. We are really pushing ourselves and have been quite drained just lately. Its been so very busy and on top of housework and appointments, kids and everything else it can be tough. Its very important to us to make a success of this though for our children as well as ourselves.
The walk to school has shown us a couple of things about Jack. Ive always known that his legs werent very strong and that distance could be an issue to him but I didnt realise how much he would struggle. Sometimes a 10 minute walk for me can take him 45 minutes. He becomes very tired and he actually looks exhausted by the end of the day. We went to see his physio and podiatrist and they have referred us for either a maclaren or a wheelchair for days out which will be a great help but they also mentioned about some specially adapted trikes that we could look at. I push Iris and have Bonnie on a buggy board so I couldnt push Jack as well. We went to have a look at the trikes yesterday and Jack LOVED them. The only downside was that we would have to fund it ourselves and its £900! There are charities that you can go to that can help but I have felt like I really want to do something myself, I want to feel like I have achieved something for my amazing son. Sooo as I am terrfied and i repeat this terrified of butterflies and moths, the worst and hardest thing I can think of is walking through the butterfly tunnel at chester zoo. Now I will add at this point that I did try this once and almost fainted at the entrance!
I have decided that I will do this on the 31st of May (day after my birthday..happy birthday to you!) and I have set up a funding page. I truly cannot put into words how blown away/overwhelmed/emotional and grateful we are at the response...ok ok yes that is a few words to describe it but not the magnitude of how I feel about it!
In no time at all he will be riding around and enjoying himself. It will help to strengthen his muscles as well as relieving his legs on long walks and Tonys shoulders on days out ;)
Jack is a boy that never ever fails to light up a room. I sometimes have to pinch myself that he belongs to me and I made him. He is beautiful beyond what you can imagine and has an aura of happiness about him. He loves nature and animals and always just seems to happy to be alive! He takes pleasure in things that me and you would take for granted. People can learn a lot from Jack, they really can. He is brave and never complains even when things must be hard for him, particularly when people cant understand what he is trying to say. To see him sat on the trike will mean alot to us all, his sisters included who feel the same pride and joy at him being a part of their lives. We are truly a blessed family and the kindness of family, friends and strangers is mind blowing. Thank you.
http://www.gofundme.com/93p238
This is a picture of Jack trying out the trikes yesterday.
