Our Journey 3

We were able to visit Dennis for a weekend on his return to Gooding. We stayed in a friend’s camper. We were able to attend the temple and felt that despite the change in plans, our family would be okay, we just weren’t sure how.  It still was hard. No one knew what would happen. While there, I was able to have my braces removed a year early. As my school insurance was ending and we would be living overseas, I wouldn’t be able to continue the treatment. Thankfully to the amazement of the orthodontist, my teeth looked really good. 

At the end of our visit, the kids and I said goodbye to Dennis as we moved to Kemmerer Wyoming with my parents. Originally we had planned to stay there for 4-6 weeks. With the change in plans and no finalization on the Indian business, we were unsure of a time line. We planned to homeschool them for those few weeks but with this change we decided to enroll them in public school until things were sorted out.

My parents live 5 hours away from Gooding. We tried the best we could to see each other every other weekend. One weekend he would come to their house  and another weekend we would drive to Gooding. It would make for a short weekend as neither of us could travel until later Friday and had to return to our separate homes Sunday afternoons. The kids were glad to see Dennis but visiting was always a trial as we stayed on the floor of his work associate’s house.  We were worried about being in the way, being too noisy, and the kids didn’t have anything to do there.  Every time we visited the goodbyes became harder and Liam would have a rough couple of days.

Due to the difficulties of the company formation, it was then determined that we would now be forming a sourcing company instead of a factory. This meant another trip for Dennis to India. Before he left, we made a quick day trip to Las Vegas to set up a back account. We need a bank with a presence in India and the US. Due to these circumstances, we had to open one in person and the closest location was Vegas. I drove to Salt Lake City where he picked me up on his way to the Farm Show in California.  I accompanied him to Vegas, opened the account, and he dropped me off at the airport so I could fly back to Utah.  The opening of this account proved to be the start of our banking troubles.

Dennis went to India a week later in October for 2 weeks. He met with their Indian partner to get the paperwork rolling for this new business. They needed the paperwork completed before we could apply for our visas. He spent his trip checking with previous companies that made products for them and opening bank accounts. While he was gone, I received a phone call from Dennis’ mother telling me she had found an envelope on her front door step from our bank in Vegas. I gave her permission to open it and she found a check for the amount of our house sale. This was the exact amount we had just deposited in the account we had opened. Without our knowledge, they had closed our account, issued a check for the remaining balance, and sent it UPS, no signature required, so it was left at her door.  What!?! This was not a $35 or even $200 check. We were upset. What if someone had picked it up or it blew away, or she never noticed it?  I spent many hours over the phone trying to reopen an account that had to be opened in person at a bank whose closest location was hours away. It was a nightmare. In the end after much pressure from our side, things were semi-rectified. 

Dennis returned and continued to work in Gooding. In November, Kemmerer received more snow than they had in a very long time. The boys and I helped my dad by shoveling their’s and neighbors’ houses. With the roads not great to travel on, our trips were fewer. Dennis was able to come for Thanksgiving to visit us. My brother and his family also came from Missouri as we wouldn’t get another chance to see them. It’s was a great visit. 

On Friday, a business associate from India was flying into Salt Lake City to visit America. Dennis was picking him up and showing him around for the next week. We had all planned to drive down but in 2 separate cars, show him that area, come back to my parent’s house and then travel up to his parent’s house in Idaho Falls. The weather didn’t cooperate. Dennis left to make it on time and we were supposed to leave a few hours later. Shortly after he left, a huge storm moved in. It snowed the rest of the day and night. It was so bad that roads closed and Dennis couldn’t make it back to my parent’s house. With nowhere to go, it was decided that he would drive straight to his parent’s in Idaho Falls and we would meet him there the next day to give him his clothing that he hadn’t taken with him.

We waited until the sun was up and hopefully the roads had been plowed before we left. Wyoming gets lots of snow and drivers are notorious for driving fast on them in their big trucks. My little van didn’t have 4 wheel drive. It took me twice as long to make it there as normal. The next day as we drove back to my parent’s house, we saw a sign saying the road ahead was closed to thru traffic. Great!  The roads were awful, I didn’t have a cell phone to check anything, and didn’t want to drive after dark. We decided to keep driving and if we couldn’t make it, we would just get a hotel and be late for school the next morning. Thankfully by the time we arrived, the road had been opened. I couldn’t wait until we didn’t have to make these drives anymore. 

December was uneventful. Dennis spent this time trying to get answers on applying for visas and getting the items we needed to do so which wasn’t an easy task. We celebrated Christmas and New Years at both our parents’ homes. We tried to spend what little time we had together, which was only a few days. Even Alex was able to come stay with us. Sadly we had to spend our anniversary apart. 

These 6 months were a tough period in our lives. Kids need their dad. Families need each other. One day we were sure we would be leaving in a couple days and would make plans to do so. The next, brought issues that prevented our departure. The kids mood reflected our physical circumstances. Extreme highs and lows with verbal confrontations. The kids wanted friends, items, space, and stability. We needed to change something. We couldn’t go back to Gooding. Rentals are hard to find especially for a large family and finding one on a month-to-month basis would be impossible. Even if we could find one, we didn’t own anything to live with. We didn’t have furniture, dishes, and appliances. What should we do?