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Curveball After Curveball

I've been thinking about this post and whether I should put this out there. Then I realized, that I really hope that it affects anyone that has been in our situation. For the last two years, Michael and I have been thrown curveball after curveball after CURVEBALL. There were times when I just wanted to give up! 

Recently I took to Facebook asking for positive thoughts and prayers regarding our tax appointment to which I received endless tax tips, which I don't need. Anyone who truly knows me knows that I generally have my "ducks in a row," so to speak. Two years ago my employer caused a massive error with my taxes, resulting in Michael and I having to pay in thousands (and I do mean thousands) of dollars. It was devastating to our little family. You just don't realize how important a savings is until it is ripped from you; everything you've worked to build GONE in an instant! 

Fast forward to last year at tax time. Same scenario....another error! It's like Uncle Sam said "Hey Zehnles! How much do you have in the bank, because I'm going to take it all?" And just like that we had to start over completely from scratch (again) only to find out a couple weeks later that we were having TWINS! Try preparing for two babies while trying to rebuild from nothing, throw in excess medical expenses from the pregnancy, plus saving for maternity leave. It was an incredibly tough two years for us. 

There were times when I thought to myself, how on earth are we going to make it? But somehow we did. There were times when I thought to myself that maybe I should just quit my job and live off of the government like some people do. There were times when medical bills were piling up and I wasn't sure how we were going to buy groceries. And again I thought to myself that maybe I should quit and get food stamps, since that's apparently an option today. I was bitter. Bitter that Michael and I always work incredibly hard, yet for the last two years have had to struggle. Somehow we would always pull through and I thank God every day for that. 

Long story short, we walked out of our tax appointment, after having quadruple checked ourselves over and over. Finally we can breathe. I saw the weight lifting off of our shoulders. We are back above water. We no longer have to start over and can continue to build. I am so incredibly grateful. And in the end, Michael and I are so much stronger, because of what we have overcome. We have three of the greatest blessings in our kids and I am so full of pride. We want nothing more than to give them the greatest life possible. I hope to never have to face that kind of struggle again. Some look forward to tax time, because it's a huge payday for them. We no longer do that, because it's not always guaranteed. We are just thankful for anything that we get; to be able to save for the well-being of our family. 

Just remember, you can do it. Sometimes life throws you obstacles (two years of them in our case) and when life seems hard, just remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel. They say that everything happens for a reason. I'm still trying to figure out what that is, but after all is said and done, my family is stronger, Michael and I work hard to provide and we are fortunate to live a very blessed life, even after the struggles. And for that I am thankful. 

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