Q & A

First of all, I want to thank everyone who commented on my post or emailed me. Your words meant the world to me and brought a smile to my face! I was hesitant to share this part of my life, but I'm so glad I did and that everyone was so supportive and even shared their own personal experiences. So THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart!

I said I would answer some questions, so let's get right to it.

Do you still live in the House?

- Yes, I do and my plan is to stay here. I considered moving out and to get something smaller that is just mine, because there are lot of memories in this house that include Katie, which is the part I don't like. But in the end, I love the house so much and so does Fox. I didn't want him to have to move and leave the only home he's known, especially with all the changes he already has to go through. We live in a nice and safe neighborhood and I'm very happy that I get to stay here. I do feel a little bit intimidated to take care of this house all by myself (financially and otherwise), but I will figure it out and do whatever it takes. If the last year has taught me anything, it's that I'm much stronger than I thought I was and that I can do anything I set my mind to. 

Didn't you work with Katie in her family's company?

- Yes, I did. I quit my job a couple of weeks before I had Finn, basically right before I found out about Hawaii. Katie wanted me to be a stay at home mom (and I did too), but quitting my job of ten years was scary and then turned into absolutely terrifying when she left us a couple of months later. Obviously, after everything that happened, I didn't want to work with her anymore (after all she was my boss), but I had a great gig going on there. I still do the accounting for the company with Katie's mom, but I do it from home.

How is Fox doing?

- Better than expected. When Katie moved out in October, we told him that she had to stay at Grandma's house for a little bit, since Grandma moved to California and someone had to watch her house. When it became clear that Katie wasn't going to return to us, we told him the truth. We spoke with multiple psychologists about the way we would tell him and what we would say and I'm so grateful for their advice and guidance. When I ask him how he feels about Mommy not living here anymore, he will tell me "sad". On the other hand he told me a few weeks ago that his dream is finally coming true and he is getting two houses. Katie just purchased a house, but hasn't moved in yet, so the kids have been staying with me since she moved out. He is excited about getting a new room though and I think he's taking it all very well. I still feel guilty and sad about not being able to provide the kids a "whole" family though, but I also know that it wasn't my choice.

Does Katie and her family still have contact to the kids?

- Yes, they all do. Even though Katie moved out a long time ago, she would come to my house about three times a week after work or on the weekend to spend time with the kids. I still have a good relationship with the rest of her family and either me or Katie are regularly taking the kids to see them. 

How do you manage this financially?
- I'm very fortunate to have build up my Etsy business in the last four years, so I have income coming from that. Katie also has to pay child support, since she makes a lot more money than I do and the kids are primarily with me.

Do you have to return to work?
- I never really stopped working, but I create my own hours. Whenever the kids are sleeping or Katie is spending time with them, I work on my Etsy business. I feel grateful that I can work from home and love working for myself. For this moment, I don't have plans to return to a job outside the home. I don't know what the future holds, but I have some ideas that I will share at a later point. 

Would this be enough to ever move back to Germany? Or are you totally 100% settled in the US?
- I would never, ever move back to Germany. Germany hasn't felt like home to me in years and I love my life here in the US. I have always said that I would never move back, so it's very surprising to me that Katie, and apparently one of her family members think that I would abduct the kids to Germany. 

Again, thank you so much to everyone who reached out. I've been crazy busy in the last few weeks, so it'll take me a while to write back to everyone, but I will when things settle down (hopefully soon...). 

I will continue to share our lives on this little blog, the good and the bad, because otherwise my pictures would never make it off my camera and the boys would never have any photo books with pictures of all of our adventures together. 
Thank you for being part of our lives, for commenting, reading along and encouraging me! Thank you!