Murray Family: In the Meantime...

With Jason working hard to finish the oven as well as the restaurant, we were now putting in 16-18 hour days. Sometimes more. We would often work until 2 am, get a few hours of sleep and be back to work by 7am. We were also still running our pizza cart on the street on Fridays and Saturdays. We were beyond exhausted. I've never been one to worry much, never experienced much anxiety. Until then. Our home life was falling apart. We rarely saw the kids. Our house was a mess. Laundry was never done. No time to cook. 98% of the kids homework was not being done. The kids were living off of...I wasn't really sure. I was in tears daily. I had a knot in my stomach that never left. Money was running out. All we could think about was this seemingly unachievable deadline hanging over us.

At the time, we would lay awake at night, second guessing our decision and wondering if we'd ruined our kids. In hindsight, I know we made the right decision. In hindsight, I can see the miracle of it all. In all, things were out of control for about 6-7 months (4 month building, 2-3 months of getting it running). But the return has been great. I can now say that it was worth it.

Looking back, there were certainly angels among us during that time. Jason's parents came and stayed for a few months. His dad helped with everything from building the oven to building the tables and more. At 70+ years old, we probably about killed him. He spent SO many hours helping. Jason's mom helped out a lot with things at home. My parents were on a full time mission for our church at the time, so although they could not be present to help us, we knew their prayers were helping and strengthening us. We had friends who would stop to help at critical times. Friends who became second parents to our children. Friends with the right expertise and the right tools at the right times. Between all our friends and family, there were countless hours of help received. NEVER, could we have done this all on our own. We remain so grateful for all the help that came to us during that time.

With Mom and Dad gone all the time, I guess they had to resort to cuddling each other.

Jake and his wife, Christina, spent an entire day masking the place, getting it ready for paint, then another several days priming and painting. That was a HUGE job! Not to mention the hours and hours of cleaning and other things.