A lot has gone on since the accident and this came as quite an inconvenience in our lives. However, the fact is this incident could have been much worse and we are thankful for that. I was already at work, my fiance was asleep in the rear bedroom when the bus hit the house and our 6-month-old black lab was in the front room upstairs where she sleeps in her crate. Had this happen only 24 hours earlier, I would have been in the basement room sitting at my desk right where the bus entered the house and the result would not have been good.

• House Hunting

  February 2015

  We are now halfway through our lease at our new townhouse and we've decided to start considering what type of home we want to move into. We have had little action on the sale of the lot and we are bound by insurance to replace the house within two years from the date of the incident. We aren't in a hurry but we want to make sure we don't get pressed for time and purchase a home we don't really love.

• Demolition

  October 21st 6:30 AM

  It took 2 months to have the mortgage payment taken care of and the bank to release the property to us. The lot is ours and today we can finally have the house and foundation completely removed from the property. As soon as the lot is cleared, it is on the market to be sold.

• Moving On

  June-October

  Now that we have returned from our mini-moon we are moving to our new townhouse where we plan on staying for a year as we start our life together and look at what we want in our first home as a married couple. We move again for the second time in 5 months.

• Wedding Time

  September 13th 2014

  We finally opt to clear the lot and put the lot on the market to be sold. After getting all bids for replacements costs we agree with insurance on a payment and get the mortgage paid off just in time for our wedding. Our wedding is September 13th and the last thing we want to think about is house issues leading up to the big day. We also decided to move to a permanent renting situation to not have to deal with new construction or home purchasing at the beginning stages of our marriage.

• Learning Process

  June-September

  Throughout this whole ordeal (in addition to wedding planning) we have been looking into replacement costs, getting bids on new constructions, bids on demolition of the current structure, and potentially moving to a new house/location and selling the property.

• Next Steps

  May 23rd

  After nearly three weeks in the Holiday Inn, in cooperation with a temporary housing company assigned by insurance, we have found a more temporary-permanent living arrangement and signed a lease in a townhouse. We will stay here a minimum of 4 months to get us through our wedding. Did I mention that we are planning a wedding throughout this entire process?

• Support

  May 7th

  I get some solid support form my co-worker(s).
  

• Insepection

  May 7th Morning

  The driver was estimated to hit the house going over 40 MPH so it's no surprise that the engineer deemed house a total loss. The structure was knocked 4-inches off the foundation and the entire home is twisted with cracks in all 4 corners upstairs and down. The house would have to be gutted to ensure its integrity and that cost was more than the home was worth to re-build.

• Lodging

  May 6th Afternoon

  Our insurance company placed us in a Holiday Inn Express. Gas, water, and electrical are shut off from house and a construction crew is called to board up and secure all openings to keep our belongings safe for until an engineer can asses the damage.

• Impact

  May 6th 7:29 AM

  We still do not know what happened to the driver that morning and may never know. All that matters is that he only had a few cuts and scrapes. What we do know is that he was on his way to park next to the house as he did every morning to sit between routes, complete paperwork, and wait to complete his next route for the next group of children.