Another Update

I'd like to start off by thanking everyone for the prayers! They are a source of strength as we try to figure out what to do next...

When I called Paul tonight he told me that the deputy and the fix-it guy were at our house and I had a solid hour of hopefulness. I thought that they might actually fix our apartment and work everything out. Apparently this idea was overly optimistic. Here's the new rundown:

The deputy showed up at our home something like four hours after I called the sheriff's department the first time (and over an hour after I called the second time and was told that no one was coming out). Unfortunately after we left the apartment, Paul opened all the windows in the house and turned on fans to pump clean air in, in an attempt to flush the smell out. As the apartment temperature dropped to fifty-something degrees, the smell faded away... and then the deputy arrived and wanted to independently verify the smell... ugh... of course the smell was gone... so we're supposed to call back the next time the apartment fills with smoke and this time they absolutely will send someone over to "independently verify" the smell... I am somewhat skeptical. They said they were coming out yesterday and then told us that a "report over the phone was just as good." I've lost all faith in these guys.

... The visit from the handyman did nothing to ease my mind either... He arrived and checked the water heater in Sadie's room and said he didn't think that was how it was getting in, but that there was a leak and that the water heater had been dripping water for who knows how long. Then he told Paul that "there might be mold." He fixed the leak and Paul said you can't see any mold but having heard mold horror stories, my mind is not really put at ease by that fact.

The handy man and the deputy seem to think that the smoke is somehow coming through the walls... so it's pretty much beyond the handy-man's skill level to find out what's going on...

So we're pretty much living in exile from our home (or at least the girls and I are... Paul is sticking it out at the house waiting to call when the house fills back up with smoke). I'm calling a tenet's rights lawyer at 9am in hopes of getting a call back tomorrow (my dad was told you have to call right at 9 to even have a chance at getting to talk to someone at some point during the day).

I really love(d) our apartment...