Then Comes a Pink Slip

My last post of life was pretty heavy. So much has been going on in my world. So much has been weighing me down. And after that last post, it just piled on more. On the lighter side, I found out my youngest will most likely be getting glasses next time she is tested. Poor girl. I had hoped she would never need to. In the middle weight bracket, I have come to believe that my older daughter has scoliosis. Unfortunately, we haven't had medical insurance in at least a year, no maybe two, so we haven't been able to know for sure. However, the pain and lopsidedness she has been experiencing makes me believe this is it. I feel guilt. After all, she has my genes. And I can't do anything about it. I feel frustration. As my husband reminds me, even if we had insurance and knew for sure that is what she has, what could we do about it? I never want her to have the surgeries I had. Look at the mess I'm in...

1 Peter 1:6-7 is a hard reminder. Trials will come, many trials! But they are meant to try your faith. To push you to lean of God and His faithfulness through it all. 

 

But then there is the heavy weight. The champion of stress-inducing nightmares... my husband lost his job. I was dreading this possibility. Hoping it wouldn't come. But here we are. The company he was working for, pretty much dissolved in a matter of weeks. He was only given one weeks notice. The stress from that was enough to manifest in physical ways. But God has been gracious. He gave us a slight reprieve. My husband is temporarily working as a contractor for the company that took over the sites. While we were still waiting for that first paycheck to come in, we had been blessed to have been granted a severance package from the previous employer. Don't get me wrong, I'm still stressed, but not as badly as I was before. After all, this is still temporary. There is the possibility that this company might hire him on as a regular employee once the contract ends. But from the way the owner talks, he wants to do so at a downgraded pay and position. It really grinds my gears when I hear that. But such is the world of the rich who dabble with crypto currencies. When their digital money drops to a certain level, they freak out. Who would have guessed that Bitcoin would drop so drastically after booming so hard? But greed takes over every time. 

Romans 12:12 reminds me to keep praying and to be patient in trouble. 

We are changing how we do everyday life here. I have tightened the proverbial coin purse sash. Meals might be a little plainer and repeat a little more often, but everyone still gets fed. I'm thankful that changes have happened as they did. Blessed, even.  The boys have their jobs now. If there is something they want, that we can't get, they get it for themselves. The severance package has held us up for the past couple of weeks and will do so another couple weeks. I don't have to worry about the bills. 

James 1:2-4 tells us to remember that when trials come (not IF, but WHEN), that it will build in us an endurance.  

What I do worry over, is how much stress my husband is under. And the physical toll it has taken. I pray that God will show him to his next job, and soon. I pray that His will be done, and that I trust Him to know best. Even when I can't see it. This has been the song speaking volumes in my life right now. 

 I don't claim to be 100% carefree in the knowledge that God is in control of every aspect of my life. However, when the anxiety starts building, I know where to turn. Every time. This, too, shall pass. 

The Battle is Daily

I am in quite the busy season of life here. It has tested my endurance. It has been testing my patience. Questioned what I am willing to sacrifice. But above all these things, it has tested my faith. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:". We do not always know what season we are in though, do we?  

My sons are settled into their respective jobs. I play chauffeur nearly daily now. Sometimes one of them will even work a double, having me bring him back and forth between the shifts! In some ways, I feel as tired as I did when they were babies. Especially when you toss in trips to the library, grocery stores, post office, book store, thrift store... whatever other places I need to stop by for any other needs that come up. It is freedom that I haven't had in a while, but some days I wish I could give it all back up again. I've been hoping (and maybe dreading) that the boys would ask to start their driving lessons. But that doesn't seem to rank too high on their to-do list right now... Only one of them finally asked to start learning! 

I've had my so-tired-I-can't-see-straight moments. But then I have boys who are excited that they had a great paycheck. Or someone was thrilled with their work. I have been able to take my daughters out more. Though, that often comes with wanting mom to buy them things...

Making a donated delivery to the local Sheriff's office! 

And how about helping those I couldn't before? Or hanging out with friends? That has been fun too! There are so many pros and cons that come with life in this new phase of mine. 

On the flip side, we had some hard times come along that had me feeling like we were hitting the bottom. Transmission needed to be replaced in my car. The AC in the house had to get fixed. The washing machine pipe wasn't draining properly, so I was having to wash everyone's clothes for them and then clean up water that spilled out.

Then I ran over the tip of someone's blade and barely got parked before the tire went flat! 

Or the latest, something so life-changing that I won't be posting about it just yet. But it definitely shook my world and makes me think twice about what I need to do. 

While I know God has a plan, and that His plans are above any I have for myself, I still found myself asking "WHY". (Jeremiah 29:11) Just why? I pray for the strength to get through another day. I push myself to do my best, regardless of how I feel. And I wonder if I'm failing to hit the mark. Maybe that is why I'm struggling and my family is going through the wringer? 

Then God makes a memory pull up. A time when I was going through the fire. But He stepped in next to me. A time when I felt absolutely hopeless, but He miraculously made everything work out. These memories are what pulls me through. Reminds me that my focus is horizontal. But it needs to shift to the vertical. 

"Will you trust Me?" 

That is the phrase that kept coming to mind. That my husband said he had going through his head as well. Will you trust Me? Lean on Me. Let Me work. Sounds so simple with so few words in these phrases, doesn't it? But then putting it into practice is where we trip up. At least I do. Someone once told me, "You don't have enough faith." Granted, that was their reason for why I was physically falling apart and God wasn't healing me. But why would God say in Matthew 17:20, "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." 

Thank God for that! My faith feels so small sometimes. Life feels impossibly difficult. But that is where Luke 17:5-6 is encouraging. "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." It can be small, but through Jesus, do big things. This is the reminder I have needed. One day at a time. One task at a time. Just enough faith to get by each one. That is all I need. 

So what am I doing now?

I'm still playing taxi for 2 teenagers. I'm still managing the household needs. I'm sometimes fulfilling the role of caretaker. Baking on the side, for events and custom orders. 

I'm editing for a couple writers. And even gardening! Yes, I have learned how to keep plants alive.

My husband tells me I'm an over-achiever on the daily. Reminds me of a moment in the Pride & Prejudice story of the accomplished woman discussion... 

But above all these little successes, I'm constantly seeking to follow the will of my Lord. What does He want of me? Am I surrendering and walking the path He has laid out for me? Trusting in His plans? Yes, it is a daily, sometimes more often, set of questions I have to ask myself. Because I'm nowhere near perfect. 

Mother's Day Wishes

It is Mother's Day, for those of us in the United States who celebrate. I do wonder... do other nations have Mother's Day celebrations? Something to look into. But today, I want to wish Moms a great day! I also want to encourage those moms who might be having a hard time.

Mothers have it rough. I know not everyone understands this. And I'm not discounting the fathers. You guys have your day too! At least here. But let's dive in for a moment and just really think about what it means to be a good mom. And yes, there are bad moms. There are those we don't celebrate because they haven't earned that privilege. So again, just focus on the good ones with me, yeah? 

What do I think a good Mom is?

 

A good Mom pours so much energy into her kids. She makes sacrifices for them. Sleep. Time. Money. Energy. Their needs trumps her own. As a good mom, she will hide that yawn. Smile at their jokes or artwork (even when she didn't get it). She will seek to teach them all the knowledge she can in the 18 years they are hers to do so with. She often repeats herself, believing that one day it will sink in. And will provide for every need (not the wants) as best she can.

Do I think I cover all these in my own walk? Not all the time. My kids see me tired and hurting. My kids hear my grumbling about what I lack because I need to get them something instead. These come from weak moments I have. I try not to let them overflow my proverbial internal bottle, but I'm human. It happens. Especially with my teenagers....

That is a whole other beast. Raising teenagers. It is so freaking hard! 'Scuse the language outburst there. But seriously, teenagers can drain the life from you on the daily, smiling the whole time. And I think boys are worse than girls in this. But that is just my own experience. 

So here is some encouragement.

As a Christian mom, I take encouragement from the Bible. I laugh at some of the verses when they are quoted to me by older women in my life. After all, they see my kids behaving their best every time. They don't see the nitty-gritty in the background at home. According to some of these women, these verses should be coming true for me. But they forget I have teenagers. Who might not follow my own faith. "Well, that doesn't seem very encouraging," you say. And you would be right. 

However, these verses are true. No matter what my experiences may be right now. In Proverbs 31:25-29, you get the picture of what many of us call the Proverbs 31 Woman. So many of us strive to be her in our lives. We put ourselves down when we fall short. But let me tell you something. In our own ways, we all reach these standards. No matter how we falter in the walk. We are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. Personally speaking, I hold my head up and walk in such a way that I hope to not fall when evil comes around. With dignity and grace. I do the best I can in imparting wisdom to my kids. Sometimes it comes off as just mom bashing us for failing in some activity. But I do try to make it known in love. How many of you moms out there are juggling schedules? Preparing all the meals? Are your kids clothed? Are they clean? Guess what?! You are fulfilling verse 27. That is a feat of superhuman strength! So be proud of that. The part I struggle with are in verses 28 and 29. In my house, my husband sings my praises daily. My children? Not so often. But I don't let their lack of care get me down like I used to. After all, we are only human. We have phases of life that fluctuate as we go through. Glued to mom when we are tiny. Trying to find our own way through those raging hormones of our teens. Maybe even thinking we know it all. Then later, sometimes much later, we love and respect all our mother did for us.

Another verse that is quoted to me too often is in Luke 7:35. It says simply - Wisdom is justified of all her children. The hope is that we will find our children understanding the wisdom we sought to give them all their lives. That they will grow stronger through it and live better lives. And that they will see, as they look back, that we did it in love for them. We will be justified. 

Do I think I will see these things from all my children, maybe not. There are days when I think at least 1, maybe 2, will fly the coop and not think twice about never looking back. Maybe I'm speaking from the dark corner of my mind that is struggling with Motherhood right now. I hope so. Because one day I can hope that they will return the love I have shared all their lives.  

Maybe you are not a mother. But maybe you fill a motherly role in someone's life. I have, and have had, many mother-like women in my life. You are included in this encouragement. You have a role. And we thank you too! 

So happy mothers day to you all! Hold yourself up and hear the applause I'm sending your way. No matter what your day is like right now.  

Am I Ready Now?

Christians have a flaw. Want to know what it is? Well, they have many, actually. We are human like any other. However, there is a big one we share in countries where we don't see physical persecution. Ready for this?

 

We get too comfortable. 

That is the big one. For some of us, we hold to the teachings that Christians will have an easier life once we give our lives to Christ. We will get rich, live comfortably, be happy. But that is false. Jesus didn't preach that, but the opposite. Life would be harder. Temptations would hound us. We would be uncomfortable. We would lose relationships because we won't waver on our beliefs. THAT is the truth of a Christian who is living for Him. 

Recently, I watched a video that encouraged me. But also reminded me. Growing in Christ is uncomfortable. My dreams have to die for Christ to resurrect them in His way. Jesus Christ is amazing at resurrecting things, did you know that? After all, He came back from the dead himself!  

But lately, I have let myself get comfortable. I wasn't praying as often. I wasn't reading my Bible for myself as much. Don't get me wrong. I pray every single day. I read my Bible every single day. But not for my personal growth. Saying thank you for the meal. Or whispering a prayer for a friend. Or reading during my devotions with my husband are great. But they aren't for my own growth. So I got comfy and called it enough. But the truth is, it wasn't. I was struggling harder than ever to really get in deep and accomplish the Lord's will. I was letting things wear me down to the nub. I was questioning what God wanted of me. Told myself that as long as I raised my 4 kids to be Christian adults that could survive this world on their own, all was good enough. But I have this urge to do more. Be more. That this isn't all I'm meant to accomplish. Maybe I am an overachiever. Maybe that is why I push myself to go further than my limits. 

So today, I'm making a statement. I'm making a change. Maybe because someone I love is facing a mountain that I want them to cross. Maybe because walking is not working well today and that frightens me into submission. Or maybe because a song played that reminded me of my loose faith. But today I say, "I'm Ready Now." I stand ready to be stretched. I stand ready to watch what miracles my God will bring about.  

How about you, Christian? Are YOU ready to let go of your comfort and follow God more closely? I hope so. I hope you will join me in stretching out our faith in Christ and allowing Him to work through us. See where He wants to take us. 

Will I Still Be Thankful?

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is the one day a year when we are supposed to remember all the things we are thankful for. If you aren't a Christian, it is simply a tradition. Hopefully you get the day off. You eat a lot of good foods. Take a nap when the tryptophan kicks in. Maybe watch the parade and football games. Have a relaxing day. 

But if you are a Christian, you reach deeper than all that. You remember all those things that God has blessed you with in this year. Bills were paid. Needs are covered. Kids are healthy. Husband is happy and well. Didn't burn the meal. All this falls second to the thankfulness we feel that we are saved, however. We have an eternal future. 

I was on cloud nine Thanksgiving morning. Things hadn't been going the best leading up to Thanksgiving, but the day itself was working out well enough. The meal was amazing. The migraine stayed in the background. We even ran food to an elderly friend, and let another friends dogs out while they are on a mission trip. Since I was getting tired, I thought a nap was in order. My alarm went off, and I didn't want to get up. But that was okay. I have kids. And one of them came to wake us up. The sink was spraying water again. Welp... Guess it thought our leaking and broke down washing machine was not enough of a headache for me. 

Like one of my sons said, "At least it waited until we had finished washing all the dishes." Yes, at least there was that. My head was spinning. Stay thankful through all this trouble. It isn't always easy. My husband reminds me often that we are to write things in pencil. Be flexible to what God has coming our way.  

1 Thessalonians 5:18 has been a good reminder. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." God uses these trials to build up our dependence on Him. To seek His guidance and see what He is trying to teach us. But if you back up 2 verses, you see even more that needs to be kept with verse 18. We are to "Rejoice evermore" and "Pray without ceasing". All the while knowing that we also need to give thanks through it all. Not that we should have the attitude of "Thank you, God that everything is falling apart and I feel like a boat tossed in the wave right now! Hallelujah that my life is upside down!" That isn't what I'm saying. More like this attitude... "Thank you, Lord for the patience and peace that only you can give me right now. I don't know what Your plan is, but I know You have one. And things will work out. What do You want me to learn in this hard time?" See the difference? Saying it though, and actually doing it... yeah, two different things. 

In the end, we got one of the problems fixed. It required buying a new faucet for the kitchen sink, but God provided. My washing machine has sent me back to the pioneer days for some of our laundry, but I know it will all be fixed one day and I will rely on God to grant me the patience and strength until then. I think that is what this is about for now. How long will I continue to be thankful? And will I patiently wait?  

Time Keeps Ticking By...

We celebrated the eldest child's birthday last month. A whopping 17 years! Talk about an eye-opener for this mama. It hit me pretty good. But this month, we celebrate another birthday. That of the youngest child. 9 years have passed already?? Next year, we see double digits. I told her that is when she is not just a big girl, but a really big girl. She plays video games alongside her siblings. She has that silver tongue skill that comes from Daddy's side. This is my last little baby. All grown up. Almost. She acts and speaks older than her peers at times. Makes me so proud. But then scares me. Where is all this time going?! Am I doing it right still? Is there more I should be doing? I mean these questions hit me last month with the oldest. I'm about to have a couple high school graduates (boys are only a week apart in their final year). Then I have to teach them both to drive. We have already started talking about jobs they have an interest in. 

I can only imagine this is how my parents thought. Granted, I graduated much earlier and threw them for a loop. But they had a handful when it came time for this. Being the oldest of 10, I was the trial and error kid. Now, I get to contemplate my own trial and error moments. 

This journey is far from over. In some ways, it is only beginning. It thrills me. It frightens me. Thankfully, my best friend and coworker (my husband), helps me through. I can't imagine doing this alone. However, above it all, someone else is walking me through it. God. He sustains me. Gives me the energy I need to maintain this daily grind. Helps me when I feel like I'm losing my ever-lovin' mind! 

I might not do it all right. But I'm giving it my best and praying that God will continue to work all to the good of those that love Him. Romans 8:28. Just one day at a time.  

                            Remembering the days when she was so little....

Getting Organized in Little Ways

I have been dealing with a lot of pain lately. Some days I am not walking too well. But despite that, I have tried to push myself. One project at a time. No matter how little that project might be. I pulled out the crafting things that were "one day" things and started to put them together. More mindful of the things having a place and everything in its place, sort of mentality. It gets messy in the process, but the end results are fantastic. 

I created a new shelf for the home goods that go in the store I built. Nothing too crazy, just from things that I had. Like cardboard and shelf tops from the Mini Brands Books sets. But it is a beautiful addition! And it makes me feel accomplished. You can get more insight on this from the video I made HERE.

I added a statuette that a friend brought back from her travels to the Middle East. It was an exotic find! I love how cute it looks. Makes my doll look like a traveled lady, I think. 

I unpacked and organized the dolls that were stuck in boxes. Gave them a chance to show off! Starting to look like a full house in here... 

My older daughter had fun helping me set up the shelves. We tried to sort everyone by the type that they were. These little things help me feel like I'm still getting somewhere with everything that seems on hold. I don't feel useless as much, though I still have those moments. 

A Life On Hold

It feels like forever since I was posting on here. But that is what happens when you are flailing through life. These days, I'm constantly tugged one way or another. 

 

I have teenage boys that I need to get through their final high school lessons. They are struggling with the Algebra. Moms nemesis in school subjects. So we have a lot of days of failed tests and "I hate my life" speeches that I have to listen to. 

I have two girls who are only 4 years apart and yet may as well be 10 years in difference some days. They are constantly getting on each others nerves. 

And then there is the husband. In the south we have a term... God bless his poor little heart! He is generally patient. But even his patience seems to have dwindled since the high school saga began. Can't tell you how many days I have felt as though I'm walking this path alone. House full of people, but only one me to keep the balance. Gets tiring. Must be showing. I had a lady at church tell me she thought she needed to take me out of the house for a while. 

We don't do school on Fridays. Why? Because when else am I going to catch up on housework, bake for the weekend, and reset my brain to 'social' mode? Monday to Thursdays, I'm not a very social person. I'm holding on to that thin thread of sanity while trying not to decide if all 4 kids need to survive to adulthood. *Edit - NO, I'm not considering which kids to sacrifice to maintain my sanity. It was meant as a joke. Watch Jeff Allen and Tim Hawkins sometimes, people.* On Fridays, we sometimes go to Bible study (been missing a lot of those lately). I have to get myself psyched up to smile and chat and answer all the questions I can otherwise avoid. On Saturdays, I can get errands done. My husband will take me to any of the places we can't get to during the week, but he has this weird thing about being home and done by 3PM. I feel like Saturday is a race. How quickly can I run through stores and find what I'm looking for? Can I be done before he checks the time on his phone, or makes the motion of looking at the invisible watch on his wrist? Then comes Sunday. We have church in the morning, and unless it is an absolute NEED, we don't go out any more. 

This is where my husband shares his concerns that I'm at home too much. And it makes me crazy. See above and insert *I wonder why...* to the thought train.

All this to say, my crafting and my blogging have taken to the very back of the bus. Unless I'm working on a review that requires a blogged bit, there is a good chance you won't see very many posts popping up in your feed until life reaches a more.... balanced era. So if you like what you see, savor each one while you can. 

Until next time!

Busy About Life

I have noticed that I haven't been on here much. But that doesn't mean nothing is happening around here. Quite the opposite actually! We went to the Sheriff's Halloween Bash. It is definitely one of our favorite events of the year. If not THE favorite event of the year. One of my daughters got to wear her Mikasa from Attack on Titan cosplay she made. My other daughter was Mavis from Hotel Transylvania. One of my sons was Dark Link from Legend of Zelda.

I was a Sith. Friends from our church put this together. And they do a fantastic job. Word has gotten around. The line was definitely longer this year!

I also made a wonderful cake for our friend's anniversary that we had at the fall festival. It was delicious and made the event that much more fun.

My kids even got to ride horses for the first time while there. It made my heart so happy.

I've even gotten a request for another commissioned dessert in a couple weeks. But hey, this is just the light side of all the things I'm working on. I have another project in the works that is really exciting, so be watching! I also have some reviews on the sideboard.

Say I Won't!

These days have been hard. Some days have been so painful, Mom had to cancel school and stay in bed. I've walked through my house leaning on doors and walls to get from point A to point B. But I'm still singing! Some people ask, "How?" or "Why?". I mean, when things are this hard and all I want to do is cry, how can I still stand strong? Why is it that I don't give in and just wallow in the pain and misery? First, let me share a song with you. This one speaks heavily to me. Rebel that I am in my heart of hearts, this song sings to my soul!

Even on a good day, I'm struggling to keep the pain at bay. But on my worst days, I'm reminded that I am NOT alone. Every painful step of the way, I'm leaning on the arm of Jesus. According to doctors, I may be walking on borrowed time. No. I'm walking on God's timing. As long as walking is required to do what He has placed in front of me, I will keep on. And when my legs are no longer needed, I will ride that wheelchair to His glory. 

Through all of this, I have a choice. Accept my defeat and give up hope. OR! There is always an or. Or I can rejoice that these legs are still moving at all. Accept that there is still a purpose for me. And be thankful for the time I have had until it ends! Here's another one for you.

These are revolutionary thoughts that most people can't seem to understand until they truly walk a day in the shoes of opened eyes and hearts. But the more you praise God for His faithfulness, the more you find yourself in joy. The more you see the good through the bad. That glorious silver lining! 

That is where I am. Being thankful. Accepting the calling. And praising God for the wonderful ways He has been working in our lives. From the mountain top views, through those dark and shadowy valleys - I'm gonna keep looking forward. Just Say I Won't!

First Comes the Test, Then Comes the Lesson

In life, we don't always have the lesson first, do we? Wait, do we ever?? I don't think so. I think we always go through a tough time before we understand why. That is IF we ever understand the why.

My husband and I have been in the middle of a new lesson. Patience being a big part of it. Letting go of that idea that we can do anything without anyone else helping is another part of it. 

Last week, we started hearing something that resembled running water in the pipes. While nothing that requires water was on. Hmm that doesn't seem quite right, now does it? Of course we, the kids and I, told Dad when he came home from work. As well as having sent my husband a picture of a puddle that was in front of a door on our house. 

My husband had bought one of those cameras that you use to see behind the walls, that has an LED light and is flexible. We had gotten it to check on other plumbing issues, but now it was looking for a flowing pipe. No matter where my husband fed it through the wall though, he wasn't finding it. Next step was to drill holes in the walls. A couple in the bathroom. A couple in the hallway. Another one or two in the game room and closet. This is when I started to be concerned. He even opened up the air conditioning unit and found that there was a little pond under that! Well, now things are really getting interesting. 

Fast forward and I'm asking the church to pray for us. My husband and I are getting frustrated. With the situation as well as with each other. In theory, we should be able to handle this. On our own. But the more we look, the more trouble we are finding. All because we can't find the trouble! Then he reaches out to a friend in the church. That alone was surprising to me. Then he's asking me to get recommendations for plumbers that have equipment to find leaks under the floors and possibly under a concrete slab. Finally! We are going to get help. Ever want to suggest that to your spouse, but don't want them to feel that they aren't adequate because of it? That was me. 

To the Nextdoor app I went in search of recommendations. Our Neighbors never disappoint. I had a list of places to call within the hour. Unfortunately, I'm calling on a Friday. The soonest, but most expensive one, couldn't come out until Monday. The next in line, both in price and in availability wasn't until Tuesday. Great, a whole weekend of flowing flooding water under my floors. But then I got a notification. There had been a late addition to the list! Jose from Pro1 Plumbing. So I give him a call and catch him on his lunch break. He's willing to take a look, and only charge me IF he finds the leak for sure. He can come within the hour. I feel hope again! 

He shows up. He gets a lay of the house and how the pipes have to be based on where all our water fixtures are. I'm feeling pretty good about this guy. He calls his son and buddy over to help him in the search. They have to have someone turn the water off and on while he listens for the echo of the spray under the floors. He narrows down the area where the leak should be and then they double check to see where the water main comes into the house. All three of these guys are now digging in my front yard that has become a mud pit. I have two puddles now in front of each of my front doors. And he was able to show me water pouring over the slab. Part of the slab even crumbled as he pulled the mud back. 

My husband is at work while this is happening, so I'm having to text him and wait until he gets the messages through his spotty signal. I'm trying my best to keep him informed and also get his decisions on how to proceed. They are talking about needing to cut the carpet and roll it back to better hear the echo. I'm finally getting a price quote too. To find and repair this busted pipe. Which I now know is a gusher after having seen how fast the meter is spinning and how loud the sound has gotten. In my mind, I was determined to talk my husband into just paying these guys to knock this problem out the park. Get it fixed! They have the tools and the know-how. And I really do NOT want to have to rip up floors and tiles and carpet without knowing what we are facing. Not to mention having to possibly buy or rent the tools to cut the copper piping.

By the time they have dug the hole, it is already 4:00 and the heat is getting high. These guys are sweating and clearly tired. The job would take a least 2 more hours. Possibly more. So we all agree that it would be best if they stopped there and just come back in the morning.

Now, we fast forward to the morning after. We turned off our water at their request before they came over. We had moved everything out of the way of the areas they would need clear.

My youngest says, "It reminds me of when we first moved in!" She is so right. That had been my husbands assessment when he got back from work and saw all that the kids and I had already moved. I probably shouldn't have done as much as I did, which wasn't much at all, since my back has been acting up all week.

The guys showed up and found the closest point to the pipe they could get and had to cut into the hardwood floors that we have under the carpet. Then they had to get the ShopVac out and the jackhammer. Turns out, the pipe is under the slab. And the amount of water is incredible! They were carting out buckets filled. By the time they stopped, which was some time close to 5:00 I think, they had carted out about 25 gallons at least. 

Once again, I'm glad we decided to hire these guys. There is no way my husband and I could have done this alone. Even with help from our teenage sons. This is a massive undertaking. And we don't have the skillset for it. Our house was built in a time when they thought putting layers of tar and gravel under the concrete was the way to go. This is why the water is staying in place instead of finding its way into the ground. That, and Midland is mostly clay dirt, so water stays around for a VERY long time. But now we can see why the weeds in the front garden bed were springing up mercilessly! They were getting well watered by this leak. The plumbers had to leave again with the promise of coming back on Sunday. 

I was thankful to start putting our living room back in shape. The game room was near or over the leaking pipe and was quite the disaster zone. 

Then we had them here working through the day on Sunday. Only to find there was more than one leaking pipe! This house was built in 1952. Most of the pipes haven't had anything replaced since they were laid. We fixed one out front. And another popped loose near the front of the foundation. Then sometime, probably quite a while back, another couple joints came apart under the bathroom and game room. A sketchy patch job was revealed behind the water heater. And we were thoroughly ready to just give up. I'd love to have just curled up in bed and wished it all away. 

But we have had to juggle refilling water jogs to refill toilet tanks every time someone had to use the restroom. 

We have four kids who are tired of being trapped in either their bedrooms or the living room. 

Then came the big decision. Do we do a quick patch or do we actually re-pipe the house? A patch job won't hold. Not for long. So now, we are going with the saying, "In for a penny, in for a pound." We decided to have them move all the piping upwards through the attic! I'm glad we have a fantastically strong foundation with about 3 inch thick wood over about 3-5 inches of concrete, over a layer of gravel that was packed in, over a final layer of tar. This house shouldn't ever have issues with settling. Whoo! But they have to reroute the pipes upwards now. Yay...

That is what they worked on ALL DAY on Monday. My husband had to take a day off from work. We went without water, which meant having to purchase huge jugs and more bottled water to keep us going through the night and day. We kept the whole family in the living room to limit anyone getting in the way. The guys worked hard and fast, which made us happy. But it was hard on us all. Being confined in a single room. You'd think it was a zombie huddle. With spurts of activity when someone decided to do something. For me, it was incredibly tiring. Though I did manage to finish reading a book. 

Suddenly we think they are at the end of the job. Putting things back together. Cleaning up areas they were finished in. That is when another leak was found. They had turned on the cold water with no problem. Then they turned on the hot. And water spouted from another joint! I was  feeling pretty dead inside. Too tired. Too desperate for a shower. Just too much of everything at once! 

But as we were finishing up dinner in the living room, they were finishing up cleaning. They even repaired the holes in the wall, which wasn't part of the deal we made. They also repaired the drainage for my washing machine hook up that was leaking every time we washed clothes. I'm more than grateful for that! After all, my husband has been too busy to do it and the way he wanted to fix it was too much of a process. After all, engineers sometimes over-complicate things. I've been washing clothes since the plumbers left without any more leaking water! But that was all they did. I probably sound like those infomercials - But wait! There's more! They found out why we had this sewage smell sometimes. Turns out that the pipe that would vent sewage gases up out of the house, is cracked. So when the wind blows really hard, as it has been, it sends the smells right back in. Jose told my husband how to repair that when we are ready.

Time to think

I have been thinking a lot about the lessons we were facing in this. 

We had to let go and let someone else step in to fix something. 

We had to accept that it would cost us a pretty penny and possibly eat up the majority of our savings cushion. 

We had to 'rough it' without water. Again. 

We had to be patient with this plumber and accept that he has been working on the weekend and dealing with his family wanting his time as well. 

And for me, in particular, I had to accept that my weekend plans were effectively erased. I try my hardest to write my plans in pencil, but the weekend is the only time the kids and I can truly get out of the house and possibly do things. Not gonna lie, spending time at the park was looking really nice... But we couldn't do that. We had to be here for the workers getting things done. We missed church too, while waiting to hear from the plumber on Sunday morning. Not knowing when he might show up. 

I had my moments of doubt. Had moments of thinking we messed up in our choice of plumber. That maybe this was just a bad dream. No, wait, that was just my wish. And yes, even wondering why this was happening to us at all. 

But I will say this. There was so many things that were evidence of God's goodness. Things that I can be thankful and praise-filled about. 

1. Even with the water turned off, we could still use the restroom and flush the toilets. 
2. This plumber was no-nonsense. Honest and blunt with us. 
3. My in-laws weren't here while this was going on.
4. The prices we were facing, while still high for our income, were nothing near as high as they could have been. 
5. God gave us what we needed, included enough money to purchase extra water and microwavable foods to keep us going until the repairs were finished. 

There is a song by Micah Tyler called Even Then. I heard him in person once, and he explained the story behind it. The heartaches and trials his family were facing were still more than what we had here. Part of it says, "Even when the waters won't stop rising... You're with me even then." The waters were rising under our very feet. But God got us through. And sent the right person to fix it.