Our Kids are Funny.

I had to add this one! I wonder how long Cort will be willing to play dress up with us girls. Maybe I should ask how long Chris is willing to let Cort play dress up with us girls!

Watching a "widleeo".

Kate slept on her face and woke up with crazy hair.

The Forest for the Trees

Lately Ryan and I both have had a hard time seeing the forest for the trees. We have exhausted ourselves focusing on small things that we think are in our control instead of seeing the big picture - God does, will, and wants to provide for us in so many ways. It has been exposed in everything from buying an iron to replace the one we've had since college, to paying for the costs of repairing the flooding damage caused by my insatiable desire to win the Best MultiTasker Award. (Did I ever tell anyone about the time I buckled the kids in their car seats while talking to Emily on our house phone, put the phone on the top of the car, and a few errands later watched the phone in my rearview fly from the top of the car into traffic? I couldn't figure out what had flown off the car until several days later when I still hadn't found the missing handset and put it all together.)  Am I so proud that I honestly believe every scrutinized decision determines what God is going to do in us and through us as a family and individuals? How can I begin to operate like my choices define how He is going to choose to use me? As if I'm the one in control and He's on standby for the really "big stuff" I can't handle.

I have been learning this week, as we are adjusting from 10 days away from home, that just as I ask Kate to simply obey because I've asked her to and to trust mommy's word, God is calling me to do the very same thing. Ryan pointed out to me that I ask "why" often. I'm not sure why I do (ha!) and it was the first question I asked God after my feet squished across our bedroom carpet to turn off the faucet. I see my daughter in the same battle I'm in: to obey because I trust and nothing more. 

And speaking of trees, Lee Anne showed up this morning with this basketful of new loofahs for me, as if she has a loofah tree in her backyard. I call it a blessing; she called it "insurance". It will take everything in me to be willing to trash each one after it has served its purpose instead of attempting to prolong it's life by washing. But every loofah I'll use for the rest of my life will serve as an Ebeneezer that God provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it - even if I don't ever get the "why?"

I'm off to shower.

All to Save a Buck

We had some flooding at the house yesterday. I needed to wash my loofah. You know, they get stinky, so I soaked it in the bathroom sink with a bit of bleach. Before we left for the library, I went to our room to change and rinse out the loofah. I decided to let it soak in clean water, so I plugged up the sink again to fill it, and walked away. And didn't walk back for another 2 hours. We went to the library, came home, fixed a picnic lunch and played outside before I realized the water was still running. I knew it was really bad when water began to gush over my feet as I walked on the carpet just 2 steps from our bedroom door. I knew it was really, really bad when I saw 1/2 an inch of water covering the floor of the bathroom. I knew it was awful when the bottom of our closet and everything in it was wet from the water in the carpet (including really nice pairs of shoes). But it wasn't until I dared to look under the house that I knew this far surpassed any home damage I had ever seen my brother, myself, or my father inflict in the past, combined. (I talk about my family because up until now Ryan and I have had minimal incidents in our home)
There was 3 inches of water in the wheelbarrow we store under our house. The insulation was wet. The water ran towards the front of the house and spread as close to 3 feet from the foundation. The water had poured through the plywood under the flooring onto the floor of the crawlspace. I was an absolute basket case.
I called Ryan, he was home by 1:00 with his parents shopvac. I went to my folks and got their shop vac, and for 2 1/2 hours we sucked over 17 gallons of water out of our carpet. On the way to my parents house, I just kept praying the damage would be minimal, and that God would send someone into our life to guide us and let us know what to do to best prevent mold and mildew. My biggest fear was it not drying quick enough and mold taking over and making us sick and our house un-sellable.
When I returned with the second shop vac, Ryan called my brother, who used to work for Steamatic. They carpet clean, but also do lots of flood damage control and restoration and check out mold and mildew damage. I mean, he has a serious oxygen resporator thingy for when he'd have to crawl under houses and stuff. He came right away, and said that we needed to check the padding. He was able to point us in the right direction, and led Ryan on what to do. In short, they pulled out the insulation to let the wood dry under the house, they ripped the carpet up and the padding, and "floated" the carpet over 3 box fans that we will run constantly for 9 days until the carpet and the wood is dry. Then we will install new insulation and padding after everything is dry. When I prayed for someone to guide us, I had no idea it would be Ray!! Thank you so much, bro! We would have worked in vain if you had not come and selflessly given your time and energy. He and Ray worked for 4 hours on the house. And Heather came and helped me keep my mind off the fact that all of this was my fault, and even read to Kate and tucked her in. Thanks for giving up a date night to help us!
Where were the girls all this time? Another blessing: Lee Anne came and got them, took them to the park, fed them ice cream, fed them supper (in that order) and even brought them back to us at mom and dad's house after supper. She even brought a dehumidifier from Kim DeLoach, which we put under the house. Ray said it will be a lifesaver, because they are $150 a day to rent, and it sucks all the bad moisture out of the air. I am so thankful for you, Aunt Lee Ann! Kate says that she likes spending time with Lee Anne because "I get lots of fun sursees".
There is so much more I want to say about what's happened, but I've got to go by the house and let the dog out. Nancy has been in her booster seat with breakfast unsupervised for far too long. We will stay at mom and dad's again tonight (they are out of town for the week), go to the beach with the Keevers Thursday night through Monday morning, then head to Litchfield to Ryan's parent's condo and come home next Wednesday evening. The floor should be dry by then, right?

View from the sink into the bedroom. This is after the padding is ripped up.

Our closet.

The doorway is to the hallway. It started to make it's way down the hall.

This is Why....

This is why I am not posting, why my Facebook posts are so mysterious, why I don't return your phone calls and why I don't shower, have dark circles under my eyes, and forget to feed my children. That said, I have no idea how my mother has done this for 30 years. Thanks, Mom!

But by all means, place orders now while I am still baking!

Home So Soon?

These are the photos from our trip to Charlotte:

4 in 25. Not the number of people who think I resemble Six from Blossom. Hopefully not as many people who think that Sarah Palin can actually pull off the debate on Thursday. It is quite possibly the number of failed attempts to hang out with the Kulps in Charlotte (pink eye, fever, and budget cuts now being a few of the reasons we haven't been able to visit our friends). 

But in this case, 4 is how many miles I drove in 25 minutes yesterday on I85 leaving the Kulps house. What was supposed to be an overnight visit full of fun for me and the girls turned into a wardrobe exchange for Mary and me and a naptime playdate for Kate and Celia. After laying Nancy down for a nap, she woke up with a fever of 101.5. So as not to infect our sweet friends, not to mention Camilla who is just 6 months old, we decided to head back home. Plus, who wants to sleep in a pack and play in a room with your sister when you don't feel good? I'm sure Dave thinks we are crazy. He was home just long enough to say hello to me after I came out of the bathroom from spanking Kate, and comes home for supper to find we are 45 minutes gone. Kate was so disappointed, but Celia was such an encourager. She gave Kate a hug and said "Kate, I know you are sad to go home, but maybe you can come back again another day because you are my best friend in the whole world." Since 5 year olds don't quite know how to show all emotion yet, giggles and racing around the house followed in a celebration of friendship. These little girls couldn't get along 18 months ago; now they are BFF! 

4 miles in 25 minutes isn't as slow as some have experienced, but it is as slow as I want to experience with a sick baby, Dora, and antsy kindergartener in the car on a trip we just completed only 4 hours earlier. And I have plenty of time to wonder "why?" Why, if God's plan/will/choice is sovereign and perfect, is sitting in traffic exactly what He wants me to do? How does it benefit me? i ask myself. And He reminds me that it's really not about me. Obviously I need to think more about how I can be a part of God's kingdom instead of focusing on how He can help me in my kingdom. 

After wallowing in self pity and telling Ryan he either needed to feel sorry for me or get on google earth to tell me what lie ahead on the road (accident? bottleneck? people giving out cash?) I talk to Brandy in Bluffton. She and Gray are making some hard decisions for their family, and all I am worried about is that Nancy might start having a meltdown in the backseat. Even in the middle of their trials, Brandy is the one that says to me "but I know that God's will is perfect." And He wants to take care of us, and He will. 

Who knew that 10 years after Clemson, Bran, Mary and I would still be able to be real in each others' lives, dealing with exhaustion, quarter-life crises, a faltering economy, sick babies, and getting dinner on the table? Now that I think about it, the road-trip-that-almost-was may not have been about me, but it did give me a time to reflect on how gracious He's been to provide these and other wonderful, sweet friendships. I am so thankful for you, girls! I love you!

Kulps, we'll try again in November!

Did I Ever Mention?

Did I ever mention the afternoon we spent in the bathroom hunkered down for a tornado? That's right. Sometime mid-August, my mom calls during some bad weather and says that tornadoes are headed our way. Kate and I were coloring and Nancy was napping, so I turned the tv on and she was right. John Cessarich said there was a tornado due for Taylors at 4:45pm. Kate begins to get very nervous, but I just keep coloring. I figured if it started looking green outside we'd head for the bathroom.

She would not let go of her worry, and even asked if we could pray about it (a rare thing in our house - don't get any ideas) so we do, she says she feels better, but that's a lie, because she continues to get more and more afraid. I told her that she wasn't trusting God even though we had prayed about it, because her heart was still fearful. Finally it's about 4:15, and Nancy is awake, so I tell her if it will help we can take shelter "just in case". She starts pulling cushions off the sofa and dragging them to the bathroom, gathering toys for her and Nan to pass the time, all the while saying "I will trust God. I will trust God."

We were in that bathroom for 45 minutes!!! Ridiculous! They had a great time! Once or twice I escaped to check the path of the storm (which fizzled out before it reached us), and when I came back Nancy was standing on top of the potty ready to jump into the cushions! 

Since then we have listened to the Wizard of Oz on audio CD, and I don't think it will do us any good the next time a storm heads our way. 

Nancy is obliviously happy with "cackers".

We even did school in the bathroom. It was our first week, looks like we were studying sun. I am such a diligent mother.

Happy Birthday, Gray!

I figured better late than never, and since it's GRAY'S BIRTHDAY today, I thought it was somewhat appropriate to post about our visit with our friends that happened a month ago!

On August 24 the Gainors came for a visit! It had been over a year since we had gotten together with kids - Bran and Gray didn't even know Sam was going to be Sam the last time we saw each other! They even got to spend the night with us, which was so fun. They were great sports, considering we don't have a guest room or a fold out sofa. Oh, and they came with their friend from Slovakia, Barbora, who was spending time in the States. The kids had so much fun playing! Sarala and Kate really never left Kate's room, Jackson went between the big girls and the Little People, Nancy just squealed and followed the big kids, and Sam log rolled across the living room. I'm not sure when we'll all get together again, and don't really want to think about how sad that makes me, so I'll just say thank you to the Gainors for being willing to include a stop in Greenville in your vacation and we love you and are so thankful for your friendship!

Jackson, Kate, Nancy, and Sarala. Sam was already packed up....

Kate and Sarala had a sleepover in Kate's room - they did SO well!  Here they are enjoying breakfast together.

Sam.