We have been busy. We got a new pool, and we were shocked at how much bigger it is than our last one. The last pool was a balloon type on the top, and it was 18' across. But, that is at the bottom, and the sides slant up. So, we still have an 18' pool by 48" deep. It is nice!! The children have been in it a couple times, but we really need a bit warmer weather.
I did some work out in the garden, pulled out the old fencing, along with the stakes. Got it all weeded out. This year, we only have asparagus, and a raspberry plant, and 2 strawberry plants (they are Matthew's). The rhubarb didn't make it. I should find the receipt and get my money back.
We also moved a pole for the volleyball net, so it will be straighter.
We are doing a bunch of cleaning, and trying to get things organized. We did a bunch of work in the garage, and still have a bunch more to do. We are trying to get things off the floor. I have 12 metal chairs that are now hanging on the wall. I am trying to get the flying turtles to be able to hang on a wall, as well, but I just got the proper hooks for those today. Poor hubby took a tumble on a flying turtle. He was carrying a ladder, and didn't see the flying turtle under him, and he went straight down. We also bought another shelving unit to put together. We tried to buy a peg board, and got it out to the car, but it wouldn't fit in the trunk, or in the car, so we had to return it. We will wait until the truck is out of the shop. We did buy a hanging unit, and got the trimmer, and trolling motor hanging on that. It is nice to get it cleaned up. But, we still have a ways to go. I am trying to sell some of the furniture that Ben didn't want any more.
Tomorrow, Matthew goes in to get the cast removed, and the pins taken out. I'm not sure how they will work it, whether they put some kind of velcro on the original cast, so he can wear it when he goes outside, or if they give him a splint, or what. We shall see. He has a lot of signatures on it!
Josh told us today, that he is quitting his job, and going into construction with his brother-in-law. We are so very happy for him, as his job wasn't being the nicest to him.
Jon is starting a job, soon, with waste management. Changes all around!
Josiah and Jeremiah and Claire are coming over tonight. So, I should get busy, and get supper started.
Blessings!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Finally, Job writes
Well, I have been feeling a bit down, and a bit like Job lately. So much has happened.
We went to the annual District Summit meetings. While we were gone, Becca calls to tell us we have a major water leak in the house. Oh, great! We had her call one of the deacons, and he came over immediately and fixed it. When we got back home, we wet vac'd the carpeting all up. Then, we put dehumidifiers and fans on it. Please understand, I had to remove everything in my closet 4 feet on down. My house was a mess for 3 weeks (that is how long it took to dry it out!!!!)
I barely make it through that, and the washing machine broke! We finally got one picked out, only to find out it would take a month to get in, as it was on backorder. I really wanted that one, as it is a Samsung machine, and it is direct motor driven, and not belt driven like my other one. Rick was such a blessing to me, as every day he went into the office, he would take 2-3 loads of clothes in, and wash them at the church. It was a long wait.
In the meantime, a blessing was--Rick bought me a surprise! He bought me a convection oven!! I have really enjoyed that! This oven can be very dangerous--as I can bake 36 cookies in 11 minutes! :) It also has a really nice feature of a "turbo boil", and that brings a huge pan of water to a very quick boil. Ahhh!
Then, Matthew broke his arm. That was 2 weeks ago. We were getting the fire pit ready, as we were going to cook out some hot dogs and s'mores. He was out on the jungle gym, playing on the rings, when he fell. I ran to see, and immediately knew it was broke. We got him to the emergency room, and they x-rayed it. The lady took the first x-ray, and said that he was a very brave boy, as it was a very bad break, and he should be screaming in pain. When we got back to the room, it was a flurry of activity. Many nurses coming in to work on him--getting an IV hooked up, removing a deer tick, cutting off his shirt, splinting his arm, etc. They told us he would be transported to Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul, as none of the bigger hospitals around us wanted to handle his case. I cried. They said he would have to have surgery on the arm, to get it back into place. He had 3 shots of morphine from Menomonie to St. Paul.
So, we had a stay in the hospital. He arrived at 11 PM on Sunday night, and stayed until Tuesday morning when they released him. I did not get much sleep, about 3 hours per night. I was with him the whole time. When we arrived, he was so hungry, but they wouldn't let him eat, because they didn't know when the surgery time would be. Also, he had to go to the bathroom. So, the nurse asked if he wanted to get up, or use a urinal. He asked what a urinal was, so the nurse showed him, and his eyes got huge, and he said, "I will get up."
Rick was so good, and he must have been so tired! I went with Matthew in the ambulance. Rick went home with a list of items we needed. He stopped at home, picked them up, then came up to the hospital in the cities. He got there about midnight, then turned around and went back home. He came back up for the surgery the next morning.
Surgery was supposed to last 45 minutes, but it was about an hour and a half. The doctor did not have to open up his arm, but used an x-ray to get better pictures, and then twist and turn to get it back into place. They also put 2 pins in the arm. His hand was swollen up HUGE! And he started to spike a fever, so that is why they kept him overnight on Monday, as we were supposed to be discharged from the hospital after the surgery. He cried when he found out he had to stay another night.
The doctor that did the surgery, also works on Scoliosis patients, so we talked about Matthew's scoliosis with him. The hospital, had therapy dogs come in his room, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. The one was a Corgi, and the other was a Samoyed.
Even though this was a big ordeal, we felt rather humbled at how small his injury was--when you see others who have major physical disabilities.
While we were there, they had a part in the hospital for a Ronald McDonald house. We were able to use their facility to grab snacks, as well as an evening meal while he was there. It was very nice!! Not much food for snacks, but very nice. The only meal I got to eat, was with Josh, and they had a taco bar, and a nice big fruit salad. That really helps out financially, when you are in the hospital.
I was a bit overwhelmed when we got home, as he really couldn't do much. His arm was in a HUGE splint! I mean very big!!! I had to buy some new shirts, because we couldn't get his splinted arm in any of the short sleeved arm holes. He was having troubles with getting his pants up and down, and he was on some pretty hefty meds, so that made him dizzy. I was overwhelmed, and I cried.
My parents were so good to us, they brought over a meal!! How nice, not to have to worry about that.
Then, my dishwasher door broke. I thought it was just the spring, and when we replaced it, we found that when the spring broke, the door came crashing down, and cracked the inside of the door. And did it leak!!! So, off to buy a new dishwasher. Got one I liked (the boys are all impressed with all the buttons and functions--not me--I chose it because of the way the tines are shaped--they are straight up and down, and not angled every which way). Ordered the dishwasher, only to find, that too, was on backorder. Wait 2 weeks.
Finally got that, on the day Matthew got his cast on. He chose a red one. And he goes around with 2 permanent markers for people to sign it.
When we carried in the brand new dishwasher, it was leaking a whole bunch of water! Right out through the box!! We called the company, only to get a run around. We found out later that they test the machines, to make sure they don't leak. I think they should put a stamp on the boxes they test, saying that if you have water leaking, not to worry, they just tested it. I googled it, and it seems to be a thing of concern for a lot of people. So, why not just alleviate the worries, and put a stamp on it?
Found out the new dishwasher didn't come with an electrical cord, so when I was trying to get the cord off the old one (at the company, because they will get rid of the junk ones for free), the man just came up and said he would help me, and yanked on the cord, and ending up stripping the ground wire about 4 inches. Great. Got home, to find that my wire stripper was missing. Long story short--I had to take it to Dad's house, and he stripped the power cord for me. Yeah, Dad!!
It took us almost all day on Saturday, to get the dishwasher installed. When we went to hook up the water line, we found out that my old fitting wouldn't work on the new machine--it went from a 3/8" to a 3/4" (which looks like a garden hose!) So, we called to see if they had it--sure enough! Buy the "kit" for $22, and just use the 1 piece. Grrr. All I needed was that fitting.
Finally got it installed at 4:30, and loaded it up. Ran a load of dishes. They came out perfectly clean!!! I had a bowl of oatmeal, that was 2 days old (we were waiting to get the thing installed). I just gave it a quick rinse in the sink, and it still was caked on. Put it in, and it came out clean. I think oatmeal, and eggs are the absolute worst for getting clean in a dishwasher. My only problem was--there was water in the bottom of the dishwasher. Oh, great!
I prayed, and asked the Lord to help me figure it out. A thought popped into my mind, that I should check where it drains out to. So, I had to undo the drain pipe, and stick my finger into the hole in the garbage disposal. If you know me--I do NOT like to put my person into anything that I can't see what's in there! I did, and found a plug. Hmmm. The old one must have drained elsewhere. We found it under the sink, a separate drain, that is kind of like the drain on a washing machine. Ran another load, and it works wonderfully!!
Today, we went strawberry picking. Rick, Dan, Matthew and I. Oh, did I mention that we've also been having vehicle problems?? When Matthew was in the hospital, Rick was on his way home, when our fairly new car died on the freeway. $290 later, he was back on the road. Then, we had problems with the Suburban. That is still in the shop, and they mechanic isn't sure what is wrong with it. So, that is why we didn't all go strawberry picking, because we can only fit 5 in the car. So, off we went.
I wish I would have called to make sure they were picking today. We got all the way out there, followed all the signs, only to get to the entrance and there is a sign, "All picked out. See you in 2013 season". Why didn't they take down the signs on the main highway?? So, we went into town, and were able to buy 2 buckets of already picked strawberries. All I can say is YUCK!! They never should have put most of those berries in those buckets. They were all bruised, and mushy. I wanted to call the farm, and tell them to inform their pickers, that if their finger goes through the strawberry, get rid of it.
Rick just ran into town, and bought a pool. The children will be so happy! Well, except for Matthew. He is still in the cast. He gets the cast off towards the end of this month, and then he will wear a removeable one, so that he can begin to exercise and move his arm when he is in the house, but if he goes outside, he needs to wear it for protection.
Oh, and I haven't told you of our night time visitor. We have someone prowling around our house in the night, usually between 2 to 4:30 AM. We set up an alarm, but usually animals set it off. And, we put up a game camera, but haven't seen anything, yet. I don't think it works if someone is walking quickly past it. Even our neighbor has seen someone out there. He came out with a gun. I just want the person caught, and to have them quit this.
We also had a pair of badgers down the end of our road. The town guy called DNR, but they said they wouldn't do anything, as we live in a small village, and this is their habitat, and when they ate up the gophers, they would probably move on.
So, here are all my ramblings of the past couple months. I was bemoaning the fact of all the happenings around here, when a dear friend reminded me of the verse, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all." :)
We went to the annual District Summit meetings. While we were gone, Becca calls to tell us we have a major water leak in the house. Oh, great! We had her call one of the deacons, and he came over immediately and fixed it. When we got back home, we wet vac'd the carpeting all up. Then, we put dehumidifiers and fans on it. Please understand, I had to remove everything in my closet 4 feet on down. My house was a mess for 3 weeks (that is how long it took to dry it out!!!!)
I barely make it through that, and the washing machine broke! We finally got one picked out, only to find out it would take a month to get in, as it was on backorder. I really wanted that one, as it is a Samsung machine, and it is direct motor driven, and not belt driven like my other one. Rick was such a blessing to me, as every day he went into the office, he would take 2-3 loads of clothes in, and wash them at the church. It was a long wait.
In the meantime, a blessing was--Rick bought me a surprise! He bought me a convection oven!! I have really enjoyed that! This oven can be very dangerous--as I can bake 36 cookies in 11 minutes! :) It also has a really nice feature of a "turbo boil", and that brings a huge pan of water to a very quick boil. Ahhh!
Then, Matthew broke his arm. That was 2 weeks ago. We were getting the fire pit ready, as we were going to cook out some hot dogs and s'mores. He was out on the jungle gym, playing on the rings, when he fell. I ran to see, and immediately knew it was broke. We got him to the emergency room, and they x-rayed it. The lady took the first x-ray, and said that he was a very brave boy, as it was a very bad break, and he should be screaming in pain. When we got back to the room, it was a flurry of activity. Many nurses coming in to work on him--getting an IV hooked up, removing a deer tick, cutting off his shirt, splinting his arm, etc. They told us he would be transported to Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul, as none of the bigger hospitals around us wanted to handle his case. I cried. They said he would have to have surgery on the arm, to get it back into place. He had 3 shots of morphine from Menomonie to St. Paul.
So, we had a stay in the hospital. He arrived at 11 PM on Sunday night, and stayed until Tuesday morning when they released him. I did not get much sleep, about 3 hours per night. I was with him the whole time. When we arrived, he was so hungry, but they wouldn't let him eat, because they didn't know when the surgery time would be. Also, he had to go to the bathroom. So, the nurse asked if he wanted to get up, or use a urinal. He asked what a urinal was, so the nurse showed him, and his eyes got huge, and he said, "I will get up."
Rick was so good, and he must have been so tired! I went with Matthew in the ambulance. Rick went home with a list of items we needed. He stopped at home, picked them up, then came up to the hospital in the cities. He got there about midnight, then turned around and went back home. He came back up for the surgery the next morning.
Surgery was supposed to last 45 minutes, but it was about an hour and a half. The doctor did not have to open up his arm, but used an x-ray to get better pictures, and then twist and turn to get it back into place. They also put 2 pins in the arm. His hand was swollen up HUGE! And he started to spike a fever, so that is why they kept him overnight on Monday, as we were supposed to be discharged from the hospital after the surgery. He cried when he found out he had to stay another night.
The doctor that did the surgery, also works on Scoliosis patients, so we talked about Matthew's scoliosis with him. The hospital, had therapy dogs come in his room, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. The one was a Corgi, and the other was a Samoyed.
Even though this was a big ordeal, we felt rather humbled at how small his injury was--when you see others who have major physical disabilities.
While we were there, they had a part in the hospital for a Ronald McDonald house. We were able to use their facility to grab snacks, as well as an evening meal while he was there. It was very nice!! Not much food for snacks, but very nice. The only meal I got to eat, was with Josh, and they had a taco bar, and a nice big fruit salad. That really helps out financially, when you are in the hospital.
I was a bit overwhelmed when we got home, as he really couldn't do much. His arm was in a HUGE splint! I mean very big!!! I had to buy some new shirts, because we couldn't get his splinted arm in any of the short sleeved arm holes. He was having troubles with getting his pants up and down, and he was on some pretty hefty meds, so that made him dizzy. I was overwhelmed, and I cried.
My parents were so good to us, they brought over a meal!! How nice, not to have to worry about that.
Then, my dishwasher door broke. I thought it was just the spring, and when we replaced it, we found that when the spring broke, the door came crashing down, and cracked the inside of the door. And did it leak!!! So, off to buy a new dishwasher. Got one I liked (the boys are all impressed with all the buttons and functions--not me--I chose it because of the way the tines are shaped--they are straight up and down, and not angled every which way). Ordered the dishwasher, only to find, that too, was on backorder. Wait 2 weeks.
Finally got that, on the day Matthew got his cast on. He chose a red one. And he goes around with 2 permanent markers for people to sign it.
When we carried in the brand new dishwasher, it was leaking a whole bunch of water! Right out through the box!! We called the company, only to get a run around. We found out later that they test the machines, to make sure they don't leak. I think they should put a stamp on the boxes they test, saying that if you have water leaking, not to worry, they just tested it. I googled it, and it seems to be a thing of concern for a lot of people. So, why not just alleviate the worries, and put a stamp on it?
Found out the new dishwasher didn't come with an electrical cord, so when I was trying to get the cord off the old one (at the company, because they will get rid of the junk ones for free), the man just came up and said he would help me, and yanked on the cord, and ending up stripping the ground wire about 4 inches. Great. Got home, to find that my wire stripper was missing. Long story short--I had to take it to Dad's house, and he stripped the power cord for me. Yeah, Dad!!
It took us almost all day on Saturday, to get the dishwasher installed. When we went to hook up the water line, we found out that my old fitting wouldn't work on the new machine--it went from a 3/8" to a 3/4" (which looks like a garden hose!) So, we called to see if they had it--sure enough! Buy the "kit" for $22, and just use the 1 piece. Grrr. All I needed was that fitting.
Finally got it installed at 4:30, and loaded it up. Ran a load of dishes. They came out perfectly clean!!! I had a bowl of oatmeal, that was 2 days old (we were waiting to get the thing installed). I just gave it a quick rinse in the sink, and it still was caked on. Put it in, and it came out clean. I think oatmeal, and eggs are the absolute worst for getting clean in a dishwasher. My only problem was--there was water in the bottom of the dishwasher. Oh, great!
I prayed, and asked the Lord to help me figure it out. A thought popped into my mind, that I should check where it drains out to. So, I had to undo the drain pipe, and stick my finger into the hole in the garbage disposal. If you know me--I do NOT like to put my person into anything that I can't see what's in there! I did, and found a plug. Hmmm. The old one must have drained elsewhere. We found it under the sink, a separate drain, that is kind of like the drain on a washing machine. Ran another load, and it works wonderfully!!
Today, we went strawberry picking. Rick, Dan, Matthew and I. Oh, did I mention that we've also been having vehicle problems?? When Matthew was in the hospital, Rick was on his way home, when our fairly new car died on the freeway. $290 later, he was back on the road. Then, we had problems with the Suburban. That is still in the shop, and they mechanic isn't sure what is wrong with it. So, that is why we didn't all go strawberry picking, because we can only fit 5 in the car. So, off we went.
I wish I would have called to make sure they were picking today. We got all the way out there, followed all the signs, only to get to the entrance and there is a sign, "All picked out. See you in 2013 season". Why didn't they take down the signs on the main highway?? So, we went into town, and were able to buy 2 buckets of already picked strawberries. All I can say is YUCK!! They never should have put most of those berries in those buckets. They were all bruised, and mushy. I wanted to call the farm, and tell them to inform their pickers, that if their finger goes through the strawberry, get rid of it.
Rick just ran into town, and bought a pool. The children will be so happy! Well, except for Matthew. He is still in the cast. He gets the cast off towards the end of this month, and then he will wear a removeable one, so that he can begin to exercise and move his arm when he is in the house, but if he goes outside, he needs to wear it for protection.
Oh, and I haven't told you of our night time visitor. We have someone prowling around our house in the night, usually between 2 to 4:30 AM. We set up an alarm, but usually animals set it off. And, we put up a game camera, but haven't seen anything, yet. I don't think it works if someone is walking quickly past it. Even our neighbor has seen someone out there. He came out with a gun. I just want the person caught, and to have them quit this.
We also had a pair of badgers down the end of our road. The town guy called DNR, but they said they wouldn't do anything, as we live in a small village, and this is their habitat, and when they ate up the gophers, they would probably move on.
So, here are all my ramblings of the past couple months. I was bemoaning the fact of all the happenings around here, when a dear friend reminded me of the verse, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all." :)
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