We moved 10 miles north to Norton Shores, we have an address and a phone number (YEAH - If you need it let me know, I sent out an email, but may not have gotten everyone), we have internet*, the appliances were delivered -eventually*, we purchased family room furniture and it was delivered*, we purchased a new bedroom set for Matt and I with a new mattress and that was delivered*, we had several sets of company - my aunt, my uncle and aunt, my uncle and aunt's friends, I purchased and organized a new family calendar*, my parents came to visit and help for 6 days, I partially balanced the checkbook, we have cable*, I had a flat tire*, most of the light fixtures and some of the switches in the house were changed*, we purchased and hung up two clocks*, Matt hung up two of the picture frames*, we have two working showers*, we put new knobs on all the cupboards*, we received a care package for the girls' birthdays (thanks K&T), we went to library story time*, Anika and Jessica had basketball*, Jessica and Maria tried out for kid parts in the high school spring musical - and got them*, Jessica sang in the praise team at church*, Brandon had tennis practice, Anika started flute lessons, we organized a toy room and the kids got their toys back after 6 months of being packed away, a few new shelves were hung in the closets*, and I had a sinus infection which still hasn't totally gone away which meant I had a headache most of the week.
* this refers to a story in and of itself, we'll see if I tell them all
We didn't have an internet connection for most of the week, and really we aren't supposed to now - notice the * - but it was a good thing. With all of the craziness, I had some moments where I was pretty defeated -notice the flat tire *) and if I had blogged at those times a few of you would have either called 911 and had the psych buggy come and take me away or sent me copious amounts of alcohol - not to worry, its already been purchased.
But somewhere in it all, I sat back and took a reality check. We are safe, we have a beautiful home, the kids adjust a bit more each day, we are healthy, Matt has a job he enjoys and is engaged in, and we can get up and keep going every day with the promise of something new. Many times through this week I have thought of friends and their struggles, I have read others' blogs and wondered how they keep going and have such positive attitudes, I think of conversations with people who are no longer on this earth, and it helps me gain perspective. I was telling my friend Paul years ago that sometimes I go to bed at night just so that today will end... I was in bed at 9 PM once this week! =)
I post these pictures of our kitchen in its current state. Some of you are thinking 'what a mess' but if I had a picture of what it looked like last week at this point you would say 'they've come a long way'!
A few victories have also come around. I found the bathroom box with my nail stuff and my contacts! I found the oregano and the spaghetti sauce and could make supper last night, the kids get a kick out of watching our new washing machine, my new washer and dryer are great and the new dishwasher rocks the world! I don't have to rinse off ANYTHING and I even put in the dirty lasagna pan and it came out clean! There were several times during the week where I needed something and started to look for it and found it immediately - yeah God and there are still a few random things missing.
Okay, I'll try a few of the asterisks now:
*Comcast and the internet are the first *; I have spent more than 2 hours on the phone with this company this week alone. Last week I requested a high speed internet and phone connection. I felt funny about it over the weekend so I called and changed it to a slower speed and no phone. On Wednesday, the man comes to connect the internet and phone. I told him about the new order, so he only connects internet. I find out on Thursday, that he connected the wrong kind of internet. On Friday I canceled that, although I'm obviously still using it, so I'll probably be on the phone some more this week. The new modem and necessary items are supposed to arrive by UPS this week. What should I do with the modem that the man left here? I guess that will be part of the continuing saga and the copious amounts of alcohol on my part. Perhaps a glass of wine BEFORE I make that phone call and one during!
*Appliances - oh dear, here we go - at one point, two delivery trucks and a plumber were all clammering to get into my driveway that already had 3 vehicles in it. Street parking became necessary for most of us, and I was gone getting emergency supplies from Menards! Twenty minutes after the chaos left, I opened my new lovely fridge, and it didn't work. Of course it had to be user error, so I hauled out the manual and started pressing buttons - still didn't work. We purchased our appliances from the same place that the guy from our church works that got us our freezer, so I called them up. After a bit of a wait, Bob, the guy from church, is on the phone telling me he'd be right out. He comes out and sure enough, the fridge is dead. It ran a whole twenty minutes and died. They brought me a new one the next day. It was cold outside so the garage and the deck served as a great fridge and freezer in the mean time. Oh, and in the process the warehouse lost our stove. Yes, I said lost. The store didn't know which truck it had been put on. I received it three days ago. But God had little angels in place for that, too. The dentists asked us over for pizza Saturday night after moving, and our neighbor in the back yard brought over fried chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch on Sunday. Neither of them knew we didn't have a stove. On Monday, we cooked a frozen lasagna in the microwave and on Tuesday and Wednesday we had leftovers warmed up in the microwave!
*the delivery guys took away our 3 old toilets and all the old light fixtures, TOO funny. They wanted them in their own homes and in the rental homes they had family members that owned!
*our new bedroom set had a leg to the bed that was split and broken, a new one has been ordered
*the family calendar got hung up with those 3M removable sticker hooks.... they didn't work and the calendar kept falling off the wall. It is now hung up with sheet rock screws.
*cable - oh the joys of comcast. I was looking forward to not having to deal with big companies like Qwest and their poor service, not so much for me. Remember how I canceled the internet and phone policy, well it seems they never canceled it, so when I tried to add cable, they said my bill would now be $100 a month because I wasn't choosing a bundled package. More time on the phone. I also had gone to Best Buy to purchase a new TV antennae in hopes that I could get the local channels for FREE, like its intended. After some research, I determined that basic cable was really our only option, so back to Best Buy went the antennae. Finally, Comcast agreed to set up cable - which they could do over the phone, and off we went to the TV. No cable. Back on the phone to order a technician out to the house and then I went to bed again! I have discovered that I solve things in my sleep. I'm not kidding. I can't tell you how many mornings I have woken up and had the solution to something that wasn't working. Not sure what God is telling me with that one. Maybe that I should just stay in bed.... Anyway, I figured out that the cable box we were plugged into was dead which led me to the basement with a flashlight following the cable lines with a flashlight. Yep, I was right, but I did discover the live cable and a whole bunch of wires I don't understand. That will have to wait for another day and someone with a whole lot more brains than I have. Do you know anyone that installs internet and tv cable that could explain the box and around 10 wires I have running all over my house that seemingly do nothing? And now, we have the free local stations, for $20 a month.
I'm going to stop there for now. I hope this puts a smile on your face. Someday, I'm sure it will put a smile on mine!
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