Water update!!!

And this is a picture of the aftermath of the torpedo heater not working. We have now nearly disassembled the entire enclosed back porch!!! If it wasn't bad enough the water is frozen.........hubby went to work on it earlier today and found out he was trying to unthaw the wrong pipe all along!!! Now we have a pipe that is completely busted BEFORE the water meter and it is spraying water all under the house!!! We called them several hours ago and reported it as an emergency.......they said they'd be here before the day was over!! It's now dark!!! Oh.........the guy just called and said he was on the other side of the train......we live right by train tracks and quite frequently trains stop on the tracks.....everyday as a matter of fact.......and they stay there for up to an hour or more sometimes!!!! There's supposed to be a law against that but..............anyways.......back to my story..........now he's here and in the back with hubby. I don't know what he's going to do, but I sure hope it can be fixed soon. My shopping got put on hold and now I only have one day left. Of course, that's nothing out of the ordinary really. It's a tradition with my husband......he has to go out shopping on Christmas Eve every year!! He loves the hustle and bustle and all the crowds!! I, on the other hand, absolutely hate it. I can't stand all the people pushing and shoving and fighting over stupid stuff. Like I said in one of my newsletters, there is nothing so important to me that I have to fight over it and I certainly would not trample someone to death to get anything!!!!!

So........there you have it. We have water...........just not running through the pipes to the sink and showers where I want it!!!!

Good in Everything

This is a picture of a torpedo heater that my husband had to purchase yesterday afternoon. While we were at church on Sunday we received a phone call and learned that we had NO water in the entire house. It was frozen!!!! After church Sunday night my husband and son-in-law ventured out to Menards only to find it closed so they headed to Walmart. However, they did not have any torpedo heaters. He was only able to find a couple of utility heaters, which he purchased at that time. After running them overnight nothing happened. So, yesterday afternoon when he came home, he assessed the situation and went to Menards and returned with this little contraption and a blow torch. He had found that one of the pipes going into the water meter had actually frozen and burst. He took it apart and realized in order to get it back together he would have to sodder the pipe back together in pieces. Once he had that done......and I helped......I held the torch while he melted the metal to it!!!! Yeah me!!!!! :-) He looked at me and said: "Actually, God was very good to us by allowing the pipes to freeze." I looked at him like he had a third head and was from Mars. How could it possibly be a blessing that the pipes froze???!!!!! He then pointed out that if the pipes had not froze and that pipe had bursted while we were at church all day, it would have been a mess. The house could have been flooded and the mess would have been more than we could have imagined. So, I guess there is good in everything if you just look for it!!! We're thankful for godly neighbors that are letting us use their shower and carry water into our house!!! But, here we are, day 3, still without water!!! Please pray for us!!! This is very hard and especially since we are supposed to have a house full for Christmas day!!!!

"Back Update"

Well, after the Jacuzzi, the doctor's appointment and 4 prescriptions I managed to move properly for a couple of days, but then I got really stupid (no unusual comments please!!!!) and horsed around with Shelley (our middle daugher) last night. It was feeling some better and she manages to make me laugh..........a lot!!! And we were playing "Sumo" wrestler!!! Yeah, that's what I said. You didn't read it wrong!!! I said I got stupid didn't I!!!?? By the time I woke up in the middle of the night I could barely move again!!! And boy, does it hurt today. I guess when they say "no pain, no gain" I guess they mean it!!!! I regained a little bit of my sanity through all of our horse play, but I also regained a lot of the pain!!!! UGH!!!!! That's ok though. With some of the challenges I've faced lately I NEEDED that laughter. The Bible says laughter is like a good medicine and does a heart good!!! Maybe physically I didn't feel better, but it sure did pick me up for the time and it was refreshing to laugh and have a good time!!! Shelley went to school for Accounting, but should have been a stand up comic!!! She can crack me up at any given moment. There's one word she says to me that without fail, makes me just nearly roll on the floor!!! I'd share it with you, but it wouldn't make a bit of sense to you if you haven't heard it. I love the way she senses my pain sometimes, comes to my rescue and releases those happy hormones in my brain for a short while!!!

"Mr Incredible"

For the sake of putting a face to him, this would be the love of my life with our "Weetie Pea!!!" It's already been established that he is the most wonderful man in the entire world, but not only that; he's totally incredible. My life has been anything but calm and serene lately. As a matter of fact, it has been more full than I have ever cared for it to be. I have been faced with challenges that I never dreamed would come my way. We all know that I have come to the conclusion that I have some sort of "disorder", if you will that just simply does not allow me to "BE STILL!!!!" Remember, we came to that conclusion back in the summer when I was somewhere and had to wait on Sami for something and as I sat in the van it nearly drove me out of my mind (what little is left!!!) Anyways on to the story here...........Somehow I managed to do something to my back and I don't want to go to the doctor since we don't have any insurance(well...none to speak of!!!). So.........."Mr. Incredible" being the wonderful man he is......got on the phone and found a hotel room with a Jacuzzi in it so he could take me there so I could soak my back!!!! No we ARE NOT rich!!! That's the best part of it!!! He managed to negotiate with the desk clerk to get the room for far less than even half price!!! He just simply told them....."look.....it's Tuesday. It's snowing and your hotel is going to suffer for it. Do you want to make a little money or no money?" He agreed!!! It was so awesome and it did indeed make my back feel better for the time I was able to soak!! I can truly say my husband loves me "Biblically!!!!" He loves me the way Christ loves the church. He always makes sure my needs are first!! And lately.....that's been pretty difficult. Like I said, there has been so much going on in my life lately that's got me in a complete whirlwind. And unfortunately, I haven't been as graceful about it as I should have sometimes. I guess God has a way of making you look in the mirror sometimes. But, that's a story for a different time!! I just thought I'd share with you how wonderful my husband is!!! And this little story doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg of ALL the other things he does for me!!! He's just marvelous!!!!!!! I love him so!!!!!!!

The Sampson's.......A little bit of Heaven on Earth

If you are ever down and need some REAL encouragement, find where this family is performing and go hear them. We were blessed to attend one of their concerts at Kolas Book Store in Highland on this past Saturday. How I NEEDED it!!! I have heard many, many groups sing in my lifetime, but this family is the "real deal." I'm not saying that the rest of them aren't but The Sampson's have a true heart for God and people. It's evident that they are in tune with God and the ministry they have is so excellent. Their calendar is usually full all year round....well, at least when they aren't away on a missions trip. Hence the reason we weren't able to have them do a Christmas concert this year. We have to wait until January 5th of next year!!! Like that's so far away. They get better each time we hear them. We have known them for many years and just to watch those little girls turn into such wonderful young ladies is such a great blessing, but to hear them is so awesome!!!! It seemed like every song they sang was especially picked just for me. God knows what you have need of before you ever ask!!! He is the greatest!!! The brought so much cheer to my heart. I just wish I were able to convey just how much of an impact they make on me each time I am in their presence. Not only does their music minister to me, just talking to any one of them is so uplifting. To hear about all their endeavors throughout the year and for them to share their blessings is excellent!!! Their voices are just a little piece of Heaven here on earth!!!!!! Thank God for those He sends into our lives to encourage us!!! Keep up the good work!!! :-)

NOTHING.......Martha

As you can well see, there has not been a post for quite some time now. My life has been less than serene and calm these days. Chaotic would describe it much better. I'm not quite sure what's going on lately. I don't even know if I'm coming or going half the time!!! As my schedule has filled instead of lightening up some as I had hoped when the boys went to school, it has only became fuller as well as our house!!! Our household has grown from just the 3 of us....dad, mom and Sami to 6!! Add to the mix Jenny, Richard and Shelley and during the day Adam, Jason and Malena!! Well, Adam is at school all day now and Jason goes a half day, but still there is other people to get to and from school and work and others at home to watch over. I taught a lesson in Sunday School this past Sunday about "Overload!!!" Talk about having to teach with my feet "off" the floor so I wouldn't stomp them severely!!!! Then I used the scripture reference where Jesus had come to Mary and Martha's and Martha was complaining about Mary sitting at His feet doing "nothing!!!" Nothing? How do you do "NOTHING!!!!!!!!!????????????" I found out one day as I was sitting in the van waiting on someone that I am just not capable of doing NOTHING!!!! It drove me nearly insane to just sit there with NOTHING to do!!!! I wish I could sit and do nothing...............I wish I were like my husband and could completely clear my mind and just "think" of nothing, let alone do nothing!!!! There was a CBD catalog laying near my devotional books this morning and when I finished, I picked it up and began to thumb through it. There were a couple of books that I saw that deal with my issue that I think I'm going to buy. Sounds like they could be helpful with my dilemna of doing "nothing!!!" "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World", "Calm My Anxious Heart" and "Get Out of that Pit." Now that sounds wonderful, but we must remember that in order to actually read these books would require me to sit down and do "NOTHING!!!"

"Sami"

"Isn't she lovely.............Isn't she beautiful??"

There she is, in action,........doing what she loves the most. Playing tennis............and she's good. We were able to stop on the way home from the State Convention of Southern Baptist today to watch her play. I love to watch her. She makes it look soooooo easy. She's so quick and light on her feet!!! She was born with that hand/eye coordination thing you know. She certainly did not inherit it from me. I just can't seem to get my eyes and hands to cooperate. I can see the ball coming but to get it back over the net just doesn't work for me and even if I do manage to hit the ball it certainly does not go back over the net, it goes everywhere but there!!! She had initially pursued going "away" to college and there were several that accepted her. I prayed diligently about it because you know this Mama did not want to give her up to go somewhere other than home!!!! Not to mention the fact that I just saw "room and board" as setting money on fire!!! Why pay room and board when you can stay at home, in your own room, not have to move and not have to pay any bills!!!??? I know...........I know...........the experience and getting out from under mom's wing!! Don't sing that song and dance with me. I've heard it enough!!! :-) But this is how God works. As a sophomore in high school she had just made the comment in passing: "I'd love to play tennis in college one day." Never thinking anymore about it she went on and played all four years in high school loving every minute of it......well......almost every minute outside of a few ankle injuries here and there along with some shin splints!! But then one day she called me as they were playing a match and was so excited she couldn't hardly speak!!!! There was a scout that had approached her and offered her a scholarship................to play tennis!!!!!!!! She was beside herself!!! In awe to say the least!! She remembered the comment she had made two years prior to that and mentioned it to her girlfriend. God hears what sometimes we feel is the most insignificant prayers and in Sami's case He heard a passing thought and brought it to life!!!! What an AWESOME God we serve!!!! She is now attending Calumet College of St. Joseph on a "FULL" scholarship!!!!!! Talk about a blessing!!!!! And if that were not good enough........if she hadn't gotten the tennis scholarship, she would have gotten a full academic scholarship!!!!!! God is so good and she is so blessed!!!!!!! And we are so proud!!!!!