Whirlwind of Projects

David’s parents came out this weekend to spend some time with us.  We had a few projects that we were planning on working on while grandpa and grandma played with the girls.  Instead, we ended up doing every project that we could feasibly get done or continue this weekend.

The first project was getting boards ready to replace the damaged fireplace mantel in our bedroom.

I spent a lot of time throughout the weekend sanding, staining, and sealing the oak mantel.  We will be able to install them in a couple of days.  I also have been doing the same to closet door for our coat closet because the existing door has had a hole in the front since we purchased the house.

The second project was a swing set for the girls.

David and his dad worked on getting all the pieces put together for the swing set for a good portion of the day on Friday.  They built it from scratch (it is attached to the play house) and even had to have a piece or two made at the local welding shop.

Project number three was the propane tank.

We hadn’t intended to do this project this weekend, but while I was waiting for the wood to dry from my other project I wanted to get something else done.  David’s parents and I worked on scraping the rust and loose paint off, washing it with mineral spirits then with soapy water, priming it, and then painting it.  David helped too, when he had a moment between other projects.

After all the rain we had at the beginning of the week (see previous post) and the driving rain we had Friday night.  We knew we had to do some other work to keep the water out of our house.  David sealed the window in our room and put up and additional eave trough to keep the water from puddling in our yard at the corner of our house.  Those would be projects five and six.

The closet that I was working on the doors for also had leaking when we first moved in.  After reshingling earlier this spring David started sheet rocking the closet.  He has been working on mudding it for the last week when he has had a spare moment.  Hopefully, we will be priming and painting tomorrow or Tuesday.  That is number seven.

Going down the stairs to the basement the walls along the stairs were cement and the paint no longer stuck, so project number eight was sheet rocking and mudding that area as well.  That project is just about complete as well, but still needs priming and painting.

Of course, there were other minor projects that I’m sure were done as well.  We felt that we have accomplished a lot, and are tired from all the work.  Today we are spending some time relaxing.  It really does feel good to get these things done.

The girls have been enjoying the swing set since the moment it was finished.

Overflow, Bursting at the Seams (a.k.a. Cracks), etc.

We have had so much rain the last week and the last two days that the water just doesn’t have anywhere to go.  We filled our pool about half full the Sunday before last, have not added any of our own water to it, and now it is full (to the top).  The ground is also very saturated in our area, which is very unusual, so the water that is going into the ground has nowhere to go.  Guess where it ends up…In our basement.  Most of the water is coming up through cracks in the floor and not through the walls.  It is not only coming up through the cracks that are around the outside edges of the house, but cracks that are in interior portions of the basement and have the garage on one side and other rooms of the house on other sides.  It would be one thing if it was just seeping in the cracks.  However, we can actually see the water spurting up like a fountain through several of the cracks.  Thankfully, not much of it is in carpeted rooms.  We had to empty our storage and utility rooms in order to cleanup and maintain the mess.  I know the situation could be much worse, as there are areas not too far away that have 10+ inches of rain since yesterday afternoon.  I’m not writing this to complain, because it has been manageable, but I just wanted to let you know what we have been up to.  I haven’t taken the time to take pictures, and I’m not sure I want to, so you’ll just have to image the mess.

Yeah for Summer!

I think summer has finally arrived.  The girls had a nice little picnic lunch on our deck at lunch and played in the pool this afternoon.  The weatherman says that this warm weather should continue.  I really hope it does.

Picnic lunches on the front deck (still a little wet from last night’s rain).

Bria after she jumped into the pool.

Bentley climbing in the pool.  It is easier just to take off her shorts than to put her swimsuit on every time she wants to get in the water.

A side note:

When we got home late yesterday afternoon we had a surprise waiting for us in our front yard.

The sign says “Chamber Yard of the Week”.  All of David’s hard work on our yard has been noticed.  Thanks for all the work you do David.

A Week and a Half

The girls and I spent a week and a half at my parents’ house.  The girls had lots of fun playing outside, going to vacation bible school, getting the camper ready, watching the kitchen get destroyed, and more.  I thought I would be better about taking pictures, but I wasn’t much better.

The first weekend we were there, the girls went to the farm with grandpa, uncle Nathan, and David.  I don’t have these pictures uploaded to the computer yet.

The first part of the week was hot so the girls spent a lot of time outside playing in the water.

Bentley’s first attempt at playing in the sprinkler: she just stood near the water and let it get her just a little.

Bria liked running through the water, and continued to get more brave the more she played in the sprinkler.

Taking a break from the water to explore the ant hills.

They played a game that they made up of running through grandma’s clean laundry hanging on the clothes line.

The next couple of days Bria spent going to vacation bible school with grandma.  It was only three days, but it was from 9am to 2pm every day.  She was mostly cooperative during class.  It was a good test to see what we need to work on before she has to go to school (still a year away).  I didn’t go out to bible school so again there aren’t any pictures.

My parents are adding on to their kitchen, so we had to get the camper all cleaned up so they could use it as their kitchen for the summer.  Nathan and David also worked on removing all of the cabinets and appliances from the kitchen to get it ready for the contractor.

Plenty of time was also spent playing at the youth center, eating out a several restaurants (due to my mom’s work), keeping up with the laundry, and my daily trips to the hospital for my antibiotic infusions.

Grandpa was able to spend some time with Bentley while I got my infusions because Bria and grandma were at bible school and Nathan and Davee were at camp.  Saturday was my last infusion, and my PICC line was removed after it was completed.  In the process of removing it my blood pressure dropped really low again and I just about passed out.  After a glass of water and sitting for a bit my blood pressure came back up and I was able to leave.  Sunday after church we came home, and have started back into our normal routine.  Getting back to normal wasn’t hard even after being away a total of two and half weeks.  It was great to be at my parents, but home is a wonderful place to be!

Not What We Were Expecting

It has been a long time since I have updated the blog. For a few weeks there was nothing exciting to say, but I thought after Memorial Day I would have something new to add. There are new stories and pictures, however, it was not what we would have expected.

Our plans were to spend our four-day weekend with David's sister in nothern MN. David's parents were going to be there, the girls could play with their cousins, and the adults could spend some time catching up. We arrived late Friday afternoon (before Memorial Day) and the kids started playing right away. I, however, was feeling sore. The long car ride made me assume that the aches and pains were just from sitting for so long. By Saturday afternoon we knew it was something more. I was shaking uncontrollably and my temperature rose to well over 104 degrees (that is really high for an adult). David's dad took us in to the ER were we spent several hours getting my fever down. After the blood and urine tests, they decided it was something viral that I could manage with Tylenol and Motrin. We went back to David's sister's and got a little sleep. I thought I was feeling better Sunday morning, but I was wrong. I was up for only a few minutes when I passed out, so it was off to the ER, again.

They ran some more tests and decided that due to my low blood pressure, high temperature, and elevated white blood count that I needed to be admitted to the ICU. That is where I spent the next couple of days with a kidney stone, a kidney infection, and a blood infection (this is very serious). (That meant the girls had several extra days to play with their cousins.) My blood pressure finally stabilized, and my temperature was running lower, so they put in a semi-permanent IV (PICC line) and let me go to David's sister's. We stayed that night, Wednesday, and I went in for my first antibiotic infusion then we traveled home. Of course, there were other complications: I couldn't get my infusions in any of the three closest clinics or hospitals to our home for a variety of reasons. Finally we decided that it would be best to stay at my parents', where grandma could watch the girls and they have a clinic and hospital. We met my mom along the interstate on our way home and headed to their house while David continued on home.

David came to spend the weekend with us, and my infusions have been going well. Today is the first day I don't feel completely exhausted. I am definitely recovering, but still have to be careful not to overdo it. With all of the help from both David's and my family everything has worked out quite well. I have definitely seen God's hand at work in the whole situation. He lined up the people and places to make sure I was getting the care I needed. He also gave me an extremely loving husband who was with me the whole time (especially in the hospital). Also, all the prayers have been a blessing throughout this experience.

After all of this I don't have any pictures that I can post of the girls with their cousins. We did take a few on David's cell phone that I may be able to put up later. I am trying to take a few more while we are with grandpa and grandma, so I should have some next time I update the blog.