Life

It's been a while since I've gone without posting for almost a week.

Yes. This is a long post.

Today was the epitome of a {Monday}.

Addie's sick. Snotty, coughing, sneezing. I spent half the morning on the phone with plumbers, the city inspectors, and the state board. Not much food in the house. I had to go to the post office to get stamps. Loaded everyone up. Managed to get inside but dropped my credit card somewhere. Went back outside. Found it. Back inside. Man with THREE packages was now in front of us in line. Wait. Get the stamps. Get Addie in the car. Walk to the other side of the car with a car seat in each hand...and trip over my own freaking feet. My knee hits the ground. Audrey Kate's seat hits the ground. She cries and I almost do too. Everyone's ok. I put Anne Perry in the car as I hold Audrey Kate. Addie informs me that she's teetee-ing in her car seat. And I spill bbq sauce on my {formerly clean} jeans. I come home to 2 plumbers sitting in my front yard and a city inspector driving up.

But that's not why it's been so long since I've posted.

It's a house that continues to fall apart, twins who have two very individual minds of their own, a precious {most of the time} two year old, none of which I'm willing to miss growing up before my very eyes, and life moving at warp speed that has required me to put many things on hold.

Like the dishes in my sink.

Wait.

That's my pet peeve: dishes in the sink. I don't care if there's laundry on the sofa or toys on the floor, but I don't do well with {our} dishes in the sink. I want them in the dishwasher. And I want my sink shining.

But the problem here is that we had the State Board come to inspect the work a company did on our AC unit last Thursday. They smelled gas. Called the gas company. Within less than 30 minutes the gas company was at our door. I'm pretty sure it {wasn't} due to just anyone smelling gas...it was the call from the State Board.

Leak confirmed.

They cut our gas off.

Plumbers came Friday morning as we were attempting to get out of town and on the road for a 4 hour trip that took us 6 hours.

We had 3 pretty small gas leaks. The city had to come inspect it today...and we have more.

So we have no gas...still.

Our furnace runs on gas. Today, that doesn't matter.

Our oven runs on gas. A pain but manageable.

Our hot water heater runs on gas. I will never take our hot water for granted again. Ever.

I can't run the dishwasher. I can't even wash the dishes by hand. I can't take a shower to wake up in the morning. I can't bathe my children. I can't wash sheets or towels or diapers.

Do I sound like I'm griping?

Well...I am.

I'm working really hard to have a good attitude here.

REALLY hard.

But I am TIRED of talking about our house. 

I am NOT thankful for one more thing to deal with and pay for. I am not thankful that it's delaying the start of the ginormous project that is about to be underway here...this week. I am not thankful that we are about to have to spend a ginormous amount of money on our house.

I am not thankful that there are complete idiots out there who have managed to work on our house over the past 80+ years. I'm not thankful that any and all projects on our house turn into something else. Something BIGGER that requires more permits. More inspections. More people to call to meet to call back to check behind to clean up after to ask 14 thousand questions to and to trust. 

I.AM.NOT!

But...

I am thankful we had problems with our AC unit so the State Board would be here with a new inspector who formally worked with gas inspections.

I really am.

I am thankful he smelled the gas and thankful it could be fixed.

I'm thankful we were out of town all weekend instead of here dealing with no hot water. 

I am thankful for my mom who let us come shower and bathe everyone at her house tonight and cook our dinner in her oven.

I am thankful that we have an excellent general contractor who will soon be handling EVERYTHING!

I'm thankful we have a house. We.have.a.house.

I am thankful that we can do these repairs.

I really am.

I'm thankful for our precious girls and an amazing husband.

But I'm more thankful for a God who gives us the exact amount of {grace} we need for each day...if we'll only ask.

I'm thankful that not only does He not give us more than we can handle...He gives us exactly what we need!

We had a wonderful weekend in Augusta, and I promise there are many more pictures to come.

When I can start to keep up...I mean catch up.

But here's one of our BIG girl in her snazzy hat at her Gramma's 60th birthday party!

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

(the verse I repeat over and over all.day.long)