Just Keep Swimming...

...just keep swimming.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. 

What do we do but swim, swim, swim?

Except I think we're just treading water, attempting to keep ourselves (rather our house) from sinking.

Ok. With 5 reinforced jacks placed on steel reinforced concrete pads underneath our house, I don't think it's going to sink anytime soon.

Just us.

We temporarily moved out of our house Monday morning so the floors could be finished and the new duct work could be built and installed. We were to move back in Thursday morning so I could cook for several friends and, er, live in our house.

The final coat got put on the floor after one of their guys just scraped up pooled stain leaving some pretty obvious less stained areas. The owner of the floor company (not a worker) spent half a day at our house today fixing those (and other) spots. The result: a perfect floor. The problem: another coat has to be put on the floor. But since we don't have any heat, that has to wait.

Then they found the gas line that absolutely has to be rerouted in order for the duct work to be run under the house after we moved the return air and they relocate the unit due to reinforcing the foundation.

If this is some kind of practical joke, it's not funny! And I know funny! I'm a clown fish! (Marlin the clown fish)

So the plumbers come and give us a quote. Did you know plumbers are super expensive? The plumbers have to reroute the gas line. The inspectors have to come. And then the duct work can be installed!

I just picked up all of my cooking supplies, food, extra clothes, diapers and left sinks dripping because we won't have heat (and it's snowing/sleeting/winter storming/snowpocolypse) until late Friday, IF everything goes as planned.

.

But we all know how things go as planned with our house!

It's sort of like swimming through a sea of jellyfish.

I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my squishy. Come on, squishy Come on, little squishy. Ow Bad squishy, bad squishy. (Dory)

If you don't bounce off the tops just right, they sting you. And even if you do bounce off the tops just right, another one can sting you.

Oh, I saw the whole thing, dude! First, you were like, whoa! And then we were like, WHOA! And then you were like, whoa! (Crush the Turtle) 

Whoa is right.

Abbey's not doing well. She's started whining and only wants to lay on super cold (tile/concrete) floors. She hangs her head when she walks now and gingerly lays down as soon as she can. At one point I couldn't get her to eat cheese today. This is the dog that surfs counters for edible and non-edible things to eat! The mass on her shoulder has doubled in size. I watched Audrey Kate crawl over to Abbey the other day, touch her face, play with her collar; and it makes me so sad to know the babies won't remember her.

And then there's Addie. I do believe this most recent vacation from our house has been hardest on her. How do I know, you ask? She bit (yes you read that correctly, bit) another little girl at school Tuesday. I know it happens. I know it's not a reflection on us. But after being horrified and so upset for the other little girl, I got super worried about Addie...not wanting her to gain a reputation of being mean or hurtful!

Audrey Kate is a crawling girl now. Nothing is baby-proofed with 3 year old toys all over the place. I've got my work cut out for me!

And sweet Anne Perry has an ear infection left over from the flu she had 3 weeks ago.

Sometimes I feel sorta like I'm being chased by something...

But at least we aren't facing this:

Well, in reality we aren't facing it; but at times I feel like we are!

However I am reminded daily of our blessings: our God of grace, a house to be able to fix, 3 precious girls, an amazing husband, the most awesome (extended) family anyone could hope for, our health, a great general contractor, hvac guy, plumber to work with us...and on and on and on!

But no matter how you look at it, it's been quite a wild ride...

 Don't make any sudden moves. Hop inside my mouth, if you want to live. (Nigel the Pelican)

...and it's nowhere over yet.

He look. "Es-CA-pay". I wonder what that means? That's funny, it's spelled just like the word "escape." (Dory)

Can we hurry up already and move on with things?

And then I'm gently reminded:

There's a reason I'm not writing the story and God is. He knows how it all works out, where it all leads and what it all means. I don't! (Anne Voskamp - One Thousand Gifts) 

(I promise to have 8 month pictures of the girls. and 9 month ones. And just pictures in general soon! Very Soon!)

pictures courtesy of Disney Pixar's Finding Nemo