Wow! I'm thankful that not every day is like this one! We started out on a good note with Roger and I taking a walk together. After we ate breakfast, we headed to the park for a bit with the kids before beginning the school work.
Here in Page, the kids that attend public school start back on August 6! I thought that seemed really early, but they are done by May 9. We are almost three full weeks into the school year, and I'm thankful for that as we will be taking a few days off here and there in August for various family activities. We will start our five day routine right after Labor Day, so maybe the Lord will come back before then!! :)
Anyways, back to our day experiences for today. Shortly after school started, I went into the boys bedroom to get some fresh clothes for Emma. I moved a few things around and immediately called for Roger. In the corner of the room, the carpet is growing moldy things that look like a mushroom fungus. The paneling was wet behind the side table when we moved it, and we have a mold problem! But where was the water coming from? Upon further research and investigation, we discovered that the hot water heater was leaking and the water was dripping along the wall and under the carpet! What a mess! Because it's a single wide trailer, the hot water heater is accessible from the outside of the house. So Roger ended up taking out the hot water heate, turning off the water, draining the water out of the hot water heater, and getting supplies to fix it. School was cancelled for the day as I now had to gather up all the blankets and things that had been on the floor in the boys room. I probably have about ten loads of laundry to do tomorrow, but one thing at a time. (I'm very tempted to submit my receipts for laundry to the landlord!)
We ended up having lunch at Burger King since we didn't have any wate turned on at the house, we couldn't flush the toilet, and we needed to get the stuff to try to fix some of this stuff! Roger talked to the company about the issues we are having with the mold. They gave Roger the option of either trying to fix it himself and submitting the receipts for anything else we fix, or getting a professional to look at the carpet and paneling issue. Even though we couldn't get a professional to look at it today, we decided to go with having a professional look at it. Neither Roger nor I have very much experience with mold, but if the carpet needs to be ripped out or replaced, we want a professional to decide that since it's not our property. Although I'll admit, it would be really nice if the carpet had to be replaced as it's the same carpet that came with the trailer in 1968 or whenever the trailer was put here!
It was a long day for our family as the boys weren't able to have rest time since Roger and I were working on cleaning up some of the mold. We discovered that the clothes that had been on the bottom floor of the closet were also moldy. (They were on the floor because we don't have any dressers.) The boys will be sleeping in the living room tonight, and hopefully the floor will dry out now that Roger fixed the hot water heater.
You might remember that I mentioned that Chandler has been having some eye problems. The doctor suggested that it was allergy related with pink eye symptoms. However, Chandler has finished up his exorbitantly priced eye drops, and his eyes have not improved. Also, a few weeks ago, Chandler told me he needed a little bit of his own space. So, I made him a little bed on the floor of their bedroom closet. Does anyone see the connections? He's been sleeping in a mold bed! His pillow had to be thrown away, all his bedding must be washed, and his allergy symptoms only appeared after he started sleeping in the closet! Wow....I feel like a terrible mama!! I'm hoping that once this carpet issue is taken care of his allergies will clear up immensely.
So, although I am very, very thankful that not every day is like this, I do have a few blessings. Somehow, in the midst of discouragement, God provides an opportunity for us to be refreshed. I've been looking into ways to be able to afford more fruits and vegetables for our family. I found this company called "Bountiful Baskets". It's a farmer co-op that brings fruits and vegetables to Page every two weeks. You sign up and pay for the baskets on Monday, and pick the baskets up on Thursday. The baskets cost about $15.00 each, and you never know what might be in the basket. However, our family likes most fruits and vegetables, so I thought it would be worth a try. It is going to be a good thing for our family! This week we received lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower, corn, plums, carrots, pears, cherries, potatoes, mangoes, and figs. I don't think I've ever used figs in anything or eaten them. But we have them, so we will eat them!
Our other blessing was that today the pastor of the church we've been visiting came by for a visit. The timing wasn't the greatest as the house is kinda torn apart today, but we had a good little visit. We are looking forward to more opportunities to interact with the people in this church.
One more blessing: the boys participated in the summer reading program at the library here. Last Saturday, they were able to attend the end of the summer party. For some reason, Travis was the only one of our children to receive a bag of treats for his reading. I was a little curious about the reason, but I figured that he had to do less reading to get a bag since he is younger. Yet today when we stopped at the library to return some books, the librarian had bags of treats waiting for the other boys as well. She said that the computer had a glitch, and it had missed some of the kids. The boys were thrilled with the bags, and I was very impressed. The boys each received a new toy or ball, a book, and a water bottle. It was a fun treat for them, and I'm glad that God chose to encourage them also. (It was a rough day for Chandler. He was in tears at one point insisting that he wanted to go back to Nana and Papa's house, and he wanted out of this moldy house! I refrained from telling him that I had similar thoughts!)
In the midst of it all, God desires that our thoughts and minds be stayed on Him. I am reminded of the verse in Isaiah. Isaiah 26:3 states, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in Thee." God brought this verse to mind several times today as I worked to keep my mind on Him. God is truly good to us, he knows exactly where we are, he protects and provides for us, and we are blessed.
Our love to you, Sarah
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