Repairs can slowly begin

Thank you for everyone's words of encouragement while we deal with the disruption and displacement of our home repairs... the final update is the pipes have been replaced (all 20 feet of drain pipe from one side of the house to the other), the dirt has been thrown back into the tunnels they dug and now it's just time to wait for contractors and workmen to start pouring concrete, laying my wood floors back, repair the bathroom tile floor (or replace it maybe?), kitchen cabinet/sink/counter reinstallation... and the office carpet gets pulled out and wood will go in there as well.

In the midst of this nightmare our hot water heater is also out (which is the leading factor why we stayed at a hotel the last 2 nights. I can't possibly take cold showers AND hope over ditches throughout the house and deal with the enormous amount of dust and dirt!) A plumber comes today to hopefully repair it, but it's old so I pray he can... we have a home warranty to help off-set repair costs, but if this has to be replaced it will require a permit since it's natural gas AND we might be forced to put up the cash to bring the venting up to code. Lovely. Ever see the movie "Money Pit"???

Also, the car I drove to work on Wednesday decided to remain in park no matter how hard I tried to muscle it into gear - so it's been towed to the shop - this was something we paid to fix 2 months ago and it was clearly not repaired correctly... life goes on.

We head to the Tampa area tonight bc the Bulls start their football season tomorrow night. Then it's back home (or the LaQuinta depending on the hot water situation) because we are the new teachers of the senior class small group bible study on Sunday mornings and this is our first week of a real lesson.

Here's a few photos of the "repaired" pipes... we have a long way to go before it's the home I once knew and loved.



As a reminder - here is what my kitchen and dining room once looked like....

Just an update

We have to move out for a while - how long, who knows. The pipe issues extend now to the only other area of the house with access to water - the ONLY bathroom. 18 feet of pipe and counting have been torn from my foundation. As I type I'm sure the plumbers are removing the toilet and drilling through my tiles. I didnt much care for the bathroom itself, but it's the helplessness and the cash register in my head wondering when will the costs and troubles end.

Here are updated photos from the trench they dug through my entire dining room. It's off to the hotel we go.

A small hole in the corner of the dining room ...... quickly developed into a larger problem.

I am inspired today by something I read on a *super friend's* blog... hope she doesn't mind me stealing it right off her site, but it truly expresses the heart of how we are able to make it through anything:

"I do not believe in a God that gives in to our desires. I believe in a God that will ultimately make His desires our desires, if we pursue Him. That doesn’t often come without frustration, disappointment, failure, and tears. I don’t believe in a God that wants me to be happy all the time or that wants me to be rich. I don’t even believe in a God that wants me totally satisfied, either, because that would further tempt me to go out on my own. I believe in a God that will glorify Himself in my circumstances. I believe in a God who uses everything first for His own glory and second for the ultimate good of believers. That good may not be experienced in this life. That good may not seem like good. And that good certainly might not feel good. I believe in a God whose plan is so amazingly bigger than me and my little breath of life, which is here today and gone tomorrow. I believe that it is simply not about me and my desires and my need to pay the bills."

The myth of digging to China

Well, you might not be able to dig a hole and get to China but you apparently can dig a hole and end up having to dig a tunnel... there is now not one but TWO channels running through my house from the laundry room door to the dining room wall.

I cant even begin to describe the disappointment, frustration, not to mention the legitimate sickness - all the dust, unknown toxins, and the overall distruption of our lifestyle.

No laundry for 3 weeks, no dinners in my kitchen for 4 weeks. I know people always say "well, it could be worse"... and to those people I say "stop saying that" because each time someone has said that sure enough it gets worse.

Your prayers for a final solution and for repairs to commence are appreciated. I hate to sound so defeated because usually I'm upbeat on my blog - but this is real life and when you're living through this time of demo with no signs of a let up it's hard to be perky.

Also, we found out today the child we have supported for 2 years through Compassion International passed away August 10th when he and some school friends wandered unseen into a hotel pool and he drowned. His name was Porch and he lived in Thailand and it was a joy the last 2 years to get his letters and hear about his growth and development. He always wanted to know when we were coming to visit and now only wish we had done so - he will be missed even though we never met him. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Makes our torn up plumbing seem so insignificant.

Just so you can visualize ...

the hole in the far right now extends all the way to the wall on the left.
I bought a terra cotta cross in Mexico earlier this year and the outline of where it sat on my piano shows the dust is going everywhere.

My wood floors will all have to be replaced. For now the flooring guys at least left me some to walk on but exposed the dining room so the plumbers can do their work.
Having a dining room table in your living room isnt all bad - except when it's too dirty to eat off of, and too tall to see the TV.

Oh come on already!!!

Tropical Storm Gustav, the seventh named storm of the 2008 hurricane season, emerged in the Caribbean south of Haiti on Monday afternoon, and it was rapidly gaining strength.

Because the system was forecast to aim generally toward Florida over the next five days, the southern third of the state already is in the long-range cone of uncertainty.

And I was cranky before??

It's been 3 weeks -- since the water first started leaking from my wall, since the first contractors and workmen were here, since the first hole was made in my wall... and now this.

It gets worse than ever expected. If you've ever wondered what your house is built on just develop a leak in a drain pipe in the foundation of your home... and you'll soon learn most houses in Florida were built on compacted sand, then concrete, then Terrazo, then tile and then the wood floor we JUST put down in July.

My kitchen is no more - no cabinet, counter, sink, dishwasher or stove. There is a HUGE channel 2 feet deep into my floor and about 4 feet of rotted galvanized steel pipe missing - I can't believe how nasty all of this is. My floor is covered in piles of sand - and just when we think THIS is the worst it can be... of course not. Now they have to pull up he floors in the dining room because that rotted drain pipe connects the kitchen to the main drain line out to the septic system which is joined over near the bathroom and there is a certain 10 foot room we like to designate as the place we eat that is strategically in the way!

Looks like the 4th week is about to start - did I mention we can't do laundry either? I'm going to drown my sorrows in ice cream now.

Enjoy the nasty photos so you too can feel the pain:

Water woes AGAIN....

Man what a day – we had a leak in a wall from our kitchen to our lounge – discovered it about 10:30 after stinky sink/disposal water leaked everywhere – enough to stand in.

Went to bed around 2:30 am after the water remediation guys came, now Tim’s dealing with a plumber, and the other company and the insurance folks – it leaked into the sunken living room lounge, the sink cabinet along the wall and on into the office, wood floor will have to be ripped out in some places like the kitchen and hallway to the office – I had terrazzo under the carpet in the office… who knew. Too bad it’s ugly. But maybe Tim will get his wish of wood in the office too... I can only pray this will be a quick clean up and thank God for homeowner’s insurance… I hate deductibles but repair costs are worse.

God’s blessings: #1 that I hadn’t yet moved my piano to where I really wanted it (pretty much exactly where the leak sprung through the wall), #2 we had JUST bought a wet/dry vac on Saturday and had put it together that morning to clean out our hot tub, #3 that it happened while we were still awake and not traveling or sleeping so we caught it quickly and managed to vac up much before the company arrived, #4 we have a great insurance company who got somewhere there that night to at least TRY to stop the water and the damage.

The down sides: #1 we had to shower at a friends or the gym today – no flushing toilets, #2 Tim missing work to deal with plumbers, insurance estimators and adjusters, and the total disaster my somewhat clean home now is, and #3 the worrying about how long it will take to be put back together.