Another death and more house news.

I found out that a past co-worker of mine passed away in her sleep.  She was younger than me.  She left behind an 8 and a 3 year old, her hubby and her ailing mother.  It was such a shock to learn.  It was hard to believe that it was true.  Our kids used to have playdates when they were younger.  Losing someone so young, it isn't just the loss of their presence, it completely alters forever her family's way of life...not only do they have to deal with her death, but they have to find solutions to the hole that her absence brings.  I simply can't fathom it all yet.  A take-away, I guess, is a reminder that life is a gift and never guaranteed.

On the home front, we decided to drop the price of our home and had an open house this weekend.  Our realtor repeatedly told us how people who stopped in were impressed with how well kept our home is.  That was nice to hear that our hard work paid off.  God willing we'll get some good offers now.  Our realtor is hoping we'll be under contract within 2-3 weeks in order to meet the timeline for when our new home is scheduled to be ready.  Timing is the challenge.

Death and Divorce

Death is never fun this side of Heaven.  Neither is dissolution of a marriage.  Both of those happened  this week and I am still processing.

My former head boss, a senior pastor, passed away this week.  It wasn't clearly stated, but suicide is the inclination stuck in my head.  Perhaps it wasn't suicide, but I can't shake the feeling that it could be.  That thought grieves me more than if he had simply passed from other causes.  I knew him as an insecure man, fearful of failure, fearful of loss of influence, and unsure of his calling.  At the same time he was passionate about bringing the lost to know Jesus as their Savior.  He deeply cared about people finding faith in Christ.

There were moments I admired him and moments when I didn't.  I never felt he was a good leader, but he was the man God allowed to lead.  His team protected him and worked around his issues.  They managed the running of the church while letting him believe he was in control of it all.  It may possibly be the most dysfunctional church leadership team that I've been witness to.  And yet, God was continuing to work in the situation and make a difference in the lives of their congregation.  He impacted many lives for Christ, proving over and over that God can accomplish His plan despite human failings.

I grieve for his family.  I grieve for the struggles he faced that brought him to his death, and most of all, I grieve for the church -God's people who he pastored.

The other sad issue is closer to home.  From the vague and cryptic Facebook posts, it seems my cousin's marriage is ending.  I am very sad.  His wife is witty and fun.  I don't know what went wrong, and I've only been witness to social media from her perspective because he doesn't communicate much.

Family issues are never much talked about when it comes to painful things like this.  I know how much they loved each other, and I only have seen glimpses of struggles.  They were married shortly after I was.  I know there are things that could have torn my marriage apart if it weren't for our faith in Christ and being able to look to the Lord for our guidance and our strength.  She doesn't post much about faith, so I don't know if she has that support in her life.  A marriage dissolved always brings me sadness no matter the circumstances.  Marriage is such a beautiful thing that God created and we muck it up so badly.

I grieve for each of them, for their children, and for another marriage that Satan ruined.  I pray for their reconciliation.  I pray for their individual walks with God.

Listing this Week!

Wowsers.  It is surreal to be finally at the place that our home will be placed on the market for all to see, and hopefully come and put in an offer!

We had one final weekend of chaos to get ready for the photographer, who came this morning.  The professional cleaner our realtor usually uses couldn't come, so she got a referral for another lady who came out Saturday.  I have mixed feelings on how it went.  On the one hand, I learned some great tricks and tips from her, and she accomplished somethings I hadn't had time for earlier.  On the other hand, I'm so detail oriented and perfectionist when I clean, I think I could have done a better job and a faster job if I had known her tricks ahead of time.  It also took her twice as long as expected so I was in a mad rush to finish things up last night.

Our realtor loved the finished product, she and the photographer were very pleased with the work we'd done on the house and how well we'd prepared for the pictures.  They had very little to move or adjust to make things look just right for the pictures.  It was neat to see the things that they did tweak for pictures.  The current thing is to shove the kitchen table close to the wall to make the dining area seem larger, seems silly to me, but then my momma trained me to keep a keen eye out for those types of marketing tricks.  (I still remember the day she pointed out that something for $4.99 was only 1 penny away from $5 and stores use that little trick to make it seem like you are spending less.)  Anyway, they added some fake greenery here and there, and a large print of a painting in our bedroom where we'd removed our personal pictures from the wall.  I think they did a good job, and I'm looking forward to seeing the pics!

The rest of this week I'll be focusing on organizing the closets, refrigerator and pantry...all those hidden places not seen in pictures, but you know those homebuyers will be snooping in!

Frazzle Day!

Pete's Dragon song that Nora sings with Pete is in my head, except I didn't have a 'razzle dazzle day'.  Mine was frazzled.

After today, we have two weeks left to finish getting the house ready to show.  I feel so far behind and overwhelmed!  When I look at my list, I see that we're doing okay...it just feels like so much when I see the unwritten tasks that I handle in addition to working on the house.

We woke up to our doggie covered in poo and a mess in her kennel.  She's gotten into something that has made her sick.  We got her cleaned up, threw out the rug and her bed...it was dried and ruined.  Eewy!!!  I cleaned her kennel and the kids cleaned her.  We tried to make it to church, but just didn't have the time after all of that.  So we all listened online with my laptop hooked up to the TV so everyone could see and hear service.

We painted our stairway railing, around the new kitchen window, our window seat, and our fireplace mantel (which is enormous).  I also spent way too long wandering around Lowe's trying to find a drain grate cover for our basement and a ceiling cover plate for an old light we removed.  They had the painter tape I needed, but no luck on the others.  I ended up ordering them on Amazon.com.

Next weekend we'll be shampooing our carpets and hopefully finish all the major painting that needs to be done.  Painting has become a bigger task than we had originally planned.  The white primer paint we are using on all the trim inside the house is much brighter than the old color the previous owner painted, so when we painted the railings, we also had to paint the baseboards all the way up the stairs and into the hallway.  It looks great!  It's just a lot more work than anticipated.  Fortunately, we were able to match the wall colors since we had repainted the whole house when we first moved in, so we won't have to do too much of the big walls.

Go Time!

And downhill we go!  We have 4 weeks before we list our home on the market.  Our realtor is going to hire a professional cleaner for us right before we list and take photographs of our home.  I am happy about it, although it will be very strange letting someone else clean my home.  It takes a big load off my mind to know I can just focus on homeschool and packing/organizing these next few weeks.  We have a short list of projects to finish -mainly touch-up painting here and there.

Our first month of homeschool is going well.  The girls are enjoying their new curriculum for the most part, and we are working out a routine.  The challenge right now is our toddler.  He is very hands-on, wants to be constantly doing and moving.  I've made a few sit-down projects or tried talking things with him, but he isn't interested in doing that for very long.  I have to figure out some more ways of engaging him in learning and giving him activities that he can experience kinesthetically.

Potty-training is developing.  Into what, I don't know.  Hahaha!  After considering going full blown cold-turkey.  We decided he wasn't quite ready to control his bladder as needed, so we're continuing with talking about bodily functions and the bathroom with opportunities to sit on the potty and flush the potty.  Duct tape is an option if he continues to take off his diaper at naps though...we shall see!

Two-year Well Visit

Well, our little guy checks out as a very healthy and very tall 2-year-old!  He is estimated to reach around 6'1" tall, given his current height.  That's taller than his daddy!

Our pediatrician's office has a "commitment to vaccinations" and the paperwork they had previously given me said that all children needed to be up to date on their vaccinations by age 2.  I went prepared to have the discussion and say goodbye...hoping they wouldn't be callous about it.

I needn't have worried. The doctor asked my reasons why we didn't want our son to have the vaccine.  I explained and he listened.  He was very calm and professional.  Not aggressive.  Not helpful either.

1.  Most kids can tolerate vaccines.  However, our son is not most kids.  He has had bad reactions in the past to vaccines.

2.  It's proven that some kids cannot tolerate vaccines, reasons why are not fully understood yet, but the MTHFR gene and leaky gut are high on the list of suspects.  Children have lost function, physically and mentally regressed in development because their little bodies can't handle the toxic ingredients.

3.  There is no research, at least none I could find or other mom's I've talked to have found, to show the difference between vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated kids.

4.  There is no medical avenue that I'm aware of or path that any doctor has presented to us to determine whether a vaccine would be safe for our son.  No tests, no high risk factors to consider, nothing.  The medical community seems silent on this issue. The fact is, not all vaccines are safe for all children.  And the risks are high.

He had no rebuttal.  No response at all to our concerns.   All he said was that he'd refer us to an allergist for allergy testing since our son has food intolerances and hasn't been officially tested.  Maybe then, he said, we would learn more about the safety for our son having the vaccine.  He hoped we'd do the testing as soon as possible so our son could have the all important vaccine in the near future.

I didn't bother telling him that food 'intolerances' don't show up on a scratch allergy test.  I find it concerning that of the three pediatricians I have spoken to about vaccines and concerns, none of them have ever had a response to address our concerns.  Only that they hope we will consider giving the vaccine as it pertains to their guidelines.  How incredibly not reassuring.

Anywho, we are moving and have to find a new pediatrician in our new town regardless.  We will wait and see what our new pediatrician recommends.  I don't think a scratch test would tell us much, an allergist might have better knowledge about food intolerances and vaccine safety.  All I know is that it is disappointing that better medical knowledge and open-mindedness isn't readily available.  I would have liked to hear about options and factual information about the MTHFR gene concern or Leaky Gut syndrome...I guess a generic pediatrician may not be educated well in those things yet.

Never Ending Paper & Boxes!

Been working on my paper mess.  Career and training certifications, memorabilia, important 'official' type papers, homeschool papers and resources, warrantees and manuals...it never ends!  Packed up three boxes this afternoon, filled one large trash can, and asked my hubby how things looked.  He says, "It looks like you made a mess."

I can see where I made the dents, and I know that those dents will turn into empty spaces and cleared shelves.  The floor is slightly clearer and my piles are fewer and smaller.  Another 2-3 hour stint and I think it will be finished.  I have a pile of warrantees and manuals to sort through to see what to toss and what to keep for us and what to give the next home owner.  I have a pile ready to be packed up, but not enough to fill a box just yet.  Slow and steady, steady and slow.  Making progress, one step at a time!