Just Another Week On the "Conderosa"

A shot from our trip to Moab seemed to perfectly symbolize our balancing act

Most of our close friends just laugh at our life. They tell us that when they think they are busy, they always feel better about their schedule when they think about ours. They compare their to-do list with ours, and suddenly theirs doesn't seem so long. You get the picture.

Well, what they don't realize is that there are so many of us that we can get a lot done in a very short time. Kregg and I learned a long time ago that our children needed to learn to work. And work hard. Because there was just no way on the planet that he and I could keep all the plates spinning for a family of 9.

But we still get to the point, if we aren't careful, where we throw up our hands in exasperation because there is just no way to get everything done. And when, in addition to our regular list, we hit one of those spells of "lots of things breaking", then, "Look Out!" There's liable to be shrapnel flying.

Since Christmas Eve, things have just been "off" around here. I became really sick that night and ended up running fever for almost two and a half weeks. I had the flu then I had Fifth's Disease, normally a minor virus caught by CHILDREN!! When I finally went to the doctor I told him to fix me or shoot me. I was concerned about actually telling him all my symptoms, just knowing he would think I was nuts. Fever, aches, pains, a day of hives, then my hands and arms swelled up and all the joints in them ached. Can you say bizarre?? Blood work confirmed the diagnosis, which the doctor said he finally pieced together after I told him ALL my symptoms.

So that threw everything off. As mentioned here before our dryer quit and it took over a week for the new one to come in. During that time, our washer also quit working. We thought it was just a couple of coins that were rattling around between the drum and the wall. (Someone didn't clean out their pockets!) But it ended up being more serious. After the fifth visit by a serviceman, we are now waiting on a second replacement part. The first one, after it was installed fixed nothing, but couldn't be returned. It's just money. The ETA on the next part is Thursday!! EEEEKKKK! (Sorry, that slips out occasionally). I am now threatening to break out the duct tape and paper towels to substitute for clean clothing. Since we are in the middle of a drought here, it shouldn't be a problem.


Oh, and to top it off now my hot water supply line to the washer is leaking. I almost didn't have the heart to tell Kregg.


Because I was mostly horizontal for the two weeks following Christmas, we started school back up a week later than normal.The kids were devastated to have to have an additional week off. They are seeing counselors in order to cope. 


A mid-week visit to the ER with Joshua added just one more dimension of thrills. Kregg had made a mad dash after getting off work at 5 to see Jeremiah and Hannah (our oldest, married daughter and her husband). They live two hours away and are working on some home-improvement projects. Since Kregg is about the handiest man any of us knows, Hannah asked her daddy to come be their consultant. He was on his way home about 10:15 that night when Caleb brought Joshua to our bedroom and said, "Mom, you need to see what Joshua has done to his hand." Of course my heart stopped. Sure enough, instead of reading his book before turning the lights off he decided to sharpen one of his knives. Not only was that not on the "approved list of things to do before Lights Out", but the knife was already sharp enough to perform surgery without the need for anesthesia. One glance had me putting on my shoes. The butterfly bandages I carry in my wallet weren't going to keep this closed enough to heal.


I called my road-weary husband and explained the situation. He volunteered to meet me at our favorite Emergency Room. You know you live with a lively bunch when you can reminisce, while sitting in an exam room in the ER, about which child had what done to them in that exact room during a previous visit. 

Thankfully, Joshua's hand is healing nicely. I did tell him that he wasn't allowed to help gut a deer this weekend with that hand. And I did tell him that the house rules do state there are to be no weapons in beds. 

Thankfully, the repairman seems confident this last part WILL indeed fix my washing machine. 

Thankfully, the only remaining symptom of Fifth's Disease is itchy palms. 

Thankfully, deer season is almost over. 

Thankfully, HE IS SUFFICIENT!! And He gives us healthy senses of humor so we can laugh a lot about all of it!!


I know He stretches and grows us during times of "trials", but if I had a choice, I think I would pick a week of no more broken, sliced, or diced anythings! Sounds boring, doesn't it? That's okay. Bored doesn't sound like a bad thing right now. I can't remember the last time I was bored. . .

And I am still working on my gratitude list, because I am learning to give thanks IN ALL THINGS! Right?? :)

Kregg and I have often joked that we should build a padded room somewhere in the shop so we could just go bounce around for a while. Another possibility is purchasing one of those big inflatable "bounce houses". I think it could be quite therapeutic. Don't you?



So how was your week??

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