My Life in Pictures

My life in pictures Plus a cool story at the end of this post!

My life feels so upside down right now.  I just can't seem to catch up.  I am teaching a six week Strengthening Marriage class and that seems daunting each week as it rolls around.  I also have a 5th Sunday in Odessa 2nd I've been asked to share.  (Sharing about the marriage class and then talking about relationships in general and ministering.)  

I was sick the last week of April and traveled to Utah for Women's Conference the first week of May.  I have a small job to make 45 tank tops for the Permian Volleyball team.  To top it off, we are having to re-pipe underneath the entire house.  It's a three week project.  

Because of the relining of the pipes, Aubrey's room is unusable.  Her carpet is pulled back and the floor in her closet is jack hammered.   Her room/closet is spread into the spare room, our bedroom floor and our closet.  The spare room has my Christmas inventory, the weight bench and Brian's work tools as he remodels that bathroom....and now Aubrey is trying to live there as well.  We have had plumbers in our house all day every day for days. They will be here for minimum of THREE WEEKS.  They are in and out of multiple doors, rooms and bathrooms all day. 

The laundry room bathroom (aka Brian's bathroom) is unusable.   Everyday we have no water in part or all of the house.  That means making food is tricky.  Dishes can't be done.  Sometimes we have to run to my parents to go to the bathroom.  As my sister Britney would say, "It's crazy town."    For posterity's sake....my life in pictures:

Aub's room with the carpet rolled back and her mattress removed.

When they jackhammered Aub's floor, they used this hose to help filter some of the dust.

The gigantic hole and mound of dirt in Aubrey's closet.  You really can't tell how big the hole is here but trust me!  If I curled up, I could be easily buried in it.

Her queen mattress in the hall.  I didn't want to leave it in her room because of all of the dust and dirt.  She's been sleeping in the spare room which boots Tanner to his own room.  (He usually sleeps in the spare room when he has Kaide so he doesn't wake up him up.  Kaide's crib is in Tanner's room.)  They have both been amazingly sweet and laid back about the chaos.  

Aub is such a crazy sleeper that she has to move the bed away from the wall or she wacks it all night!

Some of her stuff on my bedroom floor.  The pile grew much bigger.  Eventually we moved her mattress onto our floor as well.  Our room is unusually large, and so there was plenty of space.  It just made it cluttered and messy.

Just everyday mess that needs to be put away.

My bathroom.  It is usually just me and my stuff with an occasional kiddo using the bath.  However,  now it is Brian, Aubrey and me (and Tanner's cap and gown that I am steaming.)  I don't function well with every area a disaster.  Most of the bathroom is my stuff that needs to be put away.  I just am having a hard time keeping up!

The laundry room.  Aaaahhhh.

The kitchen.  Everyday after the plumbers leave, we sweep the floor.  Everything is covered in dirt.  Sadly, for now, we've had to cancel the cleaners who come every other week.  It's pointless with no access to bathrooms, limited water and cleaning around the workers.

And last....this little part of my kitchen used to be for cups.  Each person has their name on a piece of tape on the ledge of the bar.  It was so we didn't have to go through one million cups a day.  Over the past year it has turned into this!  Just a place to put your cup PLUS leftover treat, medicine, retainer holder etc...  Ugh.  Real life I guess, but I think I need to institute a change.  Tanner is probably moving out this fall, so I think we can try something different then. There will only be three of us so I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to go through a few more cups a day.

I know I will feel better about things once the plumbers are gone, and Aubrey and her room are back in her room.  Then I can get reorganized and clean up easier around the house....just a couple of more weeks.

***May 24th update: The pipe is lined and the plumbers are gone.  

Two kind of cool things out of this experience:

1. Aubrey can be a bit emotional/irrational these days.  For example, she often gets angry or super annoyed about having to do chores or come for family scriptures or eat dinner together as a family.  Well, during the whole relining of the pipes, she was a trooper and deserves a huge trophy and a hug.  She didn't whine or complain about the upheaval of her life.  She likes to be cleaned and organized, but she adapted to the chaos while it was needed.  Bless her sweet 16 year old soul!  

2. The other cool thing is about one of the plumbers, Ahzai, was a friendly young man in his late twenties.   He is a Jehovah Witness, and we had talked a little bit about our beliefs last month when they were working outside of the house.  A couple of days before they finished, he made a point of thanking me.  He said he really liked working at our house.  It had a great "structure."  At first, I just assumed he was talking about our physical house, but then he went on to explain the feeling in our home.  We were kind and loving to each other.  The teens were respectful.  There was no yelling, bad language, slapping, arguing etc.   He said he has been working this job for five years and has been in hundreds of homes.  He has never felt this way before, and he really appreciated it.  

It made me so happy when he shared his insights and feelings.  Even though he couldn't pinpoint what he was trying to describe, I knew what he was feeling.  It was the holy spirit.  I told him thank you, and I really appreciated him sharing.  

A couple of days later, right before he left for the last time, he asked me a question about what we believe about heaven.  I didn't do a very good job explaining, but I did give him a copy of The Book of Mormon.  It was a last minute thing.  I jotted down a few lines of thanks inside the front cover, signed it and wrote the church website.  Hopefully with his studies and natural curiosity, he will come to know and love The Book of Mormon as I do.