My oldest had a bad fall and hurt her wrist. Several days later, it was still swollen and painful, so I took a week off to spend time with my oldest and the grand kids. It took several trips to the doctor for them to decide that she has tendonitis. The first day, they didn’t even wrap her wrist or give her pain medicine – it took a second trip, and a second set of x-rays, nearly a week later to give her a removable cast and pain medicine! 
So irritating.
But, I am grateful that I was able to go help. 
She is still in pain and will have to limit what she does for a while, but we think the worst is over and she can manage… as long as the kids don’t try to use her as a jungle gym too often.
We are glad that she is doing better because we have a closing date of May 10th!
I had planned to stay in touch with everyone on FB while I was gone, but I had changed my password and didn’t write it down. I was too tired to jump through the hoops of verifying my identity to login from a new device, so I simply didn’t bother. 
I didn’t mind the break from FB, though it is nice to be back.
MAY 2
I can’t believe how paralyzed I feel now that we actually have a closing date.
My oldest is like: Just Breathe.
Followed by: it isn’t right that I am the one that has to say this!
I only needed my CBD oil ONE day while watching the grand-babies (it is usually multiple times a day). I was very proud of that fact because it shows how much I’ve healed in just a few years time. But, I might have to break down and use some if my essential oils aren’t enough to do the trick of calming my mind enough to move forward now.
It occurs to me that this happens to me all of the time when I am working on projects… everything runs smoothly until it looks like I will have a break through moment. Then, paralysis kicks in and I let it all crumble again. I hope that this move will be a turning point in my life where I can shake free and allow myself the freedom to succeed in anything I plan to do.
MAY 3
God’s timing is perfect. Most of the time, we don’t get to see this perfect timing in action. But, it is awesome when you get to see a glimpse…
As you all know, we will be signing the papers on our house here in a few days. This timing is perfect because:
#1 The registrations are due for our vehicles the end of May. Any later date and we would have to pay double registration fees (different states).
#2 My youngest’s car just started having engine trouble. It looks like he was getting ready to throw a rod, but pulled over in time to prevent it. Still… Bob needs a bigger garage to work on an engine… guess what? The place has a much bigger garage!
Also, this trouble happened just days before the insurance was due. We will be able to suspend the insurance and not have that expense right now when all of our savings (and them some ) is being spent!
Transporting the car will be more difficult this way, but the Lord has provided a friendly neighbor with a trailer to help in that area.
Such blessings to be remembered on this day when my family loses a much loved member (my Dad’s oldest sister). Like I said, we don’t always understand the Lord’s timing, but it is a blessing to fill our hearts and bring some comfort when we do see it unfold.
MAY 6
Free week for a workout workshop available!
Join us for squats, lifts, pulls, pushes, walking in the open air…
Please wear gloves and work boots and bring your sense of adventure (as you will be shoveling and transporting smelly manure)
MAY 9
We signed the papers – we are home owners!
Thanks to Linda Vos ( Winter Realty ) and Will Rose ( Minnwest Bank ) for holding our hand through the whole process – you guys are awesome! And thanks to our generous neighbor for letting us borrow his trailer to transport our “dead” car!
MAY 10
We haven’t technically started moving in yet, but we did take one load to the house and the guys prayed with me while I asked for blessing.
Our Prayer:
Lord, thank you for this house. We know that it is nothing short of a miracle that we can be here. You have given us our heart’s desire. Please help us to bring a moment of peace to all who visit. In Jesus Name, Amen.
We had a very intense evening yesterday!
My youngest got home a little late and we were planning on heading out to feed when we got a tornado warning. Madison was not on the list (but the nearby state park was). My youngest said it wasn’t windy, but I called Bob (who was on his way home) and we decided it would be best to stay put since the storm was traveling at 70mph.
It was a good decision. In less than 5 minutes, the power went out and we saw this ominous dark cloud over the houses across the street. I went to open the door to listen and consider the possibility of going to the outdoor cellar. But, it was too late. The storm was here and decided it was safer inside than struggling against the wind and debris to get into the cellar. But, my youngest did run out and snagged the dog after a terrific BOOM (which turned out to be a tree across the street coming down).
We sat in the safest area of the house (away from windows) and called Bob back to let him know if was bad and find a place to pull over. He said we didn’t have to call because he could see it coming. He says these pictures depict what he saw quite well.
The weather station here in town recorded 94mph wind gusts! Bob says there are roofs missing and a couple of buildings flattened. We all agree that it is the worst wind storm any of us have experienced and we would be ok if it was a once in a lifetime event.
We didn’t go out to the horses due to the downed trees and debris, but the barn owner said it wasn’t bad there and they were fine.
We were, and continue to be, grateful to feel the Lord’s protection last night.
I haven’t gone out to take my own pictures yet…. that will be after breakfast.
These were found online.
MAY 13
I wandered around the house a little, taking pictures for the landlord (who is busy cleaning up his own place). One picture is of the neighbor’s tree that caused the big boom. A few others show the Lord’s merciful protection (the storm can come this far and no farther).
I feel surrounded. Glad we are almost done with this phase!
Moving Day!
First day oopsie. Bob was focused on the garage door while backing the moving truck and the overhang did not show in the mirror and was forgotten. So… we christened the place as our own from day one.
MAY 14
Me after spending days and days of moving boxes
Still have a few loads to do, but we are starting to unpack and enjoy our new environment.
Pictures and stories to come next week….
MAY 20
Sore throat. Stuffy nose. I have a spring cold. Lovely. But… I have my horse right outside (that white blob lying in the yuckiest part of the pen in front of the barn is Destiny )!
This photo is taken from an upstairs window looking over the garage and hay shed.
MAY 21
During this transition in our lives, we took the time to take Chrissy in to be bred. Hopefully, we will have a foal (baby horse) running around this time next year!
MAY 22
And, a better shot of Destiny relaxing in the muck just feet away from soft, green grass.
MAY 22
King of the dining room window ledge. We had to move the plants.
MAY 23
Brand new members of the family from one of the cats that we inherited with the place.
There were four others from another momma, but something killed them.
Hopefully, we can get a safer place ready before anything happens to the new ones.
MAY 24
We have an abundance of wildflowers blooming.
Shhh…. they don’t know they are classified as “weeds”…
MAY 25
Life is full of challenges, but these challenges are only given to you because God knows your faith is strong enough to get through them.
I may have limited vision, but I have a heightened sense of smell. The downside to that is that many smells for me trigger headaches… body aches… watery eyes… congestion… you know, basic allergy symptoms.
I LOVE our new place, but moving in to new places means new smells… new triggers. My allergy pills only do so much. Yay.
We have found (and eliminated) several of the new smells. One particularly sour smell was mice. Mice took advantage of having an empty house (even though it was only a short time!)… that was swiftly resolved by moving cats in again. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that any nests were made or babies born. In the mean while, I have sanitized nearly every square inch of the house, which has also cleansed other odors (old grease, dust, stale water, soap residues… you know, stuff that normal people don’t even notice).
Yesterday, I tackled the light fixtures. Bob says the ceiling fan above the stove area looks entirely different. Bob changed the furnace air filter last night. Today was bathrooms (including deep cleaning the jets in the tub). I am so sore and have such a headache!
The next big project is the carpeting. I’ve sprayed the carpet with a vinegar solution twice, twice with an enzyme based pet odor eliminator, and twice with an essential oil air freshener. I haven’t tried baking soda yet (I think I would have to clear the grocery store’s shelf) . Each spray works for a couple of days, but the smells return. Time for a deep cleaning. Thankfully, my oldest and her family will be visiting next week and will be bringing her carpet cleaner. (Plus, it will be so fun watching the grand kids explore the new house!)
I hope that will put an end to the indoor irritants. I can limit my time outside, but I spend most of my time inside. If not, I guess I’ll just have to go back to daily allergy pills again until my body quits over reacting to this change. I can do that. I just find it all challenging, because I want to do soooo much more than the limits of my body allow!
MAY 27
Bob thinks I may not have used enough spray on the carpet and inadvertently activated some underlying mildew causing my distress. We do have a mildew killer that works well, so will be using that today in a test area (before I order a gallon of it – a gallon of a different odor eliminator that we know works is already on it’s way).
This morning I heard a noise under the stove, which caused me to remember that we haven’t cleaned under there yet… so, Bob pulled out the stove and found quite a few mouse droppings. We cleaned those up and will check the area repeatedly over the next few days. We also checked the other areas that had activity and no new activity was present. But, I do know that old droppings will trigger my allergies so finding it and cleaning it up is a good thing!
Bob needs to do a little work upstairs, then I’ll vacuum and spray (saturating this time). Afterwards, I should wash out the vacuum filters and container.
We have a plan!
I fully believe the Lord has not brought us here to be afflicted with problems beyond our ability to deal with. There is a simple solution here. We just have to figure it out.
MAY 28
Bob does such beautiful work
This is an access panel to plumbing that he built from scrap pieces left behind. They had had a plumbing leak and cut a hole in the sheet rock. The sheet rock piece was left behind to cover the hole a bit and we had a box blocking the cats from exploring the hole. No problem. But now, there is this piece of art in it’s place.
What we did not expect was that by covering this hole (and another that we found), he cut down 90% of the smell!
My theory is that air was coming up from under the house, bringing up odors with it. There is still a smell in the carpet (so will still be using the shampooer), but we are back to tolerable levels. Yippee!
MAY 29
