Friday, January 15, 2016
Dishwasher Struggles in November & GOD
Our other appliance issue in November! Our dishwasher. It was making a horrible sound that got worse over time. So Matt figured he should pull it out and apart to look at it.
He did. And at the end of a Sunday, had the problem solved.
The boys enjoyed the space under the kitchen counter!
Good job, babe!
Unfortunately, our happiness only lasted about 2 days. Even though Matt thought he had everything tight and put back together well, there was a leak that we didn't even notice until after 2 full washing cycles. I first noticed that the wood floor felt warped under my feet by the dishwasher. Later, I went down to the basement to discover that where I had moved all of our photos to the dry part of the basement (after the washer flooding) there was water that had dripped down on them. Yep. Bye bye wedding photo. Oh well, I still have Matt! Much better than a photo.
We have fans and a dehumidifier running to dry out the wood. A sweet lady in our neighborhood who moved from Florida was kind enough to let us borrow her dehumidifier. No one in Colorado owns dehumidifiers! We have humidifiers! :)
Since it is now mid-January, I can say that the wood has improved substantially. It's still not smooth, but I guess it adds character?
The funny thing is when Matt first pulled the dishwasher out to fix it, there were metal shards in the dishwasher foot that scratched our wood floor quite a bit. He was so frustrated about that. Now that the wood floor flooded, we don't even think about the scratch much.
That month was trying and tough for us in a lot of ways. But we saw the goodness of God molding us and teaching us new lessons. And it was good. Because that's what He always does, He takes our circumstances and makes good out of them.
I remember the Saturday night that Matt scratched the wood floor he couldn't believe that I wasn't upset. We talked about this later. I know this doesn't say a lot of good about me, but with my perfectionist tendencies, this is something that usually would bother me. After he pulled the dishwasher out and realized he scratched it, he still wanted to go ahead and just take it apart and see what was wrong. It was SO late, and I knew that wasn't a good idea. So I urged him to just come to bed with me and we'd deal with it after church the next day. I really wasn't upset. That month, I had been following the story of a Pastor's wife, Amanda Blackburn, who was murdered during a home invasion while her 18 month old was sleeping upstairs. She was pregnant with a little girl. That gave me perspective. The wood floor just didn't seem terribly important in that moment, I guess. The next morning in church, tears started falling down my face during worship. It hit me. God was changing me. He was bending my heart towards things He cares about. I realized that when Matt scratched the wood floor, I wasn't coaching myself, "don't get mad at him, keep calm..." I wasn't TRYING to not be frustrated. I just wasn't upset. It didn't matter. Because God was changing me from within and it HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! Not my effort. Just His grace. It's funny because it was a week that I wasn't waking up with Him as often as I needed to in the morning and I hadn't spend as much time listening to His word being taught that week. And yet, I still was able to see the fruit of His work in my life. I guess it was reassuring that it's not based on my own effort. Because my response to my husband had nothing to do with my effort. Our God is so good to us.
He did. And at the end of a Sunday, had the problem solved.
The boys enjoyed the space under the kitchen counter!
Good job, babe!
Unfortunately, our happiness only lasted about 2 days. Even though Matt thought he had everything tight and put back together well, there was a leak that we didn't even notice until after 2 full washing cycles. I first noticed that the wood floor felt warped under my feet by the dishwasher. Later, I went down to the basement to discover that where I had moved all of our photos to the dry part of the basement (after the washer flooding) there was water that had dripped down on them. Yep. Bye bye wedding photo. Oh well, I still have Matt! Much better than a photo.
We have fans and a dehumidifier running to dry out the wood. A sweet lady in our neighborhood who moved from Florida was kind enough to let us borrow her dehumidifier. No one in Colorado owns dehumidifiers! We have humidifiers! :)
Since it is now mid-January, I can say that the wood has improved substantially. It's still not smooth, but I guess it adds character?
The funny thing is when Matt first pulled the dishwasher out to fix it, there were metal shards in the dishwasher foot that scratched our wood floor quite a bit. He was so frustrated about that. Now that the wood floor flooded, we don't even think about the scratch much.
That month was trying and tough for us in a lot of ways. But we saw the goodness of God molding us and teaching us new lessons. And it was good. Because that's what He always does, He takes our circumstances and makes good out of them.
I remember the Saturday night that Matt scratched the wood floor he couldn't believe that I wasn't upset. We talked about this later. I know this doesn't say a lot of good about me, but with my perfectionist tendencies, this is something that usually would bother me. After he pulled the dishwasher out and realized he scratched it, he still wanted to go ahead and just take it apart and see what was wrong. It was SO late, and I knew that wasn't a good idea. So I urged him to just come to bed with me and we'd deal with it after church the next day. I really wasn't upset. That month, I had been following the story of a Pastor's wife, Amanda Blackburn, who was murdered during a home invasion while her 18 month old was sleeping upstairs. She was pregnant with a little girl. That gave me perspective. The wood floor just didn't seem terribly important in that moment, I guess. The next morning in church, tears started falling down my face during worship. It hit me. God was changing me. He was bending my heart towards things He cares about. I realized that when Matt scratched the wood floor, I wasn't coaching myself, "don't get mad at him, keep calm..." I wasn't TRYING to not be frustrated. I just wasn't upset. It didn't matter. Because God was changing me from within and it HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ME! Not my effort. Just His grace. It's funny because it was a week that I wasn't waking up with Him as often as I needed to in the morning and I hadn't spend as much time listening to His word being taught that week. And yet, I still was able to see the fruit of His work in my life. I guess it was reassuring that it's not based on my own effort. Because my response to my husband had nothing to do with my effort. Our God is so good to us.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Papa & Nana & Aunt Courtney Visit for Thanksgiving
Papa & Nana came out for a few days around Thanksgiving. They drove down to Texas to see John Dodgen, and then drove north to Colorado. They took the boys for a grandparents night on Wednesday night, and then Matt and I had a date night! Win, win. Nana made some pumpkin snicker doodles with the boys that were yummy.
AND we found them with these awesome gingerbread houses when we got home! How cool are they?
They boys loved eating the candy off of them. You can see the cookies in the background!
Nana brought some goodies...like a few new books. Reading with Papa & Nana.
And Christmas presents for Papa & Nana. Socks for papa and a cd for Nana. Sounds exciting, right? :)
On Thanksgiving Day, Cactus, Nicole and Courtney cooked a meal for all of us at Cactus & Nicole's friend's home in Woodland Park. Aunt Courtney came into town on Wednesday night!
The "bar people"! It was a very yummy meal!
Nicole opening her boots.
Cactus his coat.
Courtney's boots...not sure they fit though. Bummer!
Papa & Josh watching a new Veggies Tales movie from Nana.
Nana got the boys some cool markers with Bible scenes. Everyone was concentrating hard. Those Wittleders are serious about their coloring! Okay, maybe not Josh. :)
On Saturday morning we had breakfast at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Kathy's house.
So blurry...my auto focus was really messed up! But you get the idea!
UJ & AK's cat, Fluffy.
Aunt Kathy opening her bowls with RED lids! Josh staying close.
Aunt Kathy showing Nathan a blue egg!
Showing Nathan Johnny Appleseed's birthday.
Aunt Kathy has several children's books!
Cute Aunt and niece.
Bye Nana! Don't go!
Aunt Court stayed a few more days. On Sunday, she bought the boys these Reindeer they saw on the side of the road for Christmas.
Nathan spotting the reindeer.
They're excited!
Thanks, Aunt Court!
Kissing reindeer, I guess!
Tickles and smiles!
Uncle Cactus flipping Josh.
Nathan jumping in on our girls photo!
There we go!
AND we found them with these awesome gingerbread houses when we got home! How cool are they?
They boys loved eating the candy off of them. You can see the cookies in the background!
Nana brought some goodies...like a few new books. Reading with Papa & Nana.
And Christmas presents for Papa & Nana. Socks for papa and a cd for Nana. Sounds exciting, right? :)
On Thanksgiving Day, Cactus, Nicole and Courtney cooked a meal for all of us at Cactus & Nicole's friend's home in Woodland Park. Aunt Courtney came into town on Wednesday night!
The "bar people"! It was a very yummy meal!
Nicole opening her boots.
Cactus his coat.
Courtney's boots...not sure they fit though. Bummer!
Papa & Josh watching a new Veggies Tales movie from Nana.
Nana got the boys some cool markers with Bible scenes. Everyone was concentrating hard. Those Wittleders are serious about their coloring! Okay, maybe not Josh. :)
On Saturday morning we had breakfast at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Kathy's house.
So blurry...my auto focus was really messed up! But you get the idea!
UJ & AK's cat, Fluffy.
Aunt Kathy opening her bowls with RED lids! Josh staying close.
Aunt Kathy showing Nathan a blue egg!
Showing Nathan Johnny Appleseed's birthday.
Aunt Kathy has several children's books!
Cute Aunt and niece.
Bye Nana! Don't go!
Aunt Court stayed a few more days. On Sunday, she bought the boys these Reindeer they saw on the side of the road for Christmas.
Nathan spotting the reindeer.
They're excited!
Thanks, Aunt Court!
Kissing reindeer, I guess!
Tickles and smiles!
Uncle Cactus flipping Josh.
Nathan jumping in on our girls photo!
There we go!
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