Air Conditioning

Today, we get air conditioning! Not that we need it today, but its nice to know that it will be there, should it be desired. We have been on quite the ride with the air conditioning unit that we currently have. A little history....

Our house is 14 or 15 years old. So some things have been replaced, while others are getting to that point. Last summer, our air went out when it was in the 90s. I was very pregnant, so we called a repair man, who charged us after hours fees to tell us we had a freon leak. Instead of paying extra to have him fix then, we had him fill it, and sent him on his way with a couple hundred out of our emergency fund. The air lasted long enough to get us through the 90 degree heat, and we were happy. We could save over the winter to get it fixed in the spring.

Then we had an indian summer that hit 90s in OCTOBER! When I was 9 months pregnant. For a week, maybe more, I managed to keep the house from going over 85 degrees inside. That meant opening windows only after the sun hit the other side of the house, keeping blinds closed, and closing windows when the sun was at its hottest. We would sleep with the windows open wide, and the close them when we got up. It worked, and somehow it didn't send me into labor.

This spring, we had someone come out to look at the unit, and after a few visits, he finally told us that he thought it was the condenser fan, and it would need to be entirely replaced. So, we have been saving and waiting.

Before we went and got a new unit, we decided to get a second opinion. So another guy came out last Friday. He thought that there were 2 valves that weren't backstopped all the way, so he fixed them, and it worked again! For 24 hours....

We called him back this week, and he came out yesterday. We learned that our air conditioner has a copper pipe that is leaking so badly it cannot be repaired, being complicated by its location. We need a new unit.

After talking to Scott, we decided to call around and find out how much a unit should cost us. Then the repair man offered a used one! A family added on to their home, and the unit was too small, so they replaced it. He's coming out today to install it for almost 1/4th the cost of a new unit, and if it doesn't work, there's no charge! It may work for a year, or 5 or 10 years, but its all we need right now. Its an answer to our prayers!

You see, we are trying to get out of debt, as in everything but the house. We have $1000 in an emergency fund, plus some that we have been adding to over the summer to pay for the a/c unit. We have been trying to figure out how to replace it without depleting our savings, which is why we hadn't replaced it until now.

God has been faithful in blessing us in so many ways since we started this journey. We have been amazed at the ways that money or needed items have come to us just as they were needed over the past year. We were able to pay off a car with an unexpected gift, so that it could be sold, and we drove one car for a couple months. We were in need of a dependable used van, and we found one that is only 2 years old, for half the blue book price. Yes, it has a lot of miles, but we also have the reports that tell us every time it was in for a tune up. We decided to make a trip out to Oklahoma to see Grandpa Snowbarger, and were blessed with a free place to stay, and extra money to pay for food and gas. Our dryer went out and would cost more to be repaired than it was worth, but some friends decided to buy new ones, and gave their old set to us. Today, our washer broke (it keeps filling to overflowing!), but we still have the old one in the garage, that works, but didn't match our dryer from our friends. Through all of this, we have also been blessed with a wonderfully sweet baby girl, which also made me unable to earn income for some months, and yet we were well cared for! God is faithful as we continue to trust Him!

Thank you Lord, for allowing us to go on this journey. We are learning so much about putting and keeping our faith and trust in You. Though we do not understand why we must travel these difficult paths, we know that you will use them for our good. Please use these times in our lives to mold and shape our hearts to be more of you and less of us. Amen

This is what I woke up to this morning

My romantic hubby left these on the table for me last night!

And I had walked past that table many times before I ever saw them!

Yesterday evening, we were working in the yard. You'll read in the previous post that we are pulling out all of our landscaping and redoing it. Sometime during the evening, Scott came in and set these on the table for me to find when we came in. However, it was late, and we had two girls to get baths and to bed, and I was tired. So, I bathed two girls, put one to bed, scooped a bowl of ice cream with strawberries (in the kitchen where the roses were!), and went to bed. I can count at least 5 times that I walked past them before going to bed!

THEN, I got up this morning, and was up half an hour before I saw them! I could not figure out when they had appeared there, but there they were beautiful flowers, with equally beautiful words written in a card for me. It was perfect.

To my husband, I love you! You know me better than I know myself, and I am so blessed to have you in my life. I'll always love you!

Vacation!

Its been a while. The past two weeks have been some wonderful, relaxing and reviving downtime in our family. We started out with a trip to Tennessee, where we got to spend the weekend with some good friends. Scott interned with Todd at Manteno Church of the Nazarene, and we both worked with that youth group for 3 years. They are the kind of friends who can pick up at the instant they see each other, just like it was yesterday that they were together, even though its been a year. We went boating on Dale Hollow Lake with their family on Saturday, where we tubed, then pulled off and went swimming for a bit. Scott jumped off a cliff that was at least 40 feet high, and I managed to knee board! I was sore, but it was totally worth it!

On Sunday we traveled to Pigeon Forge to meet my parents and all of my brothers and sisters, brother-in-law, and nephew. We all stayed in a big cabin up the mountain, about 10 minutes or so from town. It was awesome! During the week, we went white water rafting, to SplashCountry, hiked Clingman's Dome, hit the outlet malls, walked around Gatlinburg, and just hung out. Scott and I even found an evening to get out without the girls to go to a Hibachi Grill for dinner. And of course, how could I forget?! We visited THE Christmas Place, and saw SANTA CLAUS! Bianca was in love with him, and Bella couldn't get far enough away! It was great fun, and we got our ornament for vacation there, along with a Colts ornament, of course:) We always get an ornament on vacation so that we can remember each trip as we decorate the Christmas tree each year, its our very own family tradition.

This week, I have been "off". Lincoln, the little boy I watch, is on vacation. So the girls and I have been recovering from vacation and trying to put the house back in order. Yesterday was Scott's day off, so we spent the day outside, organizing in the garage (rummage sale coming soon) and working on the landscaping (It need HELP!). Don Johnson came over last night and helped immensely, as landscaping is not my nor Scott's forte. We are pulling everything out and starting over. They pulled 4 bushes out last night and trimmed our Blue Spruce. It already looks better!

I'll add pictures when I get them back. I'm still in the stone age using film, b/c to get a digital as nice as my camera, I would have to work 5 years!! (Or more, probably:) I like my camera, what can I say. We do have a digital, but its batteries were out.

Promised Pics....

Our neighbors got a new swingset, and offered the one they had outgrown to our family. What an answer to prayer!! We have been looking at swingsets for over a year, trying to save the $$ to afford one on a tight budget, but it just didn't seem like a good time to purchase one right now. So we were so excited when the neighbor asked if we would like this one! Actually, it is one that I looked at previously during the summer.

We had to recruit some help (Thanks to the Hunt Family and Intern Jon) to lift it over the fence, and it was ours!

Scott, Austin, Jon, Megan, and Hanna take a rest after lifting it over the fence!

Bella pushes Bianca while Scott and Jon watch

Bella was so excited about her new swingset!

The perfect way to put Bianca to sleep!

On Friday, we went to the zoo with our friends Adrienne and Caleigh! This is Bianca and Caleigh checking out the lizards! Bella did not want to pose for a picture at the zoo....

After the zoo, we went to Brownsburg to meet Aunt Angie (Scott's sister) and Uncle Travis after they flew in from KC. They spent the weekend with Travis's family in Cincinnati. This is a picture of them with Travis's niece and nephew and the girls.

Bella got to have some fun with Grandma Sharon on Friday night while mommy was doing the freezer cooking. She was so excited to come home with a new play kitchen. It took daddy an hour to put it together, with Bella and Bianca's help!

Week in review...We've been busy!

Stay tuned... I'm having trouble loading pictures! We had a busy week, including getting a swing set, going to the zoo, seeing Aunt Angie and Uncle Travis, Freezer cooking, and a new kitchen playset. I plan to share about all of these soon!

In other happenings, we celebrate the life of Grandpa Willis E. Snowbarger. Grandpa went to be with the Lord late Friday night. Scott is traveling by plane tonight to Oklahoma City to attend the funeral. It will be a quick trip, Monday night to Tuesday night. There will be a memorial service in the future in Bourbonnais, IL, which the girls and I will attend.

I have started some crocheting. I'll be posting my works in progress soon! I think first on the list is a bag. I'm very excited! Today we are trading our futon for a trundle bed, so that will open up space to put my craft table up in the office!! I have found one on Craig's List that I like, but I have to figure out how to pay for it... I think I may have to wait a bit on that. We'll see.....
Also, I'm throwing around names for an online shop. I'm looking for something meaningful to me, but versatile. Scott thinks I need a name like "Vera Bradley" that allows variety of product, yet sounds sophisticated. I've been trying to figure out a combination of names, such as Bella Ruth, but not sure any of that is going to work. I have one that I like, but I just came up with it, and I want to share it with Scott first. Secrets! I love secrets!

I'm also thinking of assigning some posting topics to my days. Some topics I have in mind include Blog highlights, Weekly plan, Picture day, Green day, Work day... still developing, stay tuned! Most of these are from browsing other blogs (kudos to Adrienne for green day and work (in progress) day), but it would help me to regulate my postings a bit more!

Please keep Scott and our church staff in your prayers this week. They are meeting with our new Senior Pastor throughout the week. Pastor Michael Morris's first Sunday will be September 14, but he is here for District Assembly, so he and the staff will be together a bit this week. Also, Wednesday is Intern Jon's last day with us. He will be returning to his normal life again. I already know that he will be missed around our home, as Bella asks if Jon is coming home with Daddy too, at the end of the day. Scott will miss having a partner-in-crime in the youth ministry. And finally, our NextGen pastor, Troy Hochstetler will have his last Sunday at our church on this Sunday. They will be greatly missed in our home also! Each of us have bonded with one of the Hochstetlers, and our family as a whole loves them all.