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