Our dog pulled a Frank Morris last night out of the Belbeck/Morlan compound. Frank Morris is the only possible escapee from Alcatraz. I like embellishment. Maybe we were just to lax in security, but I do like the thought of Clint Eastwoods face on Raleigh dog as she tries to escape the yard.
The best I can figure is that she ran up some boards behind the shed and escaped, or she shimmied her way through a hole in the fence where the gate opens. Either way she was gone like the rocket dog she is.
Lucky for us (Maddy, Abby and I) she was on a cat hunt...and she found and treed that sucker which was convenient since a dog barking at a tree is much easier to catch than one who knows they aren't supposed to be loose and won't come.
So the next time your dog escapes..let loose a cat.
Josh
Under Secretary of Dog Catching
President of Fatherly Duties
JandA Corp
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Musical Houses
We are surrounded by folks that love us and want to take care of our family during this short time of homelessness.
We have stayed at the Belbeck/Morlan compound for the last couple of days. It brings hope to me that one day we will have a plot of land that we can all build separate houses on....far away from hills with trucks stuck in neutral, flood plains, mold and surrounded by many lightening rods.
This last weekend we stayed at another friends house while we had family in town. It was all together different than the Belbeck/Morlan compound. Where there are screaming banshees at the compound..there were no such banshees where we stayed.
It's always humbling when folks offer their homes to you. It makes me glad that we live in a community of folks willing to do whatever they can for their brother and sisters.
Josh
President of Suitcase Living
Father of Noah
JandA Corp
We have stayed at the Belbeck/Morlan compound for the last couple of days. It brings hope to me that one day we will have a plot of land that we can all build separate houses on....far away from hills with trucks stuck in neutral, flood plains, mold and surrounded by many lightening rods.
This last weekend we stayed at another friends house while we had family in town. It was all together different than the Belbeck/Morlan compound. Where there are screaming banshees at the compound..there were no such banshees where we stayed.
It's always humbling when folks offer their homes to you. It makes me glad that we live in a community of folks willing to do whatever they can for their brother and sisters.
Josh
President of Suitcase Living
Father of Noah
JandA Corp
Monday, August 17, 2009
It' broken, but can be fixed
I can't help but relate our current calamity to my faith in God. I'm broken. Everyday I get up with a cracked brick, drywall in need of repair, a front door missing, grass gone awry....but my foundation is unshakable, solid and never in need of repair.
That's how I process and get through with the disasters that hit our family every couple of years. Our disasters just happen to be property related and easy for people to see. Others disasters can be hidden behind the walls of our hearts. The struggles of raising a child with special needs. The pain of a marriage in distress. The feeling of total abandonment by God when you don't feel He is answering your prayers. Disasters of spirit, of family, of the heart that no one may know about.
Ours are easily seen...and we are forced to deal with it openly. God hasn't put more on us than we can handle....but good Lord we're tired. Thank God He has put enough fuel in our tank to finish this race. He hasn't abandoned us, He sure hasn't abandoned you.
Josh
President of Husbandly Duties
Father of Noah
JandA Corp
That's how I process and get through with the disasters that hit our family every couple of years. Our disasters just happen to be property related and easy for people to see. Others disasters can be hidden behind the walls of our hearts. The struggles of raising a child with special needs. The pain of a marriage in distress. The feeling of total abandonment by God when you don't feel He is answering your prayers. Disasters of spirit, of family, of the heart that no one may know about.
Ours are easily seen...and we are forced to deal with it openly. God hasn't put more on us than we can handle....but good Lord we're tired. Thank God He has put enough fuel in our tank to finish this race. He hasn't abandoned us, He sure hasn't abandoned you.
Josh
President of Husbandly Duties
Father of Noah
JandA Corp
Rebuilding The Belbeck Wall
We met with the contractor for our insurance company today. His name is Josh too - we'll call him Contractor Josh. He inspected the house and the site of the accident, making notes of what he thought should be done as well as what we wanted.
Contractor Josh thinks that in order to repair the wall they will need to excavate down to the foundation (at least 8 feet) and rebuild the whole wall up to the roof. They will need to bring in HVAC people and electricians in addition to all the construction.
We will have a structural engineer come in to inspect the rest of the house to make sure that there is no additional damage.
Right now, it looks like we will go through several weeks of repairs where we wont be able to stay in our home - if not longer. Things could easily change tomorrow.
Oh the joys of dealing with contractors, insurance agents, and men who allow their trucks to ram into our house.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "Rebuilding the Belbeck Wall"
The Momma
Contractor Josh thinks that in order to repair the wall they will need to excavate down to the foundation (at least 8 feet) and rebuild the whole wall up to the roof. They will need to bring in HVAC people and electricians in addition to all the construction.
We will have a structural engineer come in to inspect the rest of the house to make sure that there is no additional damage.
Right now, it looks like we will go through several weeks of repairs where we wont be able to stay in our home - if not longer. Things could easily change tomorrow.
Oh the joys of dealing with contractors, insurance agents, and men who allow their trucks to ram into our house.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "Rebuilding the Belbeck Wall"
The Momma
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Million WHAT IFs
Let me start off by saying that everyone is just fine. Its never good when you have to preface a story with that, is it?
Last night around 9 o'clock, Josh had just got home from work and was cuddling with Noah while I was making dinner. As I was removing the roast from the crock pot, we heard a loud noise followed by a crash that shook our whole house. I knew immediately what had happened - a car had hit our home.
We live on a corner and on a hill. On the side our house is one of the main streets to our neighborhood and off that street are houses at the top of a hill. Our neighbor's driveway points directly towards our kitchen. They were having a party last night and one of their guests left his truck running. Somehow the truck came out of park, rolled backwards down their driveway, across the main street, through our yard, and into the side of our house. I was inside the house just to left of where the truck hit.
The flashing lights of the fire trucks and police cars brought out all of the neighbors. Who is that little redheaded boy? He flitted around the scene taking pictures of his own for a while a then disappeared into the night. As it turns out, a car-hits-house accident is not the best way to meet your neighbors - we still haven't got a word out of the guy across the street. But we did get a smile which is more than 11 months of waving has accomplished. And then a mysterious man with an eye patch showed up to watch the show, we don't know who he is either.
The truck demolished our brand new air conditioning unit and put a giant dent in the cinder block.
There was no alcohol or illegal substances involved, just a questionable ability to operate a vehicle. Of course, the truck was uninsured and because no one was in it at the time it can't even be classified as a moving violation - just a random accident.
The stairs down to our basement were right where the truck hit. I say "were" because now all the supports are broken and the stairs themselves have come off the wall about eight inches.
Here is the large gash in our yard where the truck hit before encountering the side of our house.
The inside of my basement.
Its never good to see the light of day through what is supposed to be a solid wall.
Last night all I could think about (besides wondering why me) was all the what ifs: What if the truck had been going a little faster, what if the grass hadn't absorbed some of the force, what if it had hit the brick instead of the rock solid cinder block, what if I had been on the stairs instead of in the kitchen, what if it had come through our house, what if Josh hadn't been home, what if what if what if....?
This morning after the dust has settled and all the shock is gone, I am thankful. Thankful that I have a God who didn't let any of those 'what ifs' happen, thankful that we are all safe and unhurt, thankful that my husband can be kind and gracious in moments of high stress when I want to do physical harm, thankful for police and firemen that respond so quickly and are so kind, thankful for family that comes at a moments notice with little information, thankful for the same family who lets us stay in their home instead of letting us boil in a house with no ac in the hottest month of the year. But I am still learning to be thankful for days like this, for the bad things that happen - it might take my whole life to learn that. God has a plan and I know He is sovereign, but don't ask me what He means by orchestrating the events of my life - I'm just along for the ride.
So I have no idea what tomorrow brings, or even what today brings for that matter. I have no idea what kind of invisible damage has been done to my house or when it will be fixed. All I have to rely on is my Sanctuary, my husband, my darling little boy, and my wonderful family and friends. It seems like I have a lot, after all.
The Momma
Dispossessed but not Disbelieving
Last night around 9 o'clock, Josh had just got home from work and was cuddling with Noah while I was making dinner. As I was removing the roast from the crock pot, we heard a loud noise followed by a crash that shook our whole house. I knew immediately what had happened - a car had hit our home.
We live on a corner and on a hill. On the side our house is one of the main streets to our neighborhood and off that street are houses at the top of a hill. Our neighbor's driveway points directly towards our kitchen. They were having a party last night and one of their guests left his truck running. Somehow the truck came out of park, rolled backwards down their driveway, across the main street, through our yard, and into the side of our house. I was inside the house just to left of where the truck hit.
The flashing lights of the fire trucks and police cars brought out all of the neighbors. Who is that little redheaded boy? He flitted around the scene taking pictures of his own for a while a then disappeared into the night. As it turns out, a car-hits-house accident is not the best way to meet your neighbors - we still haven't got a word out of the guy across the street. But we did get a smile which is more than 11 months of waving has accomplished. And then a mysterious man with an eye patch showed up to watch the show, we don't know who he is either.The truck demolished our brand new air conditioning unit and put a giant dent in the cinder block.
There was no alcohol or illegal substances involved, just a questionable ability to operate a vehicle. Of course, the truck was uninsured and because no one was in it at the time it can't even be classified as a moving violation - just a random accident.
The stairs down to our basement were right where the truck hit. I say "were" because now all the supports are broken and the stairs themselves have come off the wall about eight inches.
Here is the large gash in our yard where the truck hit before encountering the side of our house.
The inside of my basement.
Its never good to see the light of day through what is supposed to be a solid wall.
Last night all I could think about (besides wondering why me) was all the what ifs: What if the truck had been going a little faster, what if the grass hadn't absorbed some of the force, what if it had hit the brick instead of the rock solid cinder block, what if I had been on the stairs instead of in the kitchen, what if it had come through our house, what if Josh hadn't been home, what if what if what if....?
This morning after the dust has settled and all the shock is gone, I am thankful. Thankful that I have a God who didn't let any of those 'what ifs' happen, thankful that we are all safe and unhurt, thankful that my husband can be kind and gracious in moments of high stress when I want to do physical harm, thankful for police and firemen that respond so quickly and are so kind, thankful for family that comes at a moments notice with little information, thankful for the same family who lets us stay in their home instead of letting us boil in a house with no ac in the hottest month of the year. But I am still learning to be thankful for days like this, for the bad things that happen - it might take my whole life to learn that. God has a plan and I know He is sovereign, but don't ask me what He means by orchestrating the events of my life - I'm just along for the ride.
So I have no idea what tomorrow brings, or even what today brings for that matter. I have no idea what kind of invisible damage has been done to my house or when it will be fixed. All I have to rely on is my Sanctuary, my husband, my darling little boy, and my wonderful family and friends. It seems like I have a lot, after all.
The Momma
Dispossessed but not Disbelieving
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Fur Fought the Law
There has been a war going on in my house for quite some time now. A war between me and ... and a very devious foe. Most days I am on the defense, just barely able to hold my ground in this crazy battle. But today, today I faced my enemy straight on, took a deep breath and yelled "THIS IS SPARTA!". Somehow that made me a little braver.
But who is my enemy you ask? This is my enemy:
No not a flower, that is dog hair. And this, this is my weapon of choice:
A Furminator. Raleigh does that fur taste good?
Raleigh loved being furminated.
I could have made a whole second dog from the amount of hair that came off her.
Raleigh joined the battle against the fur - once it was off her body, and decided to eat and roll in it.
Then it was time for a bath. Does that water taste good, Raleigh?
Does that soap taste good?
After the bath, it was a mad scramble to get her dried and to her crate because there are few smells worse than wet dog (the worse ones also have to do with dogs).
Don't worry, she was rewarded for her service in today's battle.
So fur fought the law, and fur won. Fur will always win, the law is simply outnumbered. But at least the law can feel like she prevented one less sweeping, vacuuming marathon day.
The Momma, The Law
But who is my enemy you ask? This is my enemy:
No not a flower, that is dog hair. And this, this is my weapon of choice:
A Furminator. Raleigh does that fur taste good?Raleigh loved being furminated.
I could have made a whole second dog from the amount of hair that came off her.
Raleigh joined the battle against the fur - once it was off her body, and decided to eat and roll in it.
Then it was time for a bath. Does that water taste good, Raleigh?
Does that soap taste good?
After the bath, it was a mad scramble to get her dried and to her crate because there are few smells worse than wet dog (the worse ones also have to do with dogs).
Don't worry, she was rewarded for her service in today's battle.
So fur fought the law, and fur won. Fur will always win, the law is simply outnumbered. But at least the law can feel like she prevented one less sweeping, vacuuming marathon day.
The Momma, The Law
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Work, Life....string cheese
I'm in one of those seasons of life where I'm not able to see anyone...except those that want to pay for my time. As of right now I have many jobs strung together that will hopefully produce enough income to pay the bills, raise a child, feed the dog, put gas in our vehicles, keep the phone on...etc...et al..et nomoney.
Some mornings I feel like string cheese that's been sitting in a car on a hot, humid August day. I've kind of congealed into a blubbery mess until I get refreshed by seeing my wife, letting my boy sleep on my chest and have Raleigh dog attack my feet.
I've only done this for a week or so and I already feel distant. Distant from God. Distant from Abby and Noah. Distant from myself as I put on this new skin of commission only and $9 an hour from Office Depot at night.
I struggle with being the husband God has called me to be. It's hard. If I didn't have the love of my wife, giggles of a little boy, a mentor for a boss, support of my family...I'm not sure I could wake up every morning facing the mountain I have to climb that day. My mountain today includes meeting with a possible client and quoting to possible jobs....it's the most encouraging mountain I've had in two weeks.
Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
Rugged Mountain Conqueror
JandA Corp
Some mornings I feel like string cheese that's been sitting in a car on a hot, humid August day. I've kind of congealed into a blubbery mess until I get refreshed by seeing my wife, letting my boy sleep on my chest and have Raleigh dog attack my feet.
I've only done this for a week or so and I already feel distant. Distant from God. Distant from Abby and Noah. Distant from myself as I put on this new skin of commission only and $9 an hour from Office Depot at night.
I struggle with being the husband God has called me to be. It's hard. If I didn't have the love of my wife, giggles of a little boy, a mentor for a boss, support of my family...I'm not sure I could wake up every morning facing the mountain I have to climb that day. My mountain today includes meeting with a possible client and quoting to possible jobs....it's the most encouraging mountain I've had in two weeks.
Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
Rugged Mountain Conqueror
JandA Corp
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