A Doozy

I delayed myself from telling this story on social media for a whole day, but the writer/story teller in me can't help myself from narrating yesterday's adventure for y'all to read and maybe feel sorry for me?? Maybe have a laugh. ;) Someday, I'll laugh...

We all have bad days with unfortunate events.
This one was a doozy.

My dear husband was out of town for a couple days so I thought the kids and I would do a few fun little things. It was after a lunch at McDonald's (with a play centre, of course) and a stop at Costco that things went awry.

Jett made the comment that we should wash the Nav. Since it was completely filthy (we drive many grid roads) I didn't disagree. They just watched the Curious George and the carwash the other day, so I thought it would be fun to go to the automatic carwash at the Husky. I got the ticket from inside the gas station and then we waited for well over half an hour to get into the carwash. Jett said it took foooorrrrreeeeveeer.

We finally got in and the kids enjoyed the colourful soap bubbles and all, but sometime in the middle of the wash, my vehicle died.

Shut down.

I tried restarting it, but got nothing. This is when panic started to set in.

When the wash finally ended, those stupid driers stayed on for WAY too long because they were waiting for a vehicle to cross the sensor and start the countdown. I was afraid to run out of the carwash because I worried about the overhead door closing and my children being shut in. To take them out would have been crazy.

When the driers finally stopped I looked up the number on my phone and called the Husky gas station to tell them my vehicle had died in the carwash. A couple guys came out, looked under the hood, but really had no idea. So, they pushed me out of the carwash just far enough so that patrons behind me could squeak by to get out, look at me and wonder what the heck I was doing there.

Of course, as I mentioned, Mitch was away in Ontario (having a lovely day touring farms and talking cows) so I called my dad who, bless his heart, dropped everything to come rescue us. There was a waiting period, though, and my kids were incredibly stir-crazy (they also had not napped at all) so I let them out (stupid) and they were instantaneously covered in mud.

Dad got there and towed me to a less conspicuous part of the parking lot. (Praise the Lord!) He poked around under the hood, charged the battery, checked the spark plugs, yada yada. But still nothing. SO, I called the mechanic we go to, then called the tow truck to come take the Nav to the mechanic.

Thankfully, the kids didn't venture far from our vehicle as they waited in the Husky parking lot for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. I'm amazed we survived, truly.

While we waited for the tow truck, I cleaned out the Nav and dad took the kids into the gas station where he bought them a large box of peanut butter cups and Mike'n'Ike's. (Great before supper for kids who haven't napped, right?)

Can you picture the state we were in?

Dad's vehicle doesn't have quite as much space as the Nav either, so Jett was crammed between the huge seats of Lena and Zav. He didn't love being that cozy...

The tow truck came and loaded the Nav onto the back. There was a crazy part of me that thought it would be funny to send a picture to Mitch in Ontario, but then I came to my senses. The man I married would definitely worry and be upset because there's nothing he could do. No sense filling him in on this ordeal until after he got back and could see that we are all fine. (mostly fine -- I might be losing my mind.)

SO, we get my Nav to the mechanic and while dad and I are out talking to them, Jett and Lena get into a fight and when I get back into dad's vehicle, Lena has a bloody lip and scratches on her cheeks. I almost lost it completely on Jett, and I made him feel very bad. I also took away all TV and computer privileges for the next three days, so I have THAT to look forward to.

We got home after six and of course I have no supper ready. So I open a can of Alphagetti and as I get it in to bowls to feed three hungry mouths, my mother and father-in-law get home from Texas after being away for a month. I know they missed the kids (we all missed them, too) so of course they come right over to see the kids while I'm looking like mother of the year, cleaning out the bottom of our canned dinner.

I got the blood wiped off of Lena's lip after she hugged her grandparents. 

How was your day? ;)

I don't know that I'll ever go in one of those automatic car washes ever again. If (when) the vehicle is mud-covered, I'll have to find other methods to get it clean.

Truthfully, stepping back to take a few pictures of our chaos is oddly therapeutic.

At the end of the day, the kids went to sleep in their own comfy beds with their bellies full of food (Alphagetti). We are safe and we are warm.
I am thankful.

Ashes & Dust...

So, I thought it would be poetic to start this post with the "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" line and I thought it was from the bible, but apparently it's not!! I had Ecclesiastes in mind. You know, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Ecc. 3:1 It flows, right? But it's not there.

Anyhow, now that I've destroyed the poetic entrance of this post, I'll get on to my reason for writing.

I find it absolutely amazing how a structure that stands and provides shelter and warmth for over 100 years can be reduced to dust in almost no time at all. In December, we watched an excavator take down the original farm house on our yard in under an hour. I'm sure he could have done it faster, but he had to pause and clear rubble and debris as he went.

Did you notice how much dust flew out of those walls as they came down??? As we moved out, we found extension cords that were browned near the socket and I can't help but thankfully praise the Lord that our house never burnt down on our heads.

I know there are people who are saddened at our decision to take the old house down. There is a rich heritage and history that lived in that house and that fact is not lost on us. It was a good house/home, but the reality is that it needed a LOT of work and we aren't the people who can make that happen. Quite frankly, with a busy farm operation, it's not the priority. I did write a blog post that made light of the many shortcomings that old house possessed. If you're interested, you can check it out HERE.

As the original century old farm house came down, there was a somber feeling in the air. I'm glad my father/mother in law were away, because I think it would have been hard for them to watch. I couldn't help but think about how temporary things built by "man" are. One hundred years is a long time, but really just a drop in the bucket in light of eternity. It's the things that God builds that last.

We really did try to sell (or give away) the house to someone who would re-locate it. We had it listed on Kijiji for a year and there were several inquiries, but it just wasn't a viable option economically. The moving costs were MUCH higher than for a new house and most towns have by-laws to regulate houses that are moved in (electrical work etc.). They are leary of a hundred year old farm house and any of us who have watched even a little bit of HGTV have a pretty good guess as to why.

SO, down it went.
(We did remove most doors and re-usable things inside.)

The spectators were kept captivated while the excavator worked. Crazy to think that my kids will hardly remember ever living in the old house! And yes, I think that is a smile on Mitch's face. He was actually pretty excited to see the house come down. We had hoped to have the house gone several months sooner. Our sight lines from the new house to the barn significantly improved (by 100%) when the old house was gone.

Reduced to a pile of rubble. Things did get cleaned up fairly well, but I know we'll have a mess to deal with come Spring.

Have no fear, the whole is filled in :)

I think we are going to love our HUGE front yard. Mitch was fairly quick to get a rink flooded for our little up and coming hockey player.

While it is sad to think of the original farmhouse being gone, we are truly SO thankful for our new home. It is very comfortable and more than adequately meets the needs of our busy family. Life really is easier in our new space.

We begin a new legacy.
Doesn't our new house look like it fits on this yard?