Thursday, February 3, 2011

something good from yesterday

Yesterday wasn't my favorite day of the year so far...not by a long shot.

We still don't have running water and the plumber couldn't figure out the source of the frozen pipes.

We do have each other and a good friend brought over dinner and some water last night. The funny thing is, we have lots and lots of food storage and have three big 50-gallon barrels in our garage. Do we have water in them? Of course not. A lot of times we kinda go through the motions of getting the food storage but don't necessarily think we'll ever need to use it. I remember vaguely a conversation that Matt had with someone recently and they were talking about food storage and Matt mentioned that we didn't have a lot of water stored. That might have been a good time to fill up those barrels if only to have enough water to warm up to bathe in and for flushing the toilets. As it was, Matt was running to the closest gas station so that he could go without dealing with the hassle of dumping a gallon of water down the toilet afterwards. We stocked up on paper plates, cups and plastic forks and spoons since we don't have enough water for washing dishes right now.

We take so many things for granted.

We really do.

The garage door, at least, is fixed. I really should have taken a picture of that yesterday.

Oh well.

So, today we'll fill up some buckets with the little bit of snow we have outside and use that to flush toilets.

I was having a rough time yesterday with all that was going on on top of me not feeling well but there were some miracles, some answers to prayer. We carpool with a neighbor who we go to church with and it is our turn to pick up the girls this week. She called in the morning, though, wondering if we'd sent Hailey to school since we had her home a day last week and she said she could pick up her daughter. I ended up asking her if she could pick up the girls, which she was happy to do. At the time of our conversation Matt was working on the garage door, trying to get the bent panel off so that it could be repaired. I didn't know if we'd be able to get our van out of the garage to pick up the girls. Blessing number one.

Later in the afternoon I was making calls to the girls in my Activity Days group (I work with the 8-11 year olds at church and twice a month we have an evening activity- last night we were going to frost heart cookies and leave notes of gratitude on the Bishopric's door. Nicole- don't tell Jeff because we are planning to do this later ♥). Anyway, so I was making calls using my groggy flu voice and one of the moms called me back to see if I was okay. Of course it had been a rough day and I shared some details and she offered to bring some water and drinks over and said she'd bring us dinner later. Blessing number two.

Yesterday I decided to escape the stress and hide away in my scrap room and make a page just for fun and this is what I came up with- a page using a fun little quote from Aimee. It started at least a few months ago when I would tuck her in, tell her goodnight and say " I love you" and she'd say, "I love you, too" and I'd say, "I love you three" and you get the idea and one time I said, "I love you a million zillion billion" and then we'd say "and one more than that' and it kinda stuck. Now it's a nightly thing and I love it and had to scrap it so I wouldn't forget this fun little thing we do.


For this page I used some of the new Sassafras Paper Crush line mixed with some October Afternoon Homemaker line and some other Sass and OA and then embellishments from Sassafras, American Crafts, Jillibean Soup, Maya Road, Crate Paper and October Afternoon. It was such a fun page, and nice to scrap for me instead of for an assignment- I was free to use whatever I wanted and it was so fun. Oh, the cute orange die-cut paper is from KI Memories. I love those papers and just might have to get more.

Here are a few detail shots:






So fun!

Well, cross your fingers or say a little prayer for us today if you think about it. 
We just hope we can figure out how to get our pipes unfrozen in this freezing cold weather. 
And, you can sure bet we'll be filling up those big water barrels soon. 

♥♥♥

p.s if you would like some Valentine's Day card ideas you can check the American Crafts blog today, hint..hint. I just might have something over there today. ☺

15 comments:

Deanna said...

Oh Becky! I'm so sorry it was a such a terrible day! but I have to say, I think that as a result you created my all-time favorite LO from you! Seriously, there's soooo much that I love about this one--the colors, the quote, the funkiness...love it all! Hope you're able to stay warm, get well, and get some water today! :)

Ingrid Danvers said...

Isn't it wonderful to have such caring friends?

Your page is gorgeous....as always. Love the quote, your design and the colors. It makes me really happy!

Take care, girl!

Cynthia Baldwin said...

Fingers crossed and prayers sent. :)
How nice to have little blessings in our lives. And your page is wonderful - a little sunshine to brighten up a bad day.

curlyqmosaics said...

Bless your hearts! That has to be so miserable without water, especially with little bitty's in the house! I am thinking of you, and pray that the problem will be fixed very soon!

Your layout is stellar! I absolutely adore everything about it. The acrylic bird, the corrugated heart and the whimsical way you created the title. The story behind it is so sweet, definitely a memory to be cherished!

Marinette-Scraptherapie said...

Wow! Love the design and the colors of your page!
So sorry for these bad days!
Take care♥

jenifer said...

we have water-- but no heat!!
i have a LOT of blankets though, feel free to come over and spend the day watching movies with me on the couch!!

seriously. someone is looking at our heater now, so it should be warmer in a bit...

Kelly Massman said...

Well, you've shared a great layout anyway! I take it you have sprayed insulation around all of the areas where your water comes in and used the hair dryer at the main site where your water comes in. When it gets cold, we sometimes have to do that... I know that your plumber knows all of those tricks! Best of luck to you! We have to run an extra heater near where the water comes in and leave our pipes dripping when it gets cold.

cornellgj said...

Becky - I'm sorry things have been so rough for you! But, I do have to tell you how very much I love this layout! Wow! Love the colors, the title, the photos...everything! Beautiful work! :)

Alex said...

Oh Becky... I am so sorry you had such a bad day :-( You are right, we do take many things for granted.

I love, love, love your layout! I don't get it... how can you mix so many patterns, so many colors, so many different alphas and still keep it all this harmonized? Amazing work, Becky! Amazing.

Sherri said...

Thinking of you Miss Becky June:) It will all pass, but sending prayers your way in the meantime.t

Cluff Chronicles said...

Becky, I am sure this has been tried, but I was talking to my sister and I mentioned how you didn't have water she said once that happened to her and she put a space heater by the wall where the water comes into the house and it defrosted it. I am sure the plumber already checked that, but if not it is worth a shot! I have some water stored if you need some please let me know in the morning. I wouldn't drink it but it would be great for toilet flushing!

Keshet said...

This is just gorgeous, but sorry about the day!

On my way... said...

Oh gosh what a day!! :( the page is simply gorgeous though, I especially adore the transparent bird!

Nenne said...

hope you have everything sorted with the water by now!

What a great, great page! LOVE it!

Amy Heller said...

Stunning page, Becky!! I love everything about it!

Hopefully everything's been sorted out with your water situation and pipes. :(