Being Thankful

Sometimes in life, I think it is easy to focus on the craziness that surrounds us.  It's certainly been that way for me lately.  I've been spending so much time working on the house repairs and getting back to "normal" that I have forgotten to take a minute to remember all of the positive, great things that are happening, too.  So, the point of this blog post is to remind myself, and maybe you, about living in the positive.


As I sit here typing this post, I hear the buzz of a saw and the constant drone of hammering.  The repairs have started on our house, and I find myself reflecting on the last few months.  I could list out some of the crazy things that have happened, but I feel like that would be recounting some of the troubles and that seems entirely selfish and unproductive.  I need to look forward, not behind.


Over the past few days, it has been hard to pull myself away from the images of destruction in Joplin, Missouri.  Just this morning I read an article where families are looking for their loved ones.  Can you imagine?  My heart aches for these families and they truly are a reminder that material possessions mean absolutely nothing.  I'm sure they would trade anything in this world to have their family members back.

Taken just as storm sirens sounded by Davedehetre and posted to Flickr.
He believes this is same cell cell that produced the Joplin tornado.

My family is fortunate.  Sure, the past few months have been difficult, but in many ways the things that have happened have brought us closer.  The love that surrounds us, and that often goes unspoken, was visibly evident in so many ways.  


So, as I sit here, I want to remind myself of something Ralph Waldo Emerson once said.  I should be thankful "for each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends."


Yes, things around here are starting to get back to normal, but for others the journey is just starting and they have a much longer road to travel.  Today, take a moment and think of just a few things you're grateful for...help someone else out...and pass the goodness along.


Ways To Help

• The American Red Cross is providing food, shelter and emotional support.  You can make a donation to them by calling 800-RED-CROSS or by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999 for a $10 donation.  
• World Vision is heading to Joplin with a focus on helping children, providing hygiene kits, cleaning supplies, etc.  To help World Vision in their efforts, donate $10 by texting the word "TORNADO" to 20222 or call 888-56-CHILD.
• The Salvation Army is helping feed families and first responders.  You can donate $10 by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY or by texting "JOPLIN" to 80888.  Donations may also be mailed to Joplin Tornado Relief, The Salvation Army, 3637 Broadway, Kansas City, MO  64111.

Life is sooo not boring....

..in fact, I can't even remember all the things that have been going on since my last blog post!!  Before I get into updates, though, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support, well wishes and kind words of encouragement the past month or so.  We've lived in the Raleigh area for just about a year now and I'm so fortunate to have met so many people that sincerely offered their help after the tornado.  If you're one of these people, you know who you are...and thank you a million times over!

Now, for the updates....  It's been crazy!  We've done lots of "smallish" projects around the house before, but coordinating all the repairs that have to be done now because of the storm is a bit overwhelming.  It's almost a full-time job meeting with all the contractors, getting estimates, following up with insurance, etc.  In some weird way, it feels like I'm back at work in the corporate world managing a project, nagging people to follow up, etc.  It's also nice to use my brain and Excel to crunch numbers, but I just wish it was for something a little more positive than storm damage repairs.  I've even thought of making myself a little logo for this project, but that's probably taking it a bit far!  ;)

Anyway, here's a quick recap of what's been going on the last few weeks.

1) Meeting with far too many contractors!  My quest for the best contractor at the fairest price has proved to be more difficult than I ever imagined.  Last week, I literally walked one contractor out the back door while I had another waiting at the front.  I felt like I was on an episode of Cheaters or something... Then, there was the case of the disappearing contractor.  He came out twice for estimates and then just vanished.  Ohhh, and then the other huge company that "broke up with us" because we wanted to do some of the work on our own.  Ahhh, I swear there should be a reality show about all the drama in finding contractors and actually getting one of them to do some work.  It will be a miracle when I finally hear the sounds of hammers.  "Maybe next week" is my most often repeated phrase these days....

2) We are slowly making repairs to the fence, but Z-E-R-O repairs have been made to our house.  We're still living with lovely blue tarps on the roof and siding.  This cartoon also perfectly describes my nagging while Mr. Man and his brother fixed the fence...  Nag, nag, nag....measure twice, cut once!

3) I got the upholstered headboard hung on the wall!!!  Pictures and a blog update coming soon...promise!

4) The garden is growing, despite having trees on it after the storm.  I'm going to do a blog update on this soon, too!

5) The babe turned nine months old, has five teeth and is saying dog!  In fact, she'll be ten months old next week and I'm already starting to think about her 1st birthday party.  

6) We went to the beach to escape the madness, and I even got a little bit of a tan!

7) Bought new patio furniture and a grill.  Pictures of the patio coming soon!

8) Our most recent and happiest update is that my brother-in-law is home from Afghanistan!  He's been deployed for a year and just made it back to his family safely early this morning.  Thank God he's home!  We're planning a little welcome home party for him here at the house this Saturday, so excited to see him and eat yummy baklava!

Those are the biggest updates for now...  I really do intend to get the blog back up and running full steam ahead soon.  Mentally, I just had a hard time being excited about the blog since the house repairs seemed so overwhelming, but I feel like we're turning a corner.  The tarps will be down soon and I can get back to all of my fun projects!

What have you been up to the last month or so?  Any fun new projects around your place?