Many thanks!

      I am so happy spring is on its way. Along with the somewhat warmer temps comes the melting. I needed help getting my sump pump up and running last weekend. I mentioned to my friend Kathy over the phone  last Sunday evening that I wasn't sure what I was going to do to remedy the situation and we were in the midst of getting heavy rains. I was worried. An hour later she showed up at my house (as is usual for Sunday evenings) but she wasn't alone.  She had brought a friend from church who was ready to lend a hand to get my pump working. With a few adjustments he was able to get it functioning within 15 minutes! I was SO relieved and knew I would be able to sleep well that night not having to fear the torrents of rain coming in the basement while I slept. Thank you Lee!! This was yet another one of those situations where I tried to figure things out myself but the las few pieces of the puzzle just weren't fitting together right.  In talking with Lee about the pump's setup we were able to determine that there was an unnecessary part attached (2 check valves instead of just one, in case you're really interested ;)) and without the extra part, everything fit together perfectly. And then, since I had someone handy in the house, I asked Lee to take a look at my dryer vent. The dryer hose was continually coming off the back of the machine so the hot air was blowing into the insulation on the wall.  I had tried to tighten the screw to the clamp that was around the opening but it just kept coming off. He explained that because of the temperature changes to the metal connector piece, the resulting expansion and contracting was causing it to keep coming off. It made perfect sense. I hadn't thought of that! I know, I sound a little too excited about these projects, right? Generators, sump pumps, dryer vents...what next? I can feel myself getting smarter...I must be growing new brain cells through this process!  :)

     Then I got a call last week from Doug who works with the youth group at church. He told me they were going to be doing some service projects on Friday and wanted to know if I needed help with anything. It took me a bit to figure out what I could have a group of teens work on. Taking help means being organized in order to coordinate a number of people and that takes time and planning.  I managed to put together a list thinking that I might not have enough to keep them busy for the 4 hours. Boy was I wrong!  The night went awesomely well. There were 5 teens and 2 adults (Ron and Mitch- you guys are handy!). All in all they got a ton done and far exceeded my expectations! They got one of my cars vacuumed out and wiped down since I was going to be trading it at the dealer's the next day. I have this awful habit of saving boxes from things we buy and things we've had shipped to us. My box hoarding was out of control until they stepped in and broke down probably at least 30 boxes. They almost filled the back of a pickup truck with these. I had them take some electronics away as well...a TV, broken air conditioner and various computer pieces. This purging felt SO good! Then, in preparation for construction to finish the upstairs, I had them work on moving a bunch of items that were up on the second floor (it's like attic space currently) down to the basement.  They probably moved 2/3rds of what was up there down 2 flights of stairs. One of the teens cleaned and organized Corey's work bench which was pretty out of order (mostly from me not putting things away since he died). Let's see...am I forgetting anything? Mitch had brought his tool belt with him and must have been itching to do some hammering because he got busy fixing one of the doors in the basement that wouldn't close right. They found things to do that weren't even on my list! Great job guys! You're welcome back any time ;))
     I also have been meaning to put a thank you out there to an anonymous someone who paid for 3 weeks of babysitting for me. I have a fabulous sitter, Hannah, who comes over every Thursday evening for a few hours so I can have a break and get out of the house and not have to do bedtime. I look forward to this time each week and so was pleasantly surprised when Hannah told me that someone had already paid her for the next few weeks! That was a cool blessing!
     I certainly have no shortage of things to be thankful for. I can't say enough good things about my church family. They are absolutely amazing. I have never known a church to have such a heart for people in need, and their compassion extends out into the community on such a consistent basis. I don't think there has been a time when I have said hello in a quick exchange with Pastor Bernie and he hasn't asked me how everything is going and is there anything I need? I feel very loved and am so appreciative! The funeral director for Corey's service and burial made the comment that he works with a lot of churches in the area and has been very impressed with all that goes on at Grace. He likened the people at Grace to ants working away busily. I have been blessed to be a recipient of this church's love in action!