Miracles come, but they're not cheap

I believe in miracles! But I found out they can be pricey.

Miracle number one: We found a leak in a water heater that has been poisoning us for who knows how long.

But it required buying a new stove to find it. Our old stove broke, it was a piece of builder-grade garbage so we bought a new one. The new one also smelled really bad so I called the gas gusy to check it, too. They came and found a leak at the regulator. Upon being called to the house they are required to search all "gaseous areas" of my house. They found a leak in my water heater. Oh goodie for us! We were left with no hot water and no stove to heat hot water. There was a lot of whooping and hollering going on in the bathrooms last week.

The repairman came Monday, but found no leak. Apparently the smell was from the burn-off material from the factory.

Plumber comes next. He confirms there is no leak in the stove, but confirms the leak in the water heater. Goodie for us-- the water heater is under a class action law suit because it is a builder-grade piece of garbage. We tried replacing the part, but it broke after one day, leaving us with cold showers again!

Miracle number two: Hot showers, but it required buying a new water heater.

Miracle number three: Phoebe is alive.

The day that we got the water heater put in, and thought our woes were over, and our bank account holes plugged up, Phoebe got bloat. What is bloat you ask? A sickness in cows and horses, and dogs as big as horses! Her stomach and intestines filled with air and her stomach eventually floated up, twisted around and pinched off her blood flow to her organs.

That night I thought that she just needed to throw up from eating bark at the park. I put her outside and went to bed. I told Jared to leave her out until she finished throwing up. Something didn't set right with him and he went outside to check on her. He instinctively knew to roll her over and feel her stomach. It was a huge balloon. Her spleen had gotten so big that it felt like a nerf football inside of her.

Jared took her to the emergency nighttime vet where she underwent major surgery. She had to spend three days at our vet recovering. The doctor was amazed at how quickly we caught it and attributed it to our being "astute owners". Whatever! I sent her outside to her death! Thanks to Jared being prompted by the Spirit to know something was wrong we still have our dog. Landon said, "It is a good thing you have dad, mom." Very true!

So in a nutshell, all worked out for the best this week and we felt Heavenly Father caring for us. But it was pricey. :)

Cold Showers

Last Thursday we got a new oven because our old one filled the house with gas. The "gas guy" said that it was probably a part that wasn't getting hot enough to burn off all the gas. The appliance repair guy confirmed it. It was a cheap, builder-grade stove so we opted for a new one.

Turns out our new one, after installed, seems to have a gas leak at the regulator which is causing the same problem. So the repair guy's earliest time to come would be Monday. (today) So the "gas guy" after checking that had to check all other gaseuous areas of our house. He found a leak in our water heater! Yeah for us. So, I called the plumber out on Friday. Turns out our cheap, builder-grade water heater is a piece of garbage and has a class action law suit on it so the plumber can't order the parts. We can get the part, but apparently they only have a 50% success rate. Yeah, for us! We are supposed to get the part today and spend $200 on a plumber for a part that might not work. It seemed worth the risk rather than pay $1,000 for a new water heater.

In the meantime (since Thursday) we have no hot water and no stove. We have also had a cold front come in, making our pipes even colder than normal. Yeah, for us! Cold, cold showers--and no way to heat them up from the stove.

Cold showers are quite invigorating!

Never Cry Wolf

Last week Tyler was complaining of a stomach ache. This is something he does often when he doesn't feel like moving it for school. He had no fever, no throwing up, etc. He went to school. The week before he pulled that move on me and I made him clean with no TV. He asked to go to school at 11:00 am.

Well after going to school the school nurse called me and said he had a stomach ache and headache, but no fever. I have been to that school and witnessed all the kids going into the nurses station for a hangnail! I was afraid that Tyler was learning some bad behavior from bad examples. The nurse agreed with me that he should go back to class. She called two hours later and said once a teacher sends them down twice she doesn't feel good about sending them back to class.

I went and picked him up, but I was livid. I told him to never go down to the nurses station without a fever or throwing up. I took him home and made him WASH WALLS FOR OVER TWO HOURS! After washing the walls I sent him to bed for a nap.

Upon waking up two hours later he had a fever of 102 degrees!

Yeah, I am a good mom.

A Successful F.H.E.

Last summer when we went to St. Louis, Rachel and I took 9 kids ages 8 and under to see the church history sites in Independence, Far West, Liberty, and Adam ondi Ahman. It was a wonderful trip! Before we left we prepped them on what the sites were about. I was a little hesitant in doing this, but am soooo grateful I did: I asked those little tikes to pay attention to their feelings to see when they felt the Spirit. At the end I was almost afraid to ask if anyone felt the Spirit because of my own lack of faith that any of them did. Tyler was very quiet and embarrassed to say anything. He told me that he felt it when we were under the statue of Jesus and we sang "I Am a Child of God". He has referred to that day many times and always gets a huge smile on his face (which he tries to hide).

Last week in FHE he asked how we know if things are true if we passed through the veil and forgot everything. I explained that it is by the Spirit that we know all things. He teaches us and confirms what is truth through our feelings in our hearts.

I then asked him when he has felt the Spirit. He brought up the statue again (with attempted hidden smile). We went through the words of the song, "I Am a Child of God" line by line and explained that the Holy Ghost was confirming that the words in that song are true. We are children of God, He has sent us here (away from Him), I am a dear and kind parent(hehe--actually Jared), it is our job to teach him the truth, if we keep the commandments we WILL live with Him someday! The whole Plan of Salvation in a nutshell.

It was a good night.