The Saga Continues

In my last post, I mentioned all the things that have occurred in the last two weeks.  The story is not over yet.  Thursday, after picking up the kids, the lights on the van's dashboard came on and wouldn't go off.  After dropping the kids off Friday morning, I took the van to Meineke to have the oil changed, the tires rotated and to see if they could figure out why the lights came on.  Five hundred dollars later, the oil was changed, tires rotated, two belts were replaced (the old ones were cracked), fuel injectors were cleaned and the O2 sensor was changed.  I noticed a whine from the engine area when I left that I had not noticed before.  A few hours later, while I was waiting in the car line to pick Will up from school, the van died completely.  No lights, no radio, no air conditioner, no power for the windows, NO NOTHING!!  Andrew had just fallen asleep and Hannah was in the back.  Did I mention the temperature outside was about 101 degrees and the car line was out to the street?  Yea.  When I called Mike at work, I broke down crying and went into hysterics.  It was not a pretty sight.  After a few minutes (and a few honks) the cars were able to get around me.  Will's teacher was working the car line and told us to take refuge from the heat inside the building.  Mom picked up the kids and took them to her house while I waited for Mike.  We talked to my dad, Dick (Mike's dad) and the Meineke guy and they all came to the same conclusion: the alternator needs to be replaced. 

When I got home from Meineke, I noticed the thermostat was reading 86 degrees in the house.  Come to find out, the capacitor on the outside unit went out and had to be replaced.  God blessed us by having the air conditioner repair man headed home when I called.  We were on his way so he came by and replaced the part immediately. 

Dick came in last night from Dothan to be here for Hannah's baptism.  Daphne stayed in Dothan to help take care of her mom, who recently had knee replacement surgery and lost her husband (and Daphne's dad) last Tuesday.  Mike and Dick are going to replace the alternator in the van today.  I hope they don't have any problems.

Well, enough of my whining for now.  I hope everyone has a great week.  Remember, God loves you and is with you every step of the way.

Van and Bathroom Pics

While we were on our trip, we had a little trouble with the van. When we were getting ready to leave for home, the van didn't want to start right up like usual. Instead, it sounded like the battery was low after someone left an interior light on. I checked all the switches but everything was turned off. On the second try, it started right up. We had trouble again when we stopped for gas. But, it started back up on the second or third try. The rest of the trip was uneventful, thank goodness. This same thing had happened once before we left but I thought one of the kids had forgot to shut their door all the way or left an interior light on.

Yesterday, the van was slow starting but was soon running like a dream. When Andrew and I left the Board Meeting at church, the only sound I heard was a click-click-click. Oh, great!! I went over my checklist - all the lights were off and the doors were all shut. Tried the ignition again - click-click-click. Great!! I'm thinking it was either the starter, alternator, or battery. It finally started on the third try so I started home. Afraid that once I shut it off it wouldn't start again, I picked up something for Andrew and me to eat through a drive-thru and headed straight for Nathan's school. We arrived at 12:30 p.m. and left the car running. Nathan got out at 2:20 then we headed to Hannah's school to repeat the process. As soon as she got in the car, we headed to get Will. I finally shut the van off at 3:30 when we got home. Mike got home early and we went to Auto Zone. The technician there said the battery was extremely low. After soccer practice, I dropped off Mike at Walmart while the kids and I went to Chick-fil-a to get a bite to eat and to leave the van running (we had trouble getting it started after soccer practice). Mike changed out the batteries. Good thing he did because it was leaking battery acid. Now, it runs like a dream. It's nice not having to worry about getting stuck somewhere.

Now - for the BIG REVEAL!!!

Our Master Bathroom is done!!!

This is our bathroom closet.
Look at the beautiful floor and walls!!

Isn't it nice and neat?

Our bathroom sink and toilet area

Another look at our sink

The far bathroom wall (before pictures)

The far bathroom wall (after pictures)

The bathtub area

The bathroom window

Didn't Mike do a great job?! It is a big change from the pink paisley wallpaper and tan carpet. It has taken a little time to get use to it but we love it.

Sports Camp, Alyssa and Sam's

This week Hannah is doing a sports camp at Melanie's church. It is for kids who have completed 1st through sixth grades, so, unfortunately, Will isn't able to go. Each day, they have two different sports that they participate in, along with a couple of water breaks, snacks and a devotional time. Yesterday, all the girls in Hannah's group picked to play football instead of cheerleading. (Yes, Hannah picked football. This is the child who was upset with me when she found out that Upwards soccer had cheerleading and I had signed her up to play soccer instead.) She had a blast!!! Hannah told us she learned how to throw and catch the ball. That's my girl!!! Mike and I laughed because she was soo cute when she told us about it.

Yesterday, Alyssa came over and watched the kids for me. I needed to get two new tires on the van. Since it always takes about three hours at Sam's (and I knew the kids would be very bored), I thought they would enjoy spending the time with Alyssa. Since Hannah was at camp, the boys played and watched t.v. until Hannah was finished. After they picked up Hannah, Alyssa had to get gas for her car. It was really hot so Alyssa took all three kids with her into the station to pay. She said everyone gave her strange looks. (I guess they thought all three were hers. HAHAHA) Alyssa and her boyfriend Eric took them to the McDonald's in Olive Branch because it has a big play area. The kids had a blast. Andrew even climbed up in the equipment and went down the big pink slide. After I was done and back home, Alyssa brought them home. They enjoyed spending the day with her and I enjoyed going shopping and spending three hours at Sam's by myself.

Two new tires for the van: $211
Niece to babysit the kids: $40
Three hours to shop at Sam's by myself: priceless

Visit

Today we had a visit from Papaw and Mama Joan. They drove down to visit and to pick up their trailer. They let us use it to get the t.v. cabinet. The kids love to see their grandparents, and I know the grandparents love to see the grandkids. The kids went outside to play while the adults visited in the kitchen. It was nice getting to spend time with them and talk a bit without a lot of interruptions.

The trailer was parked in front of the house in the grass. It was too tall to park under the carport, so we just left it where it was after unloading the cabinet. Papaw's truck couldn't get traction to move the trailer so Mike towed him out to the driveway. It was hilarious to see our minivan towing a diesel truck and trailer. I wish I had had my camera ready. It was a sight to see.

When Dad and Joan first arrived, we met them for lunch. As we were leaving, Hannah and Will got balloons. On the ride back to the house, Andrew got ahold of one of the strings. He had a field day playing with the string and balloon. When Hannah and Will went to bed, Andrew found the balloons again (Hannah had them in her room). He had fun shaking it and pushing it around. The simple things are often the most fun.