Feb. 15, 2008 - Expect the Unexpected
Our Week In Review
This week was extremely busy. I kept our schedule intact, plus tried to play catch-up with Alexis' school work. One big problem with me being sick is that there are no Substitute Teachers in this house. We were slightly behind with everything before I got sick ~ then I didn't try to push much school for a full week. If you are familiar with Sonlight Curriculum, you know that it can sometimes feel overwhelming when you get behind in your read-alouds. We should just skip a book or something, but they are all such great reading material that I find it difficult to choose one to pass on.
I was still feeling weak on Monday, but we did school work and tried to go to one of our many activities. Everything was going as planned as we got in the van to go. I drove out of our driveway and down the street. (Unexpected Situation #1) Suddenly, the van began to sound strained like it wasn't changing gears. I drove up a hill and realized that there was a huge problem. It acted like the transmission was broken. I promptly made a U-turn and coasted back to our street. We got out of the van and saw smoke and smelled an electric burn smell. I called David and he left work for home at once - then I called AAA to tow the van to the car shop. Before they got here, David was home and had figured out the problem. Thankfully it was not the transmission. Sadly, it was the compressor to the air conditioner and some sort of belt that goes to it. I am extremely thankful that we were in my neighborhood when this happened.
Tuesday, I still felt weak - no better than Monday. David worked at home while I worked on more schooling with Alexis. Then we were off to our activities in David's car. I ran errands to get ready for co-op and we got Amanda from school. We got the van back and ran more errands for Amanda. I was quiet worn out by the end of the day and wondered how I was going to get through Wednesday.
Keeper's at Home and co-op came on Wednesday. It was enjoyable to be there, not hard - just long. I am very thankful for friends. I was blessed to receive a lot of help from a couple of truly wonderful friends who eased my workload. I have to admit though, I was downright happy to return home that afternoon. I basically did nothing for the rest of the evening except reheat leftover Vegetable Beef Soup for dinner.
Thursday - Valentine's Day 
started off lovely with flowers, a balloon, and a strawberry cheesecake from David. I woke the girls up and gave them their Valentine surprises. We dropped Amanda off at school and Alexis and I returned home and had "pajama day." We got even more caught up with school, and I took a nap while Alexis worked on math. We picked Amanda up, bought some flowers for the girls to give to their Grandmother and went over to my in-law's house bearing gifts. Afterward, I was planning to pick up take out as a treat - but I ran out of steam and came home. David took Amanda to work and went and picked up a nice dinner that we all enjoyed. I am so thankful for my family ~ My husband who takes care of his family and is always there for me when I need him. My son whom I dearly miss, but is considerate and calls me almost every day. My oldest daughter - who is a very hard worker but has been feeling ill this week. She stayed a trooper even though she was on work overload between her job and school tests and quizzes. Last but not least... my baby daughter - who has written me get well cards almost every day, gives me hugs, and tells me that I am the best Mommy in the whole world.
I was still feeling tired today - if I would only stop coughing!!! I tried to keep a gentle pace so that I didn't feel stressed, and so we didn't get farther behind with school. (Okay I admit it, I am a box checker - and I wanted to go into the weekend with a peaceful outlook on school next week) So here we were, reading a book on the sofa in the family room ~ minding our own business ~ when (Unexpected Situation #2) the lights began to dim and hum. Then the electricity went off. There were no storms, so I was a little perplexed, but we went back to our reading. After a few moments, the power surge began again, only this time the lights were popping, and there were loud booming sounds coming from almost every direction in the house! 
I looked up at our ceiling fan because the sounds coming from it made me think that the light bulbs on it would be exploding all over us. Thankfully not though. However, as I was looking at the fan, Alexis was looking at the TV in the armoire and saw smoke coming from it. She immediately told me that I should call 911 - and as I did, the smoke began to get thicker. By the time I was through giving our information to the 911 operator, the smoke was fading. I still wanted a firemen to come because I couldn't get a good enough look inside the armoire to see if there was an actual fire in there. I was afraid that if I told them to wait and there was a fire - we would have a serious situation on our hands. Alexis and I did as the operator said and walked outside. I called David as we headed out the door to wait for a fire truck, and realized that there were 2 gentlemen working for the electric company digging in my front yard. 
This was finally starting to make sense to me. I walked up to them and described what had just happened in my home and explained that a fire truck was on its way. They assured me that they had nothing to do with it, as they were working on our next door neighbor's electricity. I had my doubts, but wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt as long as they were looking into it. The fire truck arrived, and 3 nice firemen assured me that I did all the right things. I mentioned to them that the men from the electric company did not think that they had anything to do with our house problem. I am sure the firemen must have known better, because one of them said that we might find out differently after they look into it. Sure enough... it was the electric company. Both gentlemen came knocking on our door with lots of apologies and said that they had disconnected something that they thought was our neighbors, but was in fact ours. When they plugged it back in, of course the main electricity to our house was not off, so we had a huge power surge. They immediately had their supervisor out there - who was also nice - and he and David went through our house checking everything out. The following is a list of the items that were ruined:
1 TV
2 Satellite Receivers
All Lights Around the Pool Area
Pool Pump Timer
Pool Solar Switch
Clock built in to Roll Top Desk
All in all we have much to be thankful for. We are all safe. We have our house. We have all of our appliances, air/heat, computer - I have not backed anything up in awhile. 
God is Good!!!
While David was making rounds through our house with the electric company supervisor, I went for a mammo. (Unexpected Situation #3) I will not go into details, but "Digital" is the way to go. The comfort level is a drastic difference from the "old" way. I was told too, that the pictures are much clearer. This is the 2nd step in trying to determine if there is something I should be doing concerning the nodule in my lung. I will see another doctor - who is a surgeon - in a couple of weeks. She is very good, and I trust her a lot. In addition to the mammo results, she will be looking at the CT-scan and X-ray. I am praying that she will be able ease my mind the rest of the way - or guide me to an appropriate physician to look into this further.
As I look back on this week, I am bombarded with reminders of how the Lord works out all of the details big and small, in our lives perfectly. I have so very very much to be thankful for.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
