September 9, 2025

Wow! It has been a long time since I have written a post. I think often enough about things I'd like to share. I need to be better about it because the memories that I'll remember and moments that are created I want to capture and recall.

This week has been a very hard and challenging week. It's not even been a full seven days but five days ago we experienced a downpour of rain which resulted in about 5 1/2 inches in two hours. For the desert that is about half of our annual rainfall. Our gutters cannot keep up. Our ground was not accepting and saturating all the water that should've been accepted! So, our water began to puddle and pool and see in underneath the walls of our garage and our guest bedroom. The boys were so helpful in discovering different things around the house! Like the new leak dripping from their smoke alarm in their bedroom! Or creating a small river that would help the water to flow from the gutters away from the house! It was a special night for them they thought was wonderful until it all went awry! Colton told me it was actually the worst day of his life, so he thought.

We ended up having help from our neighbors and my parents who came to our rescue! The boys were using shovels and rakes and trying to move water away from the house and create a little bit of a dam and yet a place for the water to flow from. Cameron and I were in the house trying to soak up water using the wet dry ax pulling up carpet ripping up the Carpet in the bedroom and the pads and getting fans going. It was stressful! " I am, Momma I think you're gonna want to see this. I think it's an emergency!" That was pretty much what was coming out of the boys mouth every five minutes! There's a new leak dripping from the ceiling in the garage! A puddle of water in the guest bedroom!

Four days after this massive rain downpour, we were slated to get our new roof! Truly, we needed a new roof from all the hail damage we received a couple months ago. I just wish it would have happened sooner… The new roof that is. So on Monday, the tearoff began and at one point they were 13 workers on the roof getting things done. We had to get new decking put on the roof! Unfortunately, a worker stepped in the wrong spot and made a hole in the ceiling of the boys bedroom! It just feels like there's been a problem after problem. The crew finally left at dark and my last site on the back of the roof, it was raw plywood. So when I heard major thunder and lightning and rain for an hour in the middle of the night, my heart raced. My mind panicked! I got up and checked the house the roof, the floors, the places where it's been leaking in the dining room, our bedroom, the garage, and the boys bedroom. So stressful!

No leaks!

We had a small corner of shingles, but other than that, it was just the underlayment that was on the roof. So the following day slated to get the roof finished and more rain came. Three different bouts of storms and no shingles still on the roof! The workers showed up about 3:45 and rain was expected at four. I had a moment and I went outside and literally spoke out the words, "Rain, go away! You are not welcome here, you are not wanted here and you must leave." I have not felt that empowered in months! I know it sounds silly, but I had to take a leap of faith in this way for me and speak words out. The rain was falling around us. I could see it in the sky and I proclaimed the rain needed to be gone. It did not come to us, but passed around us. I saw lightning and I heard thunder, but no rain drops fell. I got a text from my mom and she said they had just received a weather alert, warning them about quarter-sized hail coming. I literally commanded the sky to leave my house alone. We did not get hail! We did not get rain! They were almost able to complete the entire roof, except they ran out of shingles! I came inside and I started to hear sprinkling as they finished up their work. There was nothing we could do as there were no more shingles delay. We have a couple of spots that they'll finish tomorrow… and then a beautiful cloud appeared as the sun was shining. Turned out to be a lovely evening with gorgeous sunrise shining in the sky! I have been so stressed and worried and anxious and upset — and shed a few tears myself! I was trying to hold myself in a place of perspective. Thinking that in 20 years or 40 years, this event will be a memory. It will not define me. And I will look back and recall the things that happened. And it will not have an effect on me. It will be a memory. But boy, in the moment of this and the other crises of the week I have been caught up in a of emotions. . Many feelings of overwhelm. Now as I lay in bed after reading books to our boys, holding them close, saying prayers together, I feel much more at peace. I feel very grateful for the roof over our head. The soon-to-be completed roof! ✨✨

I found a post online that talks about the whimsical. Instead of a to do list; a Ta Da list. Saying: time for a bath when washing your dishes. If you've messed up in the day, say out loud, "End scene." Or, "And cut!" to acknowledge and restart! When you change your sheets, change your pajamas for 'fancy sleep'. When peeling a garlic say: may I take your coat? Say, "My lady," every time you pass yourself in a mirror. When you set your purse on an inanimate object, say, "Can you hold this please?" Just such fun whimsy ways. Like listening to French music while you're going grocery shopping! It's a mix of habit stocking with small delights. Such as #LittleSurprisesAndSimplePleasures

I take a big deep breath in and release the air — feeling more gratitude and grace for what lies before me.