And it's been awhile...

We have been in our new house for almost two months now (don't know how the time goes by so quickly), and alot has happened. I'll start at the beginning...

Three days after moving into our house--these same three days being filled with continuous painting of the downstairs interior--almost the entire bottom floor flooded. This wouldn't have been such a big deal, except for the small detail of wood flooring. Needless to say, the baseboards had to be torn out and we had five huge, loud fans blowing in half the downstairs, making it hard to think, carry on a conversation, or really have a nice, peaceful moment. The floors also had to come out, but that was put off till after Christmas.

The day after the floors flooded, my entire family was scheduled to come spend Christmas with us in our new, warm and cozy house, and the fans kind of detracted from that. Everything was cool though, because the fans would be gone in two days, and really, other than the missing baseboards, everything else looked fine. Who needs baseboard, anyway? Things would be fine...

Shower time! Collin and Jenn had just moved in with us, and after running the shower for 10 minutes to get hot water, no results had been produced and the water was still frigid. We checked my bathroom and, even MORE fridid. At this point, a light bulb went off over my head, and I went down to gas stovetop, turned it on, and...nothing. I'd forgotten to transfer the gas into our name, and the builder had turned it off. No big deal, I thought. I'll just call the gas company and they'll come turn in on today, right? WRONG!

The very condescending lady told me, "Ma'am, I understand you were moving, but you really should have called us a week before you moved to let us know you needed a transfer." I politely replied, "Ma'am, I've been wiping my own butt for several years now, and I don't need you to tell me what I should have done. I am well aware. However, I have 16 people, including small children, coming to stay at my house for Christmas. I understand today is Friday, and you are really busy, but isn't there anyway you can have someone drop by?" She was completely unsympathetic, and told me, for the second, unfeeling time, that Wednesday, a complete FIVE days from that moment, was the earliest someone could come out. Grrr. I yelled at her, and then hung up. For the record, I was very stressed and I don't regret it. She was a bee-och.

Four days later...Family came, and went. Busy house, teeming with people and noise and games and conversations. Lacking in hot water and the use of the stove, but warm enough thanks to space heaters and bodies. A good time, but nice to have a quiet house when the company left.

Five days later...Hot water! Delicious soup cooked on a hot ring of fire issuing from a stove that works! Space heaters? Relegated to the garage, with the house heater heating at 74 beautiful degrees of hotness. Mmmm. You don't know how much you appreciate the little things till they're gone.

This brings me to my message for the 2007 Christmas season. Never, ever, take anything, or anyone for granted. When you think your life is not the best, take a look around you at all the things surrounding you, and pick your favorite. Now think about this...you have a favorite, and a lot of people don't get that opportunity. Next, think about all the wonderful people in your life. Are they mostly happy and healthy? Most likely they are. Many people also don't have this security in their life. If you don't feel better at this point, repeat the process.

We are blessed, and we should never take this for granted.