So, this past month...

You may have noticed that I've been missing in action. Or...maybe not. LOL. Either way, I have been. It's been a very trying month at our house. It's a story you might not even believe.

About a month ago (I'd have to check my documentation...and yes, I've been keeping records), we had a water softener installed. It was wonderful! But as soon as it went in, things started happening at our house with our electricity. The lights would get really dim, bulbs blew all over the house, some of the lights would get really bright while in another room, stuff would just simply turn off.

At first we were told that it wasn't a big deal. Our local electric company was called and they came out to check things out. We were told that the old fuse box we had in the house was out of date and needed updating. They said there was corosion behind it, but that we really didn't have anything to worry about. The house certainly wouldn't burn down or anything. We relayed this info to the landlord who said that sounded good and then they continued to ignore the problem.

That week, we came home from a softball game and we were sitting in our kitchen (by candlelight) when we heard a loud popping noise and saw bright light coming from the room where I computer was. I hurried out to check it out and the computer was sparking. Craig hurried and got it all unplugged and everything but it was too late. The back of our tower was smoking and we knew it was ruined. We also knew that if we hadn't been home when that happened, our house would have burned down. Without a doubt.

The landlord came over that night after I called about the computer (he was supposed to have come over that day and the day before but he never did) and checked things out. Of course, it wasn't HIS fault that our computer got fried. It must have been a faulty surge protector. He proceeded to do a walk thru of the house and commented on lots of different things like, the condition of the carpet, some water damage on the ceiling that we hadn't noticed, and some other things. He was only in the basement checking out the electricity for a very short period of time. He also pulled the filter out of our furnace and said that we needed a new one. The furnace was still running. Incidentally, it doesn't work anymore and that's somehow our fault.

He came over several times in the week that followed. Sometimes he would come late at night. Always wanting to tinker with the electricity and never fixing the problem. In fact, everytime he was here, the problem seemed to get worse. Our TV started turning off by itself. We bought a Wii and that broke. And then our tv quit working all together. Now, let me remind you, this didn't happen all at once. This happened over a period of four weeks when our landlord just continued to ignore the problem.

So, I finally called Code Enforcement to get them to light a fire under their butts. They got an electrician over here to inspect things and ended up replacing the fuse box with a breaker box. When that was done, the electrician was still getting voltage fluctuations throughout the house. So, he called the electric company back and found out that it was ACTUALLY their problem from the beginning. I kind of felt a little bad that they went and replaced the system but at the same time, if it had been taken care of the right way from the beginning, that might not have happened.

So, now our house is up for sale. The landlords don't want to mess with it anymore and they want out from under it. So, we've got to find an aparment or another house to go to. We don't have the BEST relationship with them because of all of this stuff. But, we know that God's favor is with us and that He'll put us in just the right place.

The other thing that happened this week was that our car broke down. So, we're also shopping for a new one. My father in law is helping with that some and hopefully in the next day or two we'll have a new car. Well, new to us anyway.

But you know what? To God be the glory! I know that we are going through this stuff so that God can come out victorious. We are tithers and seeders in our church. God will take care of us. His Word says so! God never promised us that we wouldn't have trials. But He did say that when we had trials, He would be there with us in the midst of them. And I'm counting on Him for that! He always does what He says He will do!

Pregnant! Warning: Graphic Discussion About Peeing On Sticks

I still can hardly believe it.

For those of you who wonder about due dates, I'm not 100% sure. According to the websites I've checked, I'm due December 17. But I don't know that I ovulated when you would during a normal cycle. I was in the ER a month ago with some throat issues and before they did a chest x ray, they did a pregnancy test (pee test) and it was negative. So, I'm not sure how pregnant I really am. I'm sure they will do an ultrasound soon and I'll know more then.

I bought the test on a whim last night. I had gone to the doctor (regular medical) for some breathing issues and she gave me some prescriptions. I walked across the street to Rite Aid to get them filled and wandered around the store. I wandered to the pregnancy tests. These were my thoughts:

"Man, this is day 51 of my cycle. I've never had such a LONG cycle. Something isn't right."

"If I buy a test, Craig is going to kill me."

"How many of these tests have I bought and taken only to find that they're negative? I'm just setting myself up for disappointment."

But, in the end, I put it in with my prescriptions. I went home and had to pee so bad by the time I got home it wasn't funny! Haha. I went straight upstairs and did the test. The "test" window had a line in it before it even got to the "control" window. I couldn't believe it. I glanced at it as I was cleaning up and thought, "No way!" There it was, plain as day! I have waited so long to see that positive test!

When Craig got home, I had him sit down. He looked a little panicked. I just kind of looked at him with this big smile on my face and said, "I'm pregnant." He said, "What? No way." I showed him the test and the instructions on how to read the test. He started crying and hugged me.

This morning, I said, "You know, you already think you're the man...now you REALLY think you're the man, don't you?"

He said, "Yeah, well...I'm pretty impressed with myself." Haha

But, and this cannot go without being said, God gets all the glory. I was on Clomid for five months with no pregnancy. I asked God to bless me with a baby this year and He told me that He would. What God says He will do, HE WILL DO! There is no doubt about that in my mind. God is good and He is all-powerful and He is moved by our faith!!

I'm so thankful and so in awe right now. And it's an honor and a pleasure to share it with you all!

RIP Henry The Octopus

Henry the Octopus suffered a painful and agonizing death this morning at the hands...er...paws of Gizmo of Corning, NY.

Henry was a loved member of the Colwell household. He joined the family circa June, 2003 as Matthew's beloved Wiggles Octopus friend. Tragedy struck this morning at approximately 9:04 am when Henry was overtaken by one, Gizmo, species: Canine. Gizmo is a one year old lhasa-apso/american eskimo canine who has been with the Colwell family since April of 2008. Henry was abruptly struck in the back several times by the canine's large nose before being picked up by one of his eight limbs. Gizmo then carried Henry to the rug in the daycare room and proceeded to chew. Unfortunately, Henry's screams were not heard by the remainder of the family due to the fact that he was, in fact, a toy.

Ultimately, Henry met his end when Gizmo tore one of his eight legs off and threw it across the room. She then began to remove the beads that made up the stuffing inside the toy octopus. Henry continued to scream, but again, he was a toy.

The burial took place in the Colwell family garbage can. Services will take place today, January 13, 2009 and will consist of people looking at Henry and shaking their heads as they continue to pour food, waste and paper products down upon his head, thereby, burying him in the garbage.

His remains were sucked up off the carpet by the Colwell family vacuum. The Colwell family wishes to extend many thanks to the vacuum for it's quick recovery of Henry's remains.

The vacuum was unavailable for comment.