Happy 15th Birthday Annika!

Well, it is here and official.  Annika turned 15 today!  That means that she can get her driver's permit (just as soon as I pay $400 and enroll her in driver's ed classes!).  I can hardly believe that she is 15, but then again I also keep finding it strange that I also have a son old enough to legally purchase alcohol! 

Josh and Kirsten came home to help her celebrate.  It is a long weekend of festivities.  Last night we had the friend birthday party--big success.  Such a nice group of girls.  We took them out to dinner and they were all so appreciative.  They even each offered to pay for their own!  It was interesting to me how these girls were so concerned about us buying them dinner, they asked what their price limit was and everything!  I don't think I have ever had that before!  Tonight is our family dinner out.  Then Sunday will be the extended family lunch/dinner.  Are you getting the birthday theme?? Food and lots of it!

So Happy 15th Birthday Annika!  You are growing into such a wonderfully confident young lady.  Your sense of humor continues to develop and we LOVE.IT.  Oh and congratulations on getting in the high school musical too!!  We can't wait!!

We Love You!!

Challenge: The List

Currently I am attempting to read “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. I say attempting because I find it difficult to carve out time to sit and read. Historically, my reading time has generally been at bedtime, but these days by the time I get there, I don’t last very long and I am usually drawn to my nightstand’s stack of decorating, cooking and sewing magazines FIRST before I pick up a book. So, I am attempting to read “One Thousand Gifts”. This book is not the type of book that I generally pick out to read. However, I made a commitment to read the book and gather weekly with a group of women to discuss a chapter at a time. I must be brutally honest that while Voskamp writes beautifully and eloquently, her writing style is COMPLETELY lost on me. The message of the book, however, is not.

The subtitle of “One Thousand Gifts” is ‘A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are’. This sub-title is what hooked me. For the last several years Dean and I have felt in many ways that our lives are ‘on hold’. Plans to go full time on the mission field, derailed. Attempts to sell our home, derailed. Quest for good health, derailed. Search for more time to spend on the things we enjoy, derailed. It feels that we are always waiting for something to start a chain of events where our real life can start. Frustrations with work, family, health, church, finances always seem to drain the energy and make us yearn for a fresh start. A Do-Over.

This year we prayed for God’s leading and direction. If He wanted us to move, he would allow our house to sell, our debts to be paid, and a new path to be dictated. Our self-imposed deadline was the first part of September. Well September came and went, and with September came a new health (and financial) challenge. We pulled the For Sale sign down and realized, again, that God has other things in mind for us right now.

So, moving on. ‘A Dare to Life Fully Right Where You Are’. I will give it a try. I picked up the book and I started to read. By Chapter 3 I was hooked. Again, remember, I have to fight through the verbose to connect with the message, but I am connecting with the message. I relate to the author’s feelings of disappointment, sadness and restlessness. Her quest for T.I.M.E. Then, she stumbles onto something, being thankful and it changes her, for the better.

A friend challenges Ann to begin making a list of 1,000 things to be thankful for. She discovers that once you have identified those things, however small, give THANKS for them. Each of those things are a blessing, a way that God shows you how he loves you. A gift to you, to remind you, that you are special. By giving thanks, we set the tone for amazing things to happen. At first the concept of list-making can be a little difficult to grasp. I think in today’s world, we are always in the bigger is better mode. We forget to recognize those tiny things throughout our day that can make us smile. In the book, Ann starts her list and shares many of the examples. As you read her list beginnings you see how retraining the eye to not overlook things as simple as the colors of soap bubbles can enable you to find joy in their beauty. The chubby hands of a small child. The smell of fresh buttered toast. The first sip of your morning latte’. All of these things that can and do bring warmth to your soul.

Earlier this week, a friend was struggling to put a bad mood behind her. I suggested to her to try to recognize throughout her day all those things that may bring a flash of smile to her face. When she felt the smile, write down the cause and give thanks! Then, continue to add to it. See how fast you can get to 1,000 things. Once you open your eyes, it can change, EVERYTHING.

So I challenge you (along with Ann Voskamp), to grab a small notebook and start recording. As you record, don’t forget to give thanks.

A few of mine for today:

* A warm shower.

* The quiet of the house, a chance to breathe.

* A smiling picture posted on Facebook.

* A fresh, warm cheesy goodness piece of pizza.

* A quick lunch with my best friend and husband.

* Bright red fall leaves set against the clear blue sky.

Another day

The last few weeks have been the usual. Work, church, meetings, appointments, work. I find I am having a very difficult time keeping track of what day it is. Maybe I need to start putting a big ‘X’ on the calendar at the end of each day. Part of the usual routine the ongoing adjustment to living with (finally diagnosed) rheumatoid arthritis. I fully acknowledge and appreciate that to some it might not sound like any big deal, but to me I find that mentally it is a big deal. While I am thankful for a diagnosis and a course of treatment, I find myself frustrated with several aspects of the whole bizness.

I don’t think that most people have any real idea what rheumatoid arthritis is. R.A. is not the same as osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder and is characterized as being wear and tear on a joint. We get older, we experience stiffness and less mobility, especially in those areas where we might have suffered an earlier injury. By the time you are 70, almost everyone has experienced some sort of osteoarthritis. As we age, the cartilage wears down and you get more areas where bone rubs on bone. While this is not pleasant, it is a natural part of aging, often see at a younger age in people that are very active in sports and/or exercise.

R.A. is very different. R.A. is an autoimmune disorder where your body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. It can strike at any age. The cause is unknown. It is a long term disease that causes inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissue. R.A. can affect almost every part of your body including your lungs, heart, and eyes. It causes fatigue as well as severe pain and decreased mobility. It is not something that can be ‘cured’. So if someone ever tells you that they have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, it isn’t helpful to them for you to compare it to the arthritis you have in the knee you hurt when you were in high school. While I can appreciate that your knee is stiff and painful, it is not the same as what I (and others who have RA) experience on a daily basis.

Every morning when I wake up (and this is after I have been awakened several times during the night because of pain in my joints and the need to shift into a more comfortable position), the first few seconds of consciousness I feel great. Then my sensory function kicks in and I ache and hurt everywhere. I shift my leg and my pain shoots through my right knee (the one that doesn’t seem to want to bend the way I need it to whenever I go down stairs). I move my foot and again pain shoots through every joint, up my leg. Then I move my arms. A ring of pain encircles my elbows as I try to straighten out my arms. I lay there for a long while, not wanting to move. Finally, I force myself to sit up and I swing my legs over the bed. I stand, putting weight on my feet and the joints that have been worn and thinned by a combination of a deformity in the bone formation-- weakened by the significant amount of fluid surrounding each joint that slowly has eroded the bone density of the joint. This is how my mornings go. I hobble around until slowly the joints begin to warm and loosen. It is not just in the waking moments of each day. If I sit for too long (for me I find as little as 20 minutes in a stationary position can do it), I find that most of my joints seize and I have to go through the warming up process all over again.

I describe all of this to give a little glimpse of what it is like for me. I do not share in an attempt to garner sympathy, but instead to offer information.  Again, I am thankful for a diagnosis where my doctor is now working to find something that will work well for me. While we cannot undo the damage that has already been caused, we can find treatment that will (hopefully) help prevent further erosion and will reduce some of the symptoms. The first round of drugs did not go well for me. I could not tolerate the drugs used to treat cancer. My skin peeled, I had excruciating headaches not to mention an attack on my digestive tract. We have since moved on to what are termed as ‘biologics’. To me that is just a silly term that describes VERY expensive medicine that is not on my insurance carrier’s drug formulary. Imagine my surprise when I was told that the medicine I needed would cost $1950 a month and that the insurance company was only willing to be half of that cost. To say I was stoked doesn’t adequately cover it. So, I picked up my first month’s supply, crossed my fingers and hoped that it would work. After 2 weeks I don’t feel much different but I can tell that the obscene swelling in my feet has gone down to the point that I can squeeze my feet back into my Danskos (which is a good thing because I have several pairs and I really don’t think I can afford to pay for the medicine AND buy new shoes!). We have learned about a program that the drug manufacturer offers that helps pay the uncovered costs of the medicine. Hopefully it will help in a significant way.

With the diagnosis comes other realizations. As I have said, my new medication routine involves very expensive medicine that needs to be refrigerated. As that new part of my life sunk in, I realized that this may greatly affect our desire to live in parts unknown some day. We had hoped and planned that after Annika graduated from high school, we could finally start our ‘second career’ working for a mission-related organization in some foreign assignment. Now we are not sure how this will all factor in. I feel that there may be some more change in mindset in that plan.

The other realization, surgery. Two weeks ago I was told that I will need surgery on both feet. I have deformities in both feet that only surgery can correct. The RA hasn’t caused the deformities, but it has exacerbated the deformity issues to the point that surgery is the only remedy to alleviate the pain that I constantly feel. The first surgery will be December 14. They tell me that I will need to wait at least 3 months, then I will have the second surgery. The surgeon tells me that it takes the average person 9 months before they are fully healed. So, I anticipate a fun year! Again, I am thankful for a treatment option, but I am a bit overwhelmed thinking spending the next several months hobbling around. Honestly though, I am not able to walk very much now, so what is another year?

(Almost) All Grown Up!

I can't get motivated to do much today.  Right now we are waiting for some friends to stop in and share a glass of wine (or a beer) and catch up on our lives.  We SO wish that these friends lived next door. Sadly they are only 40 minutes away, but we don't get to see each other near enough!  So while I am waiting for some of our favorite people to arrive, I thought I might do a little updating.

Today is one of those awesome crisp fall days.  I woke up this morning and it was foggy.  You know the kind of fog?  That fall fog where the air is just cold enough to cling to the spider webs.  Usually I see all those webs outside and I feel the urge to go and sweep them all away, but this morning, I just peered out and looked at all the intricate designs that our spider friends had made.  Then I crawled back in bed for a little more sleep.  The rest of the day has been like that.  Nap a little, run the Saturday errands, nap a little more.  I feel guilty, but then Dean keeps reminding me that my body needs a little rest.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind.  We successfully moved Josh and Kirsten to Seattle Pacific University.  I can't believe they have already finished their first 2 weeks of classes!  Josh is loving his campus housing pick this year.  He is living on the main floor of a university owned house with 3 other guys.  The place is a college senior's dream.  In the middle of campus (directly across the street from Kirsten's dorm!), HUGE living room and dining room (perfect for having lots of people over to hang out), 3 bedrooms, basic kitchen and large picture windows that let the light flood in.  Oh and the view out the windows isn't so bad either.   Oh and he can even park in the house's driveway, another bonus!  I can hardly believe that he is a senior!  That's right, he will GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE this coming May.  I still can't get used to the fact that I have a child that can legally purchase beer!  When I was his age, I was married, owned a house and was thinking about having him!  He is managing to work at Gwinn and keep up with a busy class load.  Last week he told us he was spending 2-3 hours A DAY working on his French for class.  His dedication to learning is inspiring to me.

I wonder if Kirsten has managed to keep her bed made and her half of the room this clean.

Kirsten has definitely adapted to college life.  I love to stalk her Facebook page so that I can see all the fun she is having.  She survived her first biology test this week.  She tells me it was hard, but she got through it.  Oh how I wish that I had her same confidence when I was 18.  She amazes me!  She is taking Biology, Chemistry, Calculus and then another 'USEM' class.  She and her roommate seem to be getting along very well so we are thankful for that.  We were thankful when we helped her unpack and set up her dorm room and she was able to fit everything in.  For a child to go from having a 12 foot walk-in closet to a small dorm room armoire, we were a little concerned, but she did it!  And she had a little room to spare!  People have asked us if it is weird to send the second one off to college--if we were sad.  Honestly, we can answer 'no' to that question.  We definitely miss having her around on a daily basis, but when we finally arrived at moving to college day and we saw her absolute joy and excitement over moving into this next stage of life, how could we be sad? 

Kirsten and some of her new college friends--how can you not smile when you look at these girls?

While moving into this phase where we have 2 kids in college has been a wide range of emotions, probably the biggest joy we have had the last 2 weeks is seeing how well Annika is doing with this change.  All year we have been a little geared up in anticipation of how these big changes were going to be weathered.  First, she started high school.  Guess what?  SHE.LOVES.IT.  Her classes are going well, she is confident in several friendships, and she greets each school day WITHOUT DREAD.  Then, we had to go through the 'my brother AND my sister are going away to college' step.  Again, we have been overwhelmed with thanksgiving at how that transition has gone.  I think we are almost ready to say that the tens of thousands of dollars we have spent on her care and therapy the last 7 years have all been well spent and all worth it.  Almost.  Ask me when we are done paying off our last loan!  In all seriousness, Dean and I have spent a lot of time talking about it lately.  We have come to the consensus that for the first time in 7 years, we can honestly say that Annika and her 'issues' are the least of our concerns these days.  There was a time when we didn't know if we would ever be able to say that.  It is pretty amazing.

Yup, I think I like this stage of parenting.  Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.

Speaking of why I haven't blogged lately...

I know that I have been a very, very bad blogger lately. I apologize for the two of you that still read this! My life has gotten a little off balanced again lately. I’m trying to ‘right the ship’, but I have not been very successful at it. I will try to correct some of that now.

Over a year ago I made the very difficult decision to cut WAY back at work (down to 1/day/week). I LOVED that decision. After a few years of very difficult times, I needed the rest. I didn’t need the huge hole it left in my checkbook, but I needed the rest. Unfortunately it was a short lived period of time. In January of this year, I took a second part-time job (15 hrs/week). It was a job I knew I would be good at and I thought I was ready for the challenge. Turns out, I wasn’t.

Since January I have found myself increasingly exhausted and cranky. Of course it doesn’t help that this new job, where I work with people I truly enjoy and respect and admire, has exposed me to some very painful experiences. I took this job because: a) I was asked to apply, b) I felt that there was a tremendous need that I could fill and that would fulfill me and c) I was anticipating a more positive work environment. Now, 9+ months later, I know that I made a huge mistake. I am at a point where I can again barely get out of bed in the morning (other reasons for that I will detail later) and I have been left feeling very disillusioned and disheartened. I still LOVE the people that I work with and I enjoy the actual ‘work’ that I do. My pain has come in watching the antics (for lack of a better word) of those outside our office(s) which antics affect those that are IN our office(s). My pain has come in watching people that I work with, and care deeply for, be hurt and disparaged and slandered. I know that I will get in trouble and cause more harm than good to detail the antics here, and I don’t want to do that. I guess, bottom line, I’m tired. I’m tired of defending, explaining, and reasoning. I’m tired of trying to figure out the motivation behind others’ actions. I’m tired of trying to understand how some people can be so hurt that they lash out and try to destroy another. I’m tired.

To add to that little circle in my life, are several other circles that all seem to overlap. The first job that I struggled to finally cut WAY back on?? Well, my replacement turned out to be a disaster. No, disaster doesn’t fully cover it. She was ALMOST as bad as the receptionist we had once that didn’t know what the ‘little numbers’ on the stamps meant. Uh huh–I canNOT make that one up. So, after a year of repeating the same basic instructions over and over and over, Bossman decided he had endured enough and he showed her the door. Of course, the fallout has to fall in my direction–right?? So I get sucked RIGHT back into the black hole. Because I have the other part-time job which occupies 3 days/week, I am only available 2 days/week. So while a year ago I was able to start taking care of myself, and was limited to only 1 day/week work commitment, I am now committed 5 days/week and frankly I think I should BE committed.

I know that most people work 5 days/week. To you, I applaud you and I salute you with my utmost sincerity and respect. However, for me, I am weak and tired and I am not equipped at this point in my life to navigate through two jobs that commit me 5 days/week. AGAIN, I feel it should be repeated that I should BE committed. We are trying to sell the house which requires keeping it in pristine condition. EPIC FAIL on this count. We have two kids leaving for college next week–after MONTHS I still have been unable to finish Kirsten’s quilt and I am in a complete panic as to whether or not I will in fact complete it on time! I still have to shop and plan meals and cook for a houseful of people that seem to always be hungry! I have to navigate through a series of doctor appointments, shrink appointments, orthodontist appointments, church meetings, and never ending family issues. Oh and did I mention that I was diagnosed last week with Rheumatoid Arthritis? Oh, I forgot that one?

Yup, 5 years ago, I was first referred to a rheumatologist with arthritis symptoms. The Doc decided that I didn’t seem bad enough so he sent me on my way. Since that time I have had a progressively long list of ailments that have plagued me. Over the years the pain has increased and my joint mobility has decreased. I have been told ‘you are getting older’ one too many times by my primary care physician as an explanation for symptoms that didn’t seem right to me. My feet (which have suffered the most) have degenerated to the point that walking any distance is a struggle. Soooooooo, after a MRI showed signs of rheumatoid arthritis in my feet, including what appears to be some joint damage (I get to see a surgeon on that one), I was directed back to the rheumatologist, who reviewed my records and pronounced me afflicted. He gave me a scrip for weekly injections of a powerful drug often used to treat cancer patients, printed out a long and scary list of side effect possibilities, and sent me on my way.

And this, my friends, summarizes why I haven’t been very good at blogging lately....

Why did you believe THAT?

I have a Facebook friend that likes to post things just to get a reaction out of people. I’m convinced that the more inflammatory the potential of the post is, the more he likes it. I know my friend is a political conservative. I respect his right to have whatever political view he wants...after all that is what our country is about. However, I sometimes shake my head about the things he chooses to post and my perception that he BELIEVES this stuff. Usually I let it go, but the other day he had posted a link that was just SO over the top that I found myself commenting, and now I find myself blogging.

He posted the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6ok5ykyuQ&feature=share .  I don’t think I can do it justice, so you really should watch it first. However, if you aren’t able to view it, I will summarize it this way: A guy is driving thru the Tacoma Housing Authority’s Salishan project. As he drives thru filming the various buildings, streets, cars, he talks nonstop about how this entire project was built for ‘illegal immigrants’ with ‘$225 Million of social security money’ (he keeps emphasizing the amount of money in a really obnoxious way). He rants about how beautiful the project is, how it is constructed without concern of cost, how the ‘illegal immigrants’ and ‘foreigners’ get to live in this project for free and how they each receive $2,642 a month in social security money even though they are ‘illegal immigrants’. He repeats over and over and over again how the project is built for ‘illegal immigrants’. He rails about the ‘foreigners’ that live there. He even lists them as ‘Koreans, Chinese, orientals’. Uh huh, he used ‘orientals’ as a proper term.

Now in my humble opinion, the guy that made the video is a pompous, blowbag bigot that has a lot of hatred towards anyone who wasn’t born in this country. Furthermore, he spouts about how the government programs work, but he is slightly off (as in COMPLETELY OFF HIS ROCKER) in his rant. As I watched the video, my reaction was one of unbelief that this guy could spout lie after exaggerated lie about the Salishan project and how the government was building this project for ‘illegal immigrants’. Judging by the other comments to my friend’s post, I was (somewhat) alone in my unbelief of this guy’s rhetoric. PEOPLE WERE BELIEVING THE CONTENT OF THE VIDEO. I couldn’t believe it and it made me question ‘WHY DID YOU BELIEVE THAT?’.

Like I said, the video piqued my interest. I had recently read an article about World War II era housing authority projects in the Puget Sound region and their need to be revitalized and/or rebuilt. Salishan had been included in this article. Salishan is a Tacoma Housing Authority project that was originally built after World War II. They have been rebuilding and upgrading it for years. It is a MIXED use project, meaning that the project consists of low income AND market rate owners. PLUS there is a lot of commercial space in this project that is either rented for market rate, or sold, so that it helps to underwrite the cost of maintenance and infrastructure. I have no doubt that there is controversy about the Salishan project. Any large project would be subject to intense scrutiny. I have not spent the time researching everything that has been said/written about the project. My information comes from a few articles and the Tacoma Housing Authority's own website which details the various 'neighborhoods' and tenants within the project.  This a project that was started BEFORE THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. However, this little fact didn’t stop someone from posting: That is absolute BS! After seeing this, I don't know how anyone can vote for a democrat and their entitlement programs (see example above)! No wonder why we have so many illegal immigrants if thats the kind of good life the government provides. Its also the reason why our country is BROKE!

Again, I asked myself ‘HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?’. The author of the comment is a smart young man, how could he watch the video and not see the hatred and mistruths that this man was spewing? How could he not want to check things out for himself and verify if these unbelievable statements were true or not. Why was he so determined to believe it at face value? 

I could go on and on about everything in the video that made me gasp. Even if the rhetoric the man was spewing was true, how can people forget that, for most of us, OUR ANCESTORS were immigrants to this country...granted the programs of today for immigrants weren't there in those days, but today's immigrants face a whole host of problems (just like we do) that didn't exist then either. Why is there so much hatred and mistrust of those that immigrate to our country?  When did that happen?  I understand that a staggering amount of money has been spent on public housing, and in particular this project.  I understand that Mixed Economic Use projects like this one are expensive, but the theory is that this type of housing model proves a better project in the long run to have BOTH low income AND middle-upper income in the same neighborhood, but to attract the mid-upper, you have to have it built and looking nice. After all, public perception is such that no one wants low income in THEIR backyard.  Right?

Another one of my problems with this video (besides the apparent distaste this man has for ‘foreigners’ and people of low income) is that it implies that ALL THE HOUSING UNITS were built for 'illegal immigrants'. That is NOT true.  How could you believe this was true?  There is a wide range of housing units in the Salishan project, everything from a Baptist Assisted Living/Retirement facility to privately owned medical clinics to Habitat For Humanity homes, to market rate rentals. The actual number of true subsidized low income units is small in the overall scheme. Furthermore, no part of the project was built for ‘illegal immigrants’ (seriously can you imagine the Housing Authority planning meeting??  'Yup, let's design and build a project for illegal immigrants.  I am sure no one will mind, the government will give us plenty of money for that so long as we make it ONLY for illegal immigrants').   First, this guy is confusing undocumented workers (aka ‘illegal immigrants’) with those that qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as a ‘qualified alien’ under the Federal Government guidelines (which again were NOT WRITTEN DURING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, but which have existed for many, many years). A ‘qualified alien’  is someone who has IS IN THIS COUNTRY LEGALLY and generally is one who has previously either sought asylum or is a qualified refugee (as deemed by several specific factors). Only after you are determined to be a ‘qualified alien’ (again, which you can only be deemed if you have entered our country legally and are properly documented) can you then be considered for receiving SSI. It is a lengthy process that is not granted easily. Income and asset restrictions still apply. Bottom line, if you are an ‘illegal immigrant’ you CANNOT QUALIFY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY OR SSI. Another little factoid that seems to have escaped the video’s narrator, SSI is NOT FUNDED by Social Security dollars. While SSI is a Social Security program, it is not funded by Social Security monies that come out of our paychecks. It is funded by general tax revenue. Some may not see the distinction, but there IS a distinction. Another interesting fact, there are many ‘illegal immigrants’ that pay into Social Security but which will never collect Social Security.  That's right, I am acknowledging that there are illegal immigrants in this country that are WORKING.  Shocking I know. (denote sarcasm here).

Regardless of how others may feel about immigration or low income issues, or what political party you align yourself with most, I always struggle with the social justice issues i.e., housing assistance, food stamps, WIC, SSI (again which is a program that was established and exists to provide supplemental income to disabled folks who have little to no income and assets) and other like programs. I go rounds with myself wondering what is required of us as a nation that (in spite of its current economic woes) has been blessed with an (over)abundance. Even more personally as a follower of Christ, I can never quite shake the direction in Luke 12:48: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."   I know, I know, there are some that say this doesn't apply to what I am talking about.  Some say that this is taken out of context.  Personally, I don't want to make that call that it 'doesn't apply' to my life.  I understand and acknowledge that from a fiscally conservative view social justice issues don't pencil out very well, but is that the only thing we should focus on???

For me, I hope that I continue to check into the background of statements that I hear that shock me and seem unbelievable.  I have found that in today's political arena and mass media environment, there is a lot of slant and embellishment going on to try to scare people one way or the other.   I try to not take too much at face value, especially if it seems a little shocking.  I also hope that others would do the same.

Garage Sale

So today we did it. We had a garage sale. On some levels I hate this sort of thing and on others, I.LOVE.IT.

We went thru the house last weekend with a very brutal eye. I dug thru cupboards and closets, purging those items that I knew I could easily do without. The result?? 6 tables full of items that we no longer need (oh and several other items that were not ‘tabled’ but which were laid out for people to grab). Kirsten was gracious enough to use her week off to organize items into categories. On Friday night I was able to whisk thru and price. Whew! I was done by 9 pm Friday and ready to go Saturday morning first thing.

Things I HATE about garage sales. First, the people that show up BEFORE you say you open and hang out while you are getting your bearings. We had 2 of those this morning. (Neighbors NEVER count in this...I always LOVE neighbors that show up to support, coffee cup in hand, a roll of dollar bills shoved in their pockets). No, I am referring to the professional garage sale shopper that shows up AT LEAST 15 minutes before you start and perches themselves on your utility marker and says ‘you ARE having a sale today right?’. Yes we are you hag, just give me a minute to haul my tables out and get my own darn cup of coffee before I haggle with you over whether or not I will sell you my children’s favorite games for 10 cents! For a sale that consisted of items marked in 25 cent increments, we did well. By the end of the sale hours, 3/4 of the ‘crap’ was gone and I had a respectable amount of bills in my make-shift cash box. We easily boxed the remains, pulled the tags off, and dropped the items off at the thrift store.

The day was eventful. I am never one that likes to use the phrase ‘it was a God thing’ because it sounds so superficial, but we experienced a true ‘God’ moment. About 3/4 of the way thru our sale, a mother and her two sons showed up. It was at a quiet moment (did I mention the weather was glorious today–blue sky and sun?? I have a tan face with eyeglass imprint to prove it!) where Dean, Annika and I were alone with our customers of the moment. The mom was looking thru the table of girls’ clothes, when she held up one of my girls’ tank tops to her two sons an said ‘this is the size your sister is now’. I found it a rather odd statement, but didn’t think TOO much of it. Then the woman turned to me and said ‘their sister is in a residential treatment center boarding school’. I.COULDN’T BELIEVE.IT.

‘Really?, where?’. I asked

‘Utah’.

‘Oh, where in Utah?’ I said

‘Salt Lake, Eva Carlston’.

I think my heart skipped a beat. This past week, was the first time in my life I had even heard of Eva Carlston Treatment Center outside of Salt Lake. HOW I heard of Eva Carlston is a modern day miracle. Thru the specialized literary genre which is blogging, I had new comments posted on my blog entry about Uinta (the residential treatment center where Annika was at in 2009). The most recent comments had informed me that Annika’s counselor at Uinta, Sue Hoffman, was now at Eva Carlston RTC. Now, I was sitting in my driveway, manning my garage sale, when this woman informed me that her 12 year old daughter was at Eva Carlston.

Whah??? I could not believe my ears. I responded to this woman....

‘Oh Eva Carlston, where Kristi Ragsdale and Sue Hoffman are?’.

The woman stopped cold and looked at me....

Long story short, we struck up a conversation about residential treatment centers, living thru the nightmare which is placing your child in such a place, and how it affects all family members involved. We hope to meet this week for coffee and share more.

So tonight I am blessed that our house is a little emptier, my wallet is a little more padded AND we were brought together with another family that is experiencing the same nightmare that we went thru 2 years ago. Ok, I realize that sounds weird. My point is that we have just met a family, in our community, that can relate on ALL levels to what we went thru and perhaps we can give them a listening ear AND an infusion of hope as they go thru the enormous struggle that we went thru 2 years ago. I just heard from my fellow ‘parent in circumstance’... she ‘friended’ me on Facebook. We hope to get together this week and talk more.

So as I have said before,

God is good, ALL the time.