Cold but really good week!

It's April!  The calendar tells me so.  But our weather does not!  Last Monday was bitter, never got above freezing, and snow was swirling.  Overnight temps went down into the teens.  We were concerned that our Spring flowers would freeze and be ruined, but amazingly, after a few days of temps above freezing they are looking pretty good.  I guess they're hardy for a reason.

My posts have gotten somewhat out of chronological order.  A week ago I posted the story of Destiny and Alex finding their beautiful home and the pictures from moving in.  Then on Friday I posted the pictures from the week before they moved.  Now I'm posting about the first week after they moved.   

On Monday evening Dick and I went to Destiny and Alex's place so he could use his stud finder to hang their living room TV.   We were amazed at all the unpacking and organizing they had done that day!  Destiny always has Mondays off work, so that really worked out well.   She put up her favorite wall art that evening.  

With some help from Elizer and Alex, Dick got their TV hung.

I had fun playing with Elizer in his room.

On Tuesday I got a bit of re-organizing done here at home, including putting my house plants on the front window sills and the bench.  I imagined them saying, "WHAT??  We're allowed to sit here again??"  To be clear, I will gladly move them whenever Elizer comes to visit!

That evening we went to Destiny and Alex's place again so Dick could attach Destiny's heavy mirror to her dresser and hang a swivel mount for their bedroom TV.   Before we left for home he had a little blueberry snack with Elizer. 

I gave them a Willow Tree figurine I had gotten for them as a house warming gift.

On Wednesday I tried something new - the air fryer that Destiny had found for me on Marketplace!!  I made fried chicken for Anthony and Lori and COULD NOT believe how tender and delicious it was when I ate a piece of it!!!!  I decided that after I picked up Austin from school and took him and their food to their place I would go buy more chicken thighs and make some for us too.  

Turns out that Destiny had gotten off work early that day and was planning to go to Walmart for some groceries, so we agreed to meet there.  I had a prescription to pick up first, so I texted her that I would meet her in the grocery side of the store right after I picked up my prescription.  But as I was finishing paying for the prescription and turning to go, there were Destiny and Elizer.  He was sitting in the cart and saw me and said, "Gaum!!!!"  (That's what he calls me, haha!)  He leaned towards me for a kiss.  Oh my goodness!!  Melt my heart!!!

We shopped for groceries and other things she needed for the house, then we went our separate ways.  I told her I was running home to make some more fried chicken, then we'd bring some over for them.  There were still more little projects for Dick to do for them.

On Thursday evening I went to their place again to take some things, probably their laundry.   They do not have a washer and dryer yet, so I've been doing their laundry.  There is a closet in their kitchen with hookups for a stackable washer and dryer, but she has non-stackable ones, which we still have in their storage unit. 

They were having dinner in the living room when I got there.  

I had fun playing with Elizer in his room.  Of course he needed to wear my shoes!

On Friday morning I had a really important appointment with my hand surgeon.  In the last few months my left hand has become increasingly painful at night and extremely tingly when driving.  I recognized the symptoms as being the same as I had a year ago in my right hand.  A cortisone shot had given me temporary relief until I could have carpal tunnel release surgery in August.  I knew I needed the same thing now for my right hand.  But I honestly couldn't find the time to even think about calling for an appointment during my busy days.  I had only three hours of sleep last Sunday night because the pain was so bad.  I was here by myself on Monday for the first time in ages and calling for an appointment was at the top of the list.  

I was told that the first available appointment with my hand surgeon was May 3.  I said,  "I cannot possibly make it till then.  I need to be able to sleep."  Then I remembered we would be in Portland that first week of May.  I told him I just want to get a cortisone shot to hold me over till we get back from that trip.  He said they would call me back.  On Tuesday I got a call and they said the doctor had given them permission to add me in to his already double, sometimes triple-booked schedule.  We decided on Friday, April 1st at 9 am.  I told them I would be there at 9 and be willing to sit all day without complaining till the doctor would have time to fit me in.  

The rest of the nights last week became increasingly worse.  I searched for ways to be able to sleep without so much pain.  For a few weeks I had been sleeping on my side with my right arm hanging out over the edge, which had seemed to help.  But no more.  So I tried the suggestion of sleeping on my back with my right arm on a pillow, unbent.  (How do you stay like that while sleeping??)  For one night that seemed to help, but the second night I woke up with extremely intense pain and went out to the living room couch to try the next suggestion - sleeping sitting upright.  I slept there again Wednesday and Thursday nights, each night getting worse.  I was SO READY for that cortisone shot when I got there Friday morning!!  

I was called back soon after 9:00 and got that blessed shot!  I do still have tingling, but I have been able to sleep without pain each night since.  Hallelujah!!!!  

In case anyone is thinking I should try sleeping with a wrist brace, I DO!!  I have been sleeping with a brace on each wrist ever since I was having this issue with my left hand a year ago.  At some point in the next months I will need to figure out when I can do without my right hand for a week or two so I can have surgery.  

After my appointment I went home and made air fried pork chops and grilled veggies.  I packed the food into a cooler and headed back to the same orthopedic practice for Dick's appointment at 2:15.  

No wrist issues for him, but right leg issues.  In early February he had been checking his trail cams in Anthony and Lori's woods, slipped on the ice-covered snow and fell.  At first it didn't seem too bad and we expected him to be all better in a week.  Not so.  After a few weeks he developed a lot of calf swelling.  He's been doctoring for weeks now.  An x-ray, an ultrasound, an MRI, appointments with our primary physician, a regularly scheduled annual check-up with his oncologist, and finally an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.  They say he has a Baker's cyst behind his knee, but they don't think that is the cause of the pain and swelling.  I didn't have time to stay for his whole appointment because the doctor was running late, but he said he thinks it's muscle injury from his fall in February.  He supplied him with a new brace and scheduled another MRI in a few weeks.  Ugh!!  This might be ok for a 71-year-old man who was retired and could sit at home with his leg propped up all the time.  But that is not our situation.  If you think of him, please pray!  

When I left his appointment I picked Austin up from school and took him and their food to their place.   I had made enough of the pork chops and veggies for us too.  They were so delish!!  That evening we had a quiet evening at home alone.  It was my first day not seeing Elizer since they moved.  I already felt so out of touch, haha!!  

We watched Sophie's track meet.  Unfortunately, I had not remembered it until she had already run the 100, but we did get to watch her run the 200.  She set a new personal record as well as a new school record!!  

Saturday was a really good day!  Hunter came for the afternoon!  I had so much fun playing with him. 

Dick had fun playing with him too while I went to Walmart for some groceries.  When I came home he was cuddled up on Grandpa's lap with his iPad! 

In the evening we went to Destiny and Alex's place for their first cookout!  Sort of.  They have a charcoal grill and we made hot dogs on it and then ate inside.  It was too cold to eat outside.  

Anthony and Lori and Austin came too.  We had such a great time eating and hanging out there!  In addition to hot dogs we had macaroni salad, baked beans, chips, and no-bake peanut butter balls.  

The guys were in the living room.  I put Elizer's favorite YouTube videos on their TV and he stood on the coffee table dancing away with them.  I think there were at least seven different versions of Wheels on the Bus.  Occasionally he would turn around and pat Austin's hand. 

In the kitchen Lori and Destiny were having animated conversations about work. 

Of course Elizer had to have some Paw Paw time before we left.  It was a really good evening!!

Sunday was another really good day, although very cold and damp and windy.  After church we went out for brunch with Pastor Lynn and some other friends from church.  Again I forgot to take any pictures.  We had so much fun!

It was Austin's turn to come to our house!  Lori dropped him off mid afternoon.  Before long Destiny and Elizer stopped in after a grocery run.  Elizer had fallen asleep in the car, so she carried him in and gave him to Paw Paw.  That's where he slept for at least an hour or more!  Occasionally we heard some snoring, so I knew they were both sleeping.  

Meanwhile we pulled out our Scrabble board and Destiny, Austin, and I played Scrabble!  And we snacked on chocolates and pretzels and chips.  Doesn't get much better than that!!  It was really fun!  I did win.  I've been playing Scrabble all my life!

After Elizer woke up he and Austin played together and had the greatest time.  Austin was really, really good with him and it was so fun to watch.  He was disappointed when Destiny and Elizer left.

Later, when we were ready to take Austin home he remembered that he had wanted to make something for me.  He asked for my colored paper and he chose purple.  For about half an hour he sat there working on his creation. 

And there it is! 

Then we left to take him home, stopping for a few groceries along the way and some chicken tenders from KFC for Austin and for Hunter too.  

My heart was full!  Congratulations if you made it the whole way to the end of the terribly long post!!  I write it all down because I don't want to forget it.

Have a good week!

The week before the move

When I posted about Alex and Destiny finding and moving into their house (see my previous post) I actually missed about a week's worth of pictures, so I'm going to do a quick post of those.  It was actually the last week that Alex, Destiny, and Elizer were living in our house, so of course, mostly cute pictures of Elizer!

The first ones were taken on Monday, March 21.  Destiny had discovered the day before that she couldn't find the key to her lock on their storage unit.  So Monday evening we all went over there.  Dick ground the lock off and replaced it with one that he had.  It was a nice warm evening.  

 

Destiny made the most scrumptious dinner!  Chicken tostadas.  So yummy!!

Dick had given Elizer one of his old phones to play with.  He was delighted to find a picture of Paw Paw on it!

Wearing Paw Paw's hat!

One day that week he discovered an old air mattress pump under our bed and was dragging it all over the house.  I was amused when I found it in our shower later in the day!

We had warm days for taking walks that week.  Guess where Elizer always wanted to go?  To Paw Paw's tractor of course!

He was so excited to see a cat one day, but it ran away before he could touch it.

That evening when Paw Paw came home from work they sat on the front porch for a while.

This is his favorite page in The Runaway Bunny.  I always sing "Rockabye Baby" when we get to that page.

He wanted to rock with me even though we were sitting on the couch.  So we did.

My heart just melted the next day when I noticed him sitting with a baby showing her that very page in the book! 

Then he took her hand and started his little sing-song that starts with the R sound and they were rocking back and forth!!!

I took this picture last Saturday morning - moving day.  Wow, I miss him like crazy just looking at this picture.  Today was the first day that I didn't see him since they moved.  

That's all for this post.  Hopefully I'll post again this weekend and get caught up with this past week.

Destiny and Alex's housing story

Time to tell this awesome God story!  We moved Destiny and Alex into their new place this past weekend.   Now let me go back.  This story is going to have a lot more details than you may be interested in, but I want to write it all down for our memories. 

On Thursday, March 3rd, Destiny and Alex had a mandatory 9:00 am appointment with our county's housing authority.  They had applied months ago for low income housing and were told in early January that they were accepted.  In late February they got a letter saying they were at the top of the list and had to attend the mandatory appointment.  We naively thought that they would go to that appointment and be told that there was an apartment or house available for them.  Nope!  They were told that they qualify for Section 8 housing assistance, were given a huge list of apartment and townhome complexes, as well as realtors, and they would need to call these places to ask if they accept Section 8.  They were supposed to keep a log of all the calls and the results.  If they found an available place that accepted section 8 they would need to get the landlord to fill out papers that needed to be returned to the housing office by March 18 in order to be able to move into a place by May 1.     

Two things caused us distress right away.  Destiny and Alex would be in Lancaster some of the time before March 18, since we would be having Spring break and our Auntie Anne's store would be closed.  The May 1 move-in caused me stress.  Jeremy had gotten tickets for Dick and I to come to Portland over that time.  I did NOT want Destiny and Alex to have to move when we were away. 

Destiny got right to work calling places, almost all of which did not accept Section 8.  She needed to be at work at 12 noon, and when she left she was feeling really discouraged and overwhelmed.  

Friday morning she got up earlier than necessary and spent an hour calling places before leaving for work.   I felt so proud of her as I listened to her professional manner.  During the day at work she called other places.  There was one place that told her they have availability and they do accept Section 8 and encouraged her to come see it.  

Of course no one had office hours on the weekend, but on Monday morning (her day off) she really wanted to go see the place she had gotten encouragement from on Friday.  I went with her and stayed in the car.  It was a lovely little cluster of townhomes in a rural setting about 15 minutes from here.  When she came out to the car she said, "Well, that wasn't very encouraging after all.  They have one two-bedroom unit available, but they already have someone going through the vetting process for it.  And they have two more people on the waiting list."  Ugh.  

From there we drove to see a row home that was available through a realtor in the hilly town of Bellefonte.  She had called about this place also on Friday.  I felt discouraged when I saw the outside, but Destiny was trying to be positive.  We were driving back an ally to see the rear of the property when her phone rang.  It was the realtor telling her that they had already rented it out.  Then we were both feeling a bit discouraged.  She said, "I feel like it will be six months till we can ever get our own place."

We went to Walmart from there and were in the produce section when Destiny noticed she had missed a call.  She decided to call back even though she didn't know who it was from.  After a bit I could see her looking excited and she started jumping up and down and whispering, "Grandma, Grandma!!"  all while still talking on the phone.  When she hung up she said it was the lady from the townhome office where we had been earlier.   Apparently after Destiny left the office they had gotten a call from the person that was being vetted for the available unit.  They said they were no longer interested in it.  So the lady Destiny had talked with asked her boss who she should call next since they now had three more people interested.  The boss said, "Call all three and whichever one you get to talk with first gets the chance."  So she had called all three and left a voicemail message with each one.  Destiny was the first to call back!  

At 1:00 that day Alex and Destiny had an appointment there, and the process was begun.  They were so excited when they came home.  They said the lady was so nice and they had gotten to see the available unit and they loved it!  It would be available for move-in before May 1 if they would pay the entire rent until Section 8 would kick in on May 1.  Destiny knew that would not be a problem because she had been saving money each pay check for a deposit and first month's rent. They said that the lady would be calling me and Alex's dad, Destiny's boss, and her former landlord in Columbia for character references.  

Here are some pics she took that day and also a few from the internet. 

Later in the afternoon, as I was taking the food I had cooked over to Anthony and Lori's place, my phone rang.  I noticed it was a local number so I answered, assuming it would be the lady from that office.  I recognized the voice as the same one I had heard Destiny talking to when we were at Walmart. But I was not prepared for it to be someone I knew.  She told me her name, a woman who lives along Anthony and Lori's private road.  I said, "Ok, and why are you calling me?"  She said, "I am the landlord that Destiny and Alex met with today."  I practically screamed, "You are KIDDING!!!"  She said that when Destiny was filling out paperwork about where they now live, she noticed my name and thought,  "I know her!" But she did not let on at all that she knew Destiny's grandparents!  She said that some of the nice things Destiny said about us almost made her cry.  I told her that I have been so concerned about the possibility of them needing to move while we are out in Portland over May 1st.  I said that I had been praying, "Lord, please work it out, work it out!"  The lady said, "And look how He's working it out for you!"  

Imagine me telling that story to Lori when I got to their house a bit later.  We were both crying.

So that was not quite three weeks ago.  There has been a lot more paperwork and a lot of phone calls in the process, but on Friday morning (25th) Destiny and Alex had a 7:45 am appointment to sign the lease.  Then Destiny went to work a 12-hour shift at Auntie Anne's!

Destiny had to work an 8-hour shift on Saturday.  Alex, Dick, and I went to the storage unit and filled up Dick's pickup truck and my minivan with boxes and took them to the new house.  I was so happy to finally see the house in person!  Once unloaded we went back to the storage unit and filled both vehicles up again.  Later Dick picked up a U Haul truck, and Anthony helped Alex and Dick to load some furniture.  Destiny and a friend from work continued what I had started with unpacking kitchen stuff.  We ordered pizza for everyone.  Later in the evening Alex's dad arrived from Lancaster and the guys went for another load of furniture.  I had the job of keeping Elizer from climbing the stairs and getting into everything!

  

By the time Dick and I left for home we had the satisfaction of knowing that at least their bed was set up for them to sleep in!  We all were EXHAUSTED!!

On Sunday after church we went to their house again.  Destiny had already shopped for groceries and was starting to cook breakfast for everyone!  Alex,  his dad, and Dick went to load the U Haul truck one more time, and Anthony came to their house to help unload it.  

I took Elizer to our house for a nap.  As snug as a bug in a rug - for hours!  It was bitterly cold and windy outside! It never got above freezing all day long.  

Back to their house for the evening.  Alex's dad had headed back home, and Destiny and Alex were still plugging away at the unpacking and organizing.   I played with Elizer in his room while Dick installed safety gates at the bottom and top of the stairs.  

The view from Elizer's window.

No more monkeys falling down these stairs, haha!  

We ordered subs from Pizza Mia for our late dinner.

We were all even more exhausted than the evening before!  There is still so much unpacking and organizing to do, but Destiny and Alex had gotten the kitchen and living room looking pretty much like home by the time we left.  

Destiny has off work today again.  Dick and I will go to their place this evening so he can use his stud finder to hang the living room TV.  

This is going to be an adjustment for all of us.  They have lived here in our two-bedroom house for six months, certainly longer than any of us expected.  But we have all had grace for each other, and our love for each other is stronger than ever.  God has been so good and faithful to us!!  I'm thrilled for them to experience the goodness of God and answers to prayer!

"And all my life You have been faithful,
and all my life You have been so, so good!"