Dolly Left Us Our Annual Gift

We have a black snake that lives under the sidewalk right outside our front door.  We've only seen it a few times in the 4 years we've lived here, and we've left it alone to help take care of the numerous lizards and frogs that live out front.  The kids have named it "Dolly" - which is so funny because they didn't know that Dolly was my mom's nickname (her brother's called her that) and she HATED reptiles!   I only tolerate it because I know it's harmless.  As long as it never comes in our house - it's safe.

We came home today to find that Dolly had been exploring our flower garden and left us our annual gift.  He is now 4 ft long.  Ugh!!!

Anne wanted in on the photo too!  :-)

Home Repairs - Painful Yet Necesary

A good foundation is very important.  It's crucial.  Ask any builder.  If your foundation is bad, everything becomes unsafe and eventually falls apart.  So often, we get in a hurry with things and don't think about the foundation it is built upon.  We want instant results.  Get in, get out, get it over with and move on.  And what may seem like a good thing, is slowly eroding underneath. We had a personal reminder in our lives this past week as we began to work on our shed.

When we bought our house, the garage had been converted into a Home School Classroom for the previous owners Autistic son.  Because they lost the garage for storage, they put a shed on the side of the house.  We live in a flood zone, so our house is built on a fairly steep hill and the shed had to be built on a platform and leveled off.  Unfortunately, they did not take the time to build a proper foundation.  We discovered this last summer when Jarod was in the shed getting out his bike.  His foot went right through the floor and his leg was all scratched up! Water had been getting into the shed and settling on the wood floor, which eventually caused the floor to give way.

Easter weekend, Marc and Russ began to take things apart.  Only to find more wood rot and damage. They had not used pressure treated wood so everything underneath was weak.  When you come around the corner and see the shed, at first glance it looked fine!  But as they got inside and started moving things - boy!  Did they find a mess!  And a few critters who had gotten in and decided to take up residence!  UGH!!!

 As you can see from this photo - the shed itself was in good condition.  As a matter a fact - we discovered that it hadn't even been attached to the foundation!  It was just sitting there!  Marc and Russ were able to just pick it up and move it off.  We are lucky that a big wind didn't blow it away!

Funny thing about foundations - they don't always just affect the building that's on them - but they affect others around them as well.  Because this foundation was build poorly, the water eroded the ground underneath.  Which began to take the dirt from around our house with it.  We discovered that we only had about 6 inches of dirt next to the foundation of our house.  The water was creating a big hole that would eventually have taken the dirt from under our home.

Filling in the hole

The guys were able to rebuild the foundation and use the original shed.  But not without taking everything apart and starting over.  What a pain!  If it had been done properly the first time, this would not have happened.  It really caused me to stop and think about life.

How many times do we get in a hurry and do things half way, just to get by and get it done?  We think that it won't hurt anyone, but it does.  Maybe not until years later but it hurts the people that come behind us, it hurts the people around us.  It affects lots of people.  Buildings that are not built on a proper foundation collapse - they can no longer serve their purpose. They are more of a hindrance than a help.  And what an eye sore!  Marriages that are not built on a proper foundation struggle and can eventually fall apart as well, taking children and others down with them.  Businesses, friendships, churches - so many things can fall into this category. 

 The new foundation

Putting the shed back on

Sealing it to keep the water out

The finished product all high and dry!

What does your foundation look like?  Maybe it's being hidden by an okay looking building on the outside - but what is really happening on the inside?  What in you life do you need to tear down in order to build it back up properly?  Your faith, your marriage, a relationship?  It will be a painful and possibly an expensive process but it will be worth it.  For everyone! When there is a solid foundation - it will hold anything that comes it's way.  I challenge you today to begin making repairs.

The ultimate foundation of course, is Jesus Christ.  If our lives, our marriages, our relationships are built with Him being the foundation - nothing can shake it.  He doesn't crumble under the weight of life.  So many things hit us in life - good and bad.  Life and death.  Health and sickness.  But He is there to hold the weight, bring us comfort and get us through those times.  Not only surviving but shining on the other side!

Easter 2010

We had a busy weekend.  On Friday, Russ and I worked all day in our front yard.  Tearing out all the old, dead stuff from winter and planting new flowers.  It looks so much better!  On Saturday, Marc and Russ began the demolition and re-build for the foundation on our shed.  And of course, yesterday was Easter.  We spent the morning at church and then the rest of the day with Russell's family.  I thought I would share a few pictures.

Coloring Eggs on Saturday night.

 Enjoying their Easter Baskets!  This year they each got a new Beach Towel.

Easter morning

Smelling the newly planted Daisies.

The Franklin's

At Nana and Papa's for lunch

Corrie - helping hunt for eggs

Jarod is so good with her - he let her have his basket.

Finding more eggs