Monday, January 13, 2014

Blessings and Struggles

This week has been full of ups and downs for the Sheffers. We, as always, are aware of how richly blessed we are. Life isn't perfect though, and we've had a few hiccups this last week too.

Upside - After cancelling all social plans for the last two weeks, we are both solidly on the mend and only have that last little bit of a cough to kick. Life in that realm has pretty much returned to normal.

Upside - Sarah has plans on the calendar for a weekend trip to Green Bay. She hasn't been able to get back there since the move last April, and she is really looking forward to seeing as many of the amazing people that we know there as is possible. Lynn will be joining for the trip, so it will be an easier drive and a chance for a girls' weekend.

Downside - Our dear sweet car Allie has decided to turn traitor. She has spent the week at the auto shop waiting for parts and an open repair slot, so we can have power steering again. Hopefully, repairs will be finished tomorrow, and she will start to behave more like a lady.

Upside - Sarah has had fun with various "science experiments" this last week, and none of them involved anything fuzzy in the back of the fridge. #1 the green onion roots have sprouted nicely just like the gardening website said that they would. They are scheduled to be transplanted into an actual pot for growing sometime in the next week. #2 we now know what pumpkin muffins look like when you forget to add the baking soda. At least it was only one of the 8 batches where it happened. #3 the "trick" for getting the whole wheat bread to rise to be sandwich bread instead of rather dense loaves has finally been found after many attempts. Double upside? We should be free and clear of the store bought stuff for now and be able to enjoy delicious homemade bread for all of our sandwich and toast needs.

Downside - Charlie has grown more frustrated with the scheduling at work. For a few weeks now, the majority of his shifts have been closing the store one night followed by opening the next morning. They have also continued to be rather lax about actually giving him his time off requests, and we are long past the retail holiday surge. Prayers for resolution would be greatly appreciated.

Upside - Work has finally begun on restoring the house in Green Bay (aka "The Barn"). It has required a lot of time on the phone with calls to insurance, mortgage, and contractor people (enough that the contractors recognize Sarah when she calls), but we are finally getting somewhere. Provided there are no more major delays, the repairs should be done early to mid March, and as soon as everything is complete, we have an offer for purchase. We are VERY excited at the prospect of finally being able to pay on only one residence.

Upside - With the holiday rush over and the bout with illness nearing completion, Sarah has finally been able to start getting into the routine of being home full time. This has brought a whole host of upside items, like: we no longer run the risk of being out of clean socks because we aren't both dog tired from working retail, we are enjoying more homemade meals and snacks and have had a significant decrease in the items that grow fuzz in the fridge because we have forgotten them, and we haven't run out of clean dishes in quite a while now. We are by no means one of those perfect houses that you see in a magazine, but at least it no longer looks like we could be on the next episode of COPS.

Overall, it's been a good week here, and we're ahead in the score card.

God Bless!

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