Up, Down, All Around, Like a Roller Coaster...

Up, Down, All Around, Like a Roller Coaster. Remember that song by the Partridge Family, or was I the only one that had that album? Either way that's how it feels around here. We are excited to have the work started on our house (up) but I have strep throat and Aidan came home sick (down) And they are really going to town tearing down all the things our builder doesn't feel are appropriate to build on (all around). The "all around" is happy that we will have a structurally sound home but frustrated that Allstate didn't agree to it in the first place - ugh



Here are some pictures of the back of the house (you can see where stucco was removed to reveal more fire damage)

Oh I forgot to explain the first picture is of the 2nd story floor, or should I say, where it used to be. Our further frustration with Allstate has to do with our premium. Just when I came to terms with the fact that there is no way around continuing to pay our full premium on our structure (which is about 25% there) and full contents (which we no longer have) they sent us a letter stating they have increased it! So now we have to pay more to insure stuff that we don't even have! "Like a roller coaster, keeps going faster...."

But I am choosing to follow the example of a friend who is doing a JOY experiment and have decided to make today a good day remembering to "rejoice and be glad in the day the Lord has made" Psalm 118:24 - my translation. No singing with a sore throat though ;)

We're so excited!

Big news for the Reynolds'...Alyssa got her braces off AND they have officially started "construction" on our house. The quotation marks are a formality because before they can actually construct, they need to de-construct a little more. But either way, there is a fence up, a port-a-potty on site, and guys making noise with tools! We were beginning to think it would never happen but, alas, never say never!

Good News/Bad News

Wow two posts in two days. I'm excited to have an actual update this time!

I'll lead with the bad so I can end on a positive note...we got a letter from Allstate today indicating that after reviewing our information, now a second time, they are declining our request to have our cost of living re-reimbursement. They do not feel there have been any unreasonable delays. Mind you our fire was 8 months ago and we've been fighting with them this whole time! Don't fret, we are taking more steps, steps we were hoping to avoid but they really leave us with no choice.

Ok, now for the good news....drum roll please...our plans our out of the city! Woo Hoo!!! Fencing will go up next week and construction will finally begin. It feels so good to actually say that.

8 Months and Counting

Today marks 8months since our fire. I was hoping to have news of construction beginning but I don't :( and I didn't even take the time to find out why. My attitude has shifted from a position of questioning' "why not, how much longer?" to "I'm not surprised" Perhaps it's weather (did I mention it's raining, so much for all the mold being dried away) or perhaps it's other life circumstances that are contributing to my mood but I am beginning to move from eager expectation to dread of the coming months.

Yesterday I was in Target and saw some Nutcrackers on an end cap. My stomach dropped. We had quite a Nutcracker collection that was started by my now deceased grandfather when Aidan was a baby. Sure, I know how many we had and could certainly go to a store and buy the same amount in about the same sizes but one of my highlights of decorating for the holiday's was pulling them out, reminiscing about when we got each one, who had given it to us or why we purchased it. So, sure, they can be repurchased, but they can never be replaced. I know that isn't what Christmas is supposed to be about but I still feel it's a loss worth mourning and I worry the many other precious Christmas items that burned will be as well. Is that what I have to look forward to, months of mourning - ick!

I keep thinking I need to have a look at Job (the person/book, not the noun) I think of all he lost and how God replaced it; "blessing the latter part of his life even more than the first". Perhaps that will make me feel more encouraged...it certainly can't hurt.

"So what's going on with your house?"

That seems to be the most commonly asked question these days, with "are you just about ready to move back in?" a close second. Makes sense since we are reconnecting with so many people these days what with school, etc. starting up again. The answer in short is that about the only thing that is going on at our house is the Red Tag (declaring our home unsafe) is fading to pink - there's a photo for ya and if you scroll down to my Feb. photo album you can see see the tag used to be the same color as the tape holding up.

Yup, I'm sorry to say that now, 7 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days after our house burned down, we are still waiting to start construction. Here is a photo of what it looks like today, not much different from how it looked in April, dumpster and Porta-potty gone but still only 1/2 a house (less actually) The good news is that (to quote my April 10th post) Our Sunday Is Coming! We are waiting on some final permits from the city and once those are complete, construction the fence will go up, the pool will be tarped, and construction will start.

In the mean time we still have some fighting to do with Allstate with regards to our contents list and living expenses so keep praying for us, we sure need it! We are tired and weary but we're hangin in.