Squirreling Around Town with a 7 Month Old Baby

Monday, March 11, 13

Ah! Monday morning!  Here comes another week full of playing and learning.  Maddie and I are looking forward to it, even though we will be stuck in the house due to our broken car, but I’ll get to that.

First, I want to just give a short overview of the past couple of weeks.  Two weekends ago, we had a very nice Saturday together as a family.  Mr. handyman, Phil, woke up early on Saturday morning and took the oven apart.  An hour later, Ta Da! He had fixed our igniter and the oven now lights on the first try.  I was very excited about this since I have had an especially frustrating couple of baking sessions in which my bread didn’t seem to be baking properly.  It turns out that it was because the oven was trying to light, but the igniter was not properly aligned, meaning: no fire and no heat.  Ah.  That would explain why my bread was nothing but dough.  The rest of the day, we spent shopping and running errands.  As boring and mundane as it sounds, it was nice to just spend the day together.  

7 months old already!?!? (and still wearing her size 0-3 month outfit)

Sunday was really nice, too.  We went to church in the morning and in the evening spent some time over at our friends’ (Laura and Paul) new house.  They had just bought a house in Elgin in October and have spent the past few months fixing it up.  You wouldn’t believe the work they have done so far.  Their house is just beautiful and we were so impressed with all of the improvements that they described to us. 

Better than seeing the tour of their house, though, was dinner and chatting together.  Laura made a delicious lasagna and salad and we gathered around the table to the sounds of their 18 month old repeating the word “hobo” (something I apparently taught him…whoops!) and just getting to know each other.  We then retired (haha.  I had to use that word.  I am such a nerd) around their fireplace while Laura played some beautiful music on the piano to try to calm our screaming little Maddie down.  The only time when Maddie seemed completely at ease, though was when Laura was holding her.  I think Maddie could sense her motherly, loving touch. 

Daddy and Maddie playing and looking in the mirror

After a while, we gave up tying to get Maddie to sleep and just switched off holding her.  The rest of the night was so nice.  We made s’mores (I may have eaten more than one) and shared embarrassing stories with one another.  We laughed so much! Paul took the crown with his “adventures in singing lessons” story.  So hilarious!!! We left their house feeling filled not only with yummy food but taking a little of their kindness, hospitality and wisdom with us that they are so eager to share.  What a fun night!

The rest of the week was normal.  Maddie and I took our usual daily outings, I had small group on Wednesday night and I got to catch up with my friend, Pretty, on Friday.  Pretty and I went to this new frozen yogurt place in Streamwood.  Um….YUM! This place was incredible.  The yogurt itself was amazing, but they had every topping under the sun, too.

When I got home Friday night, Phil and I thawed the leftover puff pastry that I had made the previous week and we made homemade hot pockets with ham and cheese.  They turned out delicious and the pastry actually puffed this time around.  Maybe because the oven works now?

Hot Pockets! 

That brings us to Sunday, since Saturday was pretty uneventful.  Well, we went to church again and then spent most of the day indoors and out of the rain.  I made bread (and failed.  The loaf just didn’t rise properly this time) and at around 5, Phil, Maddie and I loaded ourselves into the car to take a drive to Walmart.  Well, we couldn’t get it to start! Phil opened the hood to see what was wrong and exclaimed, “What the heck?!?!” Well, knowing that Phil is not exactly a mechanic, although he is a darn good plumber and oven repairman, I was surprised that he would be able to tell that something was wrong with the car from first glance.  I got out to see for myself and sure enough, there was something very wrong.  Apparently, a squirrel has taken residence in our engine. She bit through our wires and ate some of the insulation under the hood.  Oh my goodness.  L Well, the car is completely undriveable and now we are just praying that Progressive will cover the repairs under our comprehensive insurance.  We have a $250 deductible, so that’s a bummer, but we will be so happy if that is all we have to pay. 

A nice, warm place to snuggle up.  This fabric on the hood should make a comfy nest, too. 

"Mmmmm. I love to eat engine wires. Delicious!" Said the squirrel

The Lord is using this situation to build me.  I can definitely see the changes in myself in the ways that I reacted to this situation.  Yes, I was very angry at first. I even started to blame the Kia dealership for the problem before realizing that it was damage caused by an animal (we had just gotten an oil change the day before).  But, after 10 or 15 minutes, I remembered that I have joy! While this circumstance is disappointing, I have greater joy in God and am so grateful for his patience with me as I navigated through my feelings. I am thankful for his mercy and forgiveness for the hatred that boiled up within me during this circumstance.  God’s word tells us to rejoice in all things and to be thankful in all circumstances and I am trying to live this way.  It felt so good when I decided to put those awful feelings aside and to trust that God would help us through.  He is in control!

Snoozing away in the church lobby

UPDATE: I spoke with the insurance company again and they are going to tow the car tomorrow.  It looks like the damage will be covered and we just have to pay our $250 deductible.  YAY! J