You know how it says in James 4:13- Listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Hey, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow! Well, we did not heed that verse. You see, Randy & I and the kids spent most of the 6 hours driving home from Disneyland talking about what we would do the next day... and about all the plans we had for the upcoming Holidays.
And then we came home to this... and all those plans went down the drain... well, so to speak. We were shocked. It was so creepy & horrifying to walk in and see this. Can you imagine! Well, within a half-hour a crew from a company that Randy found online came to our rescue... removing the water and the carpet and area rug and leaving us with several high-powered fans. Talk about the ultimate white noise while attempting to sleep. I don't think I slept but 2 hours that night after the crew left around midnight. I just couldn't shut my brain off. The house just reeked of water-soaked pressed board & wood.
The next morning the guys returned to begin tearing out the water damaged walls and all the built-ins. They needed to treat the walls for mold & mildew. Man oh man, what a mess. I had no idea how damaging water can be. All I could think of was the effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, when they were literally shoveling sludge and mud out of their homes after the waters subsided. This was nothing compared to that.
Randy was so sad to see them tear out the window bench seat that he built specifically for the "church village" and his beloved boyhood train that he & Miranda set up each Christmas. I will miss the massive storage underneath for all my quilts, blankets and pillows.
We have now experienced all 4 ways that water can reek havoc in your home-
~ Randy had left on a 2 week concert tour back when we didn't have cell phones. Randy had no more than pulled out of the driveway when the backyard sprinkler system burst, flooding the backyard & patio. I ran next door and my neighbor showed me how to shut off the main water valve.
~ a couple years ago I came home from Bible Study mere moments after the washing machine hose had burst and the water was about to flood the sunken living room. Had I decided to go to lunch with a friend... it surely would have.
~ a year ago on Thanksgiving Eve, with a house full of family visiting from Oklahoma City, the water heater floods the garage. Randy had to replace the water heater that night, so we could take showers and do dishes the next day.
~ and last weekend the water filtration system blows under the kitchen sink and floods our home during our 3 day Disneyland trip.
I'd like to think we're done. At least I'm praying we are!
Lessons learned from the flood of '09-
~ ALWAYS turn off the main water valve when you leave your home overnight.
~ Teach everyone in your home how to turn off the main water valve.
~ Water filtration systems are notorious for bursting like ours did, says our homeowners insurance man.
So, don't get all weirded out if I get in-your-face, I mean in-your-blog, when you post that you're going out of town and I comment in capital letters "DID YOU TURN OFF YOUR MAIN WATER VALVE?" It has become my new mantra. Something good has to come from this.
Seriously though, this is nothing. I mean, really, it's nothing. I know there are some of you that would give anything to experience the inconvenience of water damage over the inconvenience of weekly chemo treatments. I know that some of you would take a flooded home over losing your home because of the poor economy. And I am so sorry. Cuz that's a big deal. This isn't.
Anyway, I will keep you posted as this all unfolds. Nothing of any value was damaged. It's all just stuff. Used stuff. I don't buy new. And nothing of sentimental value was damaged, except for the Polar Express book, cassette & bell set that I got the kids when they were little.
Oh my gosh, I forgot the best part... because our sunken living room holds a TON of water, the bedrooms, Randy's office and my craft room were spared!! It would have surely flooded the whole house had we not had a big sunken room to hold most of the water. The kitchen, dining room and the sunken living room were the only rooms that flooded. We were SOOO grateful cuz it could have been so much worse. God is so good. Thank you Lord!
11 comments:
Oh dear Linda! What a mess. Thank God for guys who can come late at night to extract water, and who do their job well to make sure no mold can grow.
I'd be sad to see the built-ins come out too. But I bet once you & Randy are done fixing & re-doing and all that, it will look awesomely awesome.
Oh I am so sorry! What a mess. Can you have the window seat rebuilt?
When hubs gets up, I am asking where the main water valve is....I have no idea!
I have to tell you once my uncle and his wife left for Hawaii. While gone for 2 weeks their refrig died....It took them MONTHS to get the smell out of the house. It was horrible.
Such little things we take for granted....hope all is going well.
Oh Linda, what a mess! Can Randy rebuild the window seat? So glad it didn't get into your craft room!
Once before we were married, Quin left on a deployment for a LONG time and the upstairs toilet in his apartment leaked through the ceiling to the downstairs. It leaked for a long, long time before anyone found it. The aftermath was horrible--mold growing a foot up the walls! I've never seen anything like it!
Wow! What a huge lesson. I think I know where our main water valve is. I will double-check with my husband today. Was that a rug on the floor that was ruined?
Is everything back to "normal" now?
Hugs,
Karen
Ladybug Creek
Hi there,
I saw you comment over at 4RE so popper over to say Hi.
I'm sorry to hear about your flood. What a rubbish thing to come back to after a fab holiday.
The church village in your picture is so so cute - I love it. I hope you manage to find somewhere just as great for it this year.
Good luck with all the work sorting it out. I'm glad nothing of great value to you was damaged too.
Jade
Linda,
You are such a beautiful person with such a wonderful spirit. I'm so, so sorry this happened, but what a precious gift for us to hear your grateful heart through all of it. Thanks for posting the pictures. But I know it probably doesn't come close to the real thing without the smell.
I bet that creative, amazing husband of yours can build you an even better place for your sweet church village.
But oh my gosh, now I'm in a bit of a panic! Greg is gone for a little longer in the Middle East---and I'm not absolutely positive about WHERE THE MAIN WATER VALVE IS! Praying our filtration system will be fine for a little longer.
Miss you!
Stephanie
Wow! That was a LOT of water! And it's a bit unnerving to see the kids standing in inches of water with those wires hanging out of the wall. What a crazy night that must have been.
I'm not sure we've ever had a flood (or I've blocked it from my memory) but the aftermath of the 94 earthquake wasn't much fun.
I hope you're spending your time dreaming of what you'll put in to replace the old stuff because hopefully the insurance company will pay for it and it will be even more beautiful than it was before. I know the process isn't much fun to go thru though, especially during the holidays.
I'll be praying for your creativity to make things look lovely during the season. I know you'll make it all great!
What a bummer and what an end to a perfect weekend. I love your perspectives at the end. You know how to roll with the punches and it's encouraging.
By the way, check out Ree's post about the Walmart signing in Little Rock. And check out this gals blog post for (finally) a great photo of Marlboro Man. http://momto5minnies.blogspot.com/2009/11/momto5minnies-meets-pioneer-woman.html
It's fun being a PW groupie!
OH MAN!!!! We've NEVER turned off our main water valve - - - but you are CONVINCING me that we SHOULD!!!
Hi Linda,
Got your reply-comment. I thought I was sending you a link to a woman's blog who got a photo of Marlboro Man. I remembered how we talked at the book signing that it's was interesting how all the photos of MM on the blog and in the book seem to hide his face. We thought that was kind of cool but also left us curious for a good look at his face. The last blog link Ree lists in her Wal-Mart post is by a woman who got a great shot of him and solved the mystery of what he really looks like - other than the photo in the cookbook...which, frankly is kind of scary to me! I think Ree must love it though because I've seen it a number of times.
Oh Linda...that's just a mess you'd rather not have to deal with! But you're right, you were just blessed that you have that big ol' sunken living room and it didn't get to alot of the other rooms! We've not had internal water damage **knock on wood** but more than once we've had the hose in our swamp cooler break and wake up to a waterfall coming off the roof! I have since learned where the water valve is for the swamp! Lessons learned in this way are the lessons remembered! : ) Take care!
Post a Comment