This is not the post I had intended on…

What I had intended to post today was a great little run down of our new years fun at the relative’s place in Wisconsin.  I have tons of pictures and recipes to share.  I wanted to show you the “Snow Pops” we made.  I intended to do that today.  Instead I am posting an update to our situation.

We came home to a cold house.  We discovered that the boiler that heats our home had finally taken its last breath.  The –30 degree weather stole into the house quickly and froze most of the pipes.  We were able to use space heaters to temporarily get water moving and shut off.  After it rained in the kitchen, that is.  The pipes that were the worst were right above the kitchen, exactly where we had unloaded our suitcases, presents and bags.  Most of the gifts were salvaged, only slightly wet.  My suitcase, with my husband’s and my things in it was filled with water, so I had to wring everything out and pack it in a plastic bag to wash somewhere else.  We took everything we could back out to the van to stay with relatives.  We contained the water, got a plumber out to tell us he wouldn’t touch it, and shut the water off.

Because we live in a little town, the local plumbing/heating guys are not equipped to tackle this type of boiler work.  Our electric boiler still works, so I called the electric company to switch it to our main source of heat (right now it’s off-peak, meaning it only comes of certain hours of the day).  Now, we will switch temporarily over to the electric heat and decide what type of heating we want to install for the future.  Until we get it all installed, we’ll probably be at our relative’s home.

I am not freaking out.  I am fairly calm.  I’m probably calm enough for someone to misinterpret as not understanding the situation.  Believe me, I understand fully, but freaking out will not help the kids.  What they know is that the heater is broken and in the mean time they get to stay at their cousin’s and miss a few days of school.  Score!

The bad:

• no more boiler
• frozen pipes
• water on the main floor (not that much)
• cold house
• living temporarily at in-laws
• Husband JUST quit his job
• this is the coldest it’s been here all season
• (and, um, limited internet…hello coffee shops!)

The good:

• insurance will cover most of the damage, but we probably will be paying for the new heater
• nothing is beyond repair, except the boiler
• my sister-in-law and family rock and were willing to take us in on short notice
• I’ve had friends call to let us know we’re welcome there as well
• Hubby’s job will let him take more hours after his official “quit” date
• our kids are adaptable and easy going, they aren’t even stressed out a bit
• our Lord provides for us even in the worst of circumstances and that’s probably why I’m not freaking
• we have some savings, we were planning on replacing the heating system, just were hoping for spring first
• every day should get better from here, right?