Our New Dining Room

On Monday we had a knock on our door. The maintenance guys told us they needed to check our place out to see if a leak on the neighbor's side was actually coming from our side. Well, sure enough it was--it was coming from our bathtub drains! I know there probably is never a convenient time or a time that I would voluntarily want to have this intrusion, but NOW was REALLY not a good time.

We live in tight quarters. What that means is that we have to use every available space for storage...so moving out our dining room is not as simple as moving a table and a few chairs. Oh! and I forgot to mention that just a few weeks ago we had already moved ALL the furniture/stuff out because they just laid the new floors? We had just gotten everything put back together!

Well, the guys came and jack-hammered our new floor up--only about a foot from the wall. They spent all day fixing the leak and left after they poured the cement back in. They told us that they would be back in a few days (once the cement dried) to finish putting it all back together. As he was walking out, he mumbled something about "unless there was another leak that pops up". Well, guess what popped up? Yesterday OUR side flooded. So now we had another mess on top of a mess. The guy came back out and made sure the water was shut off. He said he would be back today to get it all fixed.

So today they jack-hammered some more until the hole is as big as you see in the picture. I forgot to mention that they never sealed off the area, so all the dust and mold, etc. was blown up and into the air for us all to enjoy. By Monday evening--just a few hours of all the dust blowing--we were sick. Yesterday Niah had to skip volleyball practice because we are miserable.

I am ready for this to be over, but it will probably be about a month before we can stop eating in our living room. They are going to have to relay the floor which means at some point we will have to move EVERYTHING (not just the dinning room) back out again so they can redo the floors. The next few weeks will be challenging for sure. I guess I am in need of some more character building!

Isaiah the Whale

I'm not sure which came first....Isaiah's walking or his diving. Somehow Isaiah discovered that he LOVES to dive face first into our bed. He spends hours doing this. Of course we were concerned at first. I see the potential for injuries...but there really is no stopping him. He would stop temporarily--just until we left the room--then he would start back up again. Often times he likes to stack our pillows to create a platform in which to dive from. Isaiah also has a fascination for whales--his marine hero being the famous "Willie the Whale." It really is hilarious.

And about his spinal health...we make frequent trips to visit Uncle Alex for realignment. Technically, Alex is a chiropractor, but now I guess he also could be considered a marine veterinarian!

Volleyball and a Backpack

Since TJ is still "on vacation", we got to go to one of Niah's games together as a family. This is the first time that he has gotten to watch one of his kids play a game/sport. He has been waiting a LONG time for this day!

Niah has really enjoyed volleyball. I'm so glad that we found this league and her team. Her coach has been wonderful, which has helped to make volleyball and the twice-a-week practices enjoyable for the most part. I am also proud of Aliya, Kiahna, and Isaiah. They have been very supportive of Niah's activities. It's a big commitment that we all have made together, and I'm thankful that they have supported Niah in her new-found interest.

Niah was able to choose her favorite number *42* for her jersey. She was super excited about that! We cheered loudly for #42 and her team--The Outsyderz. Niah did a great job. We are very proud! We only have 3 more sets of games before tournament weekend.  The season is short and sweet, but well worth it!

The games last all day because they play several sets throughout the day. When the games were all said and done, we headed back home.

As we were heading into the house, I noticed that Isaiah was wearing his new birthday backpack that he got from his cousins Henry, Gwyneth, and Taya. On our way to Branson a few days ago, we stopped at their chiropractic office in Springdale for a little pit-stop. Betsy had brought the present for Isaiah just in case it worked out that we could swing by. Isaiah has loved that backpack--especially since it has his name on it!