The Tales of Country Living...

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Don has only been gone for approximately two weeks, but I have definitely had quite the few weeks!

The pool guy came to open the pool up, which I was quite excited for!

However, never having a pool in the past, I am totally unfamiliar with how to take care of one!

I didn’t realize there were so many chemicals that you could possibly add…

Chlorine tablets…

Shock…

Pool Chlorine Stabilizer…

pH Minus….

And I assume there is also a pH Plus…

Algaecide…

Test strips…to make sure you have the right amount of chemicals in the pool at the same time…

And then there is learning how to connect the vacuum…

Run the pump…

Which all went over my head, so my question to the pool guy was…just tell me…”What do I have to do before my husband gets back in town to keep it clean and useable??”

I don’t think he really knew how to respond to that question?

Feeling a little overwhelmed with it all, as I headed to bed that night, thinking tomorrow was a new day!

But not before I noticed ants in the master bathroom…

Not just a few…but several!

Remember…this is the lady who wants everything clean and immaculate!

Remembering that I had seen a can of ant killer in the garage…I quickly grabbed it and started zapping those little pests!

A trip to Farm-N-Fleet the following day found me purchasing little ant bait traps!

Whew!  Problem solved!

So that evening, I decided I would try out the new riding lawn mower (which Don showed me how to operate right before he left out of town)!

After two laps around the yard, I noticed that the mower had stopped cutting!

I turned the mower off to see what happened (like I would really know)…and then decided just to start the mower up again….but unfortunately, the crazy thing wouldn’t start!

I called the young man who had previously mowed the yard.  He noticed that a belt had broken, and he helped me push it back into the garage.

He recommended that I call Up-N-Running Lawn repair, which picked the mower up last Friday morning and will hopefully have it repaired this week!

As I continue to assist my husband while he is away, I have been stopping by the storage unit and picking up a few boxes on my way home from work each day, thinking it would be less for him to do when he arrives home!

I loaded a couple of totes and one heavy game into the back of the car!

Unfortunately, by the time I got home, I had completely forgotten that the heavy game was leaning against the back door of our Tahoe…so when I opened the door…you got it…the heavy game fell on top of my right foot!

It hurt terribly!

But I didn’t cry because I was so surprised at how quickly the area began to swell up!

I have never broken a bone and was wondering if that was possibly my first break!

After waiting for a few moments, I put pressure on my right foot.  It hurt…but wasn’t unbearable…so I was hoping that was a good sign.

I continued to watch it the rest of the evening and decided to have one of our Millikin Nursing staff check it the next morning!

She recommended that I have it X-rayed that day!

Fortunately, my favorite son-in-law (Andrew) stopped by my office and when he saw my foot, he immediately called his uncle…Dr. Potts…who is a foot doctor.

They got me in immediately for an X-ray!

Unfortunately, my foot was too swollen to confirm if it was fractured or not, so the doctor placed me in this adorable shoe, which I will be wearing for the next few weeks!

I am to stay off my foot as much as possible (not easy for this girl who likes to be up and active)!  And I am to keep it elevated and iced as often as I can!

It’s going to be a long few weeks!

Though it is has been a tough week…I am counting my blessings!

My son-in-law stopped in at the perfect time and made sure I got an appointment with his uncle.

The same morning…dear friends started a text thread of amazing pictures of God’s masterpiece!

They didn’t know what I had been dealing with or what a blessing those pictures were to me on that particular morning!

God is so faithful!

And I was quickly reminded of what Psalm 105:1-8 says:

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

Regardless of what we are walking through, we should give praise to the Lord!

Share what HE has done in our lives!  Tell of all of his wonderful acts!

We need to remember to look to the Lord and His strength…seek His face always!

Though it has been a trying week…God has been with me…and will continue to be with me in the days ahead!

The trials or difficulties that I have encountered are so minor to what many are facing or dealing with today!

So, I’m thankful for a God who loves me…who is with me…and who will never leave or forsake me!

And when I look to him…when I rest in Him…when I allow Him to wrap his arms around me…I can sense is presence and peace…

And I am reminded of this scripture…And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus….Philippians 4:7.

Dear Heavenly Father…thank you for your presence and peace!  Thank you for being with us each moment…help us to look to you…and to trust you in all situations!  And help us to praise your Holy, Holy Name…sharing all of the marvelous things you are doing in our lives!