God's sprinkler system

If you haven't figured it out by now, I believe in God.

I also believe in sprinkler systems.

Do you believe that God cares about sprinkler systems? I do.

Over the last 4 days I have embarked on a journey to the center of the earth. OK it was only 18 inches, but it seemed like it was deeper to my office-job-weakened-muscles. This was my time to resurrect something from the dead - my sprinkler system.

It was dealt a lethal blow by the excavators last fall. I knew then that I would lose my system if I didn't do something so I severed the one zone I thought would be affected. I failed to remember that there was a feeder line AND electrical lines between my two valve boxes. I was enlightened to that fact when I saw extra line and electrical lines in the grips of the back hoe.

I was dreading this project most of the winter because I thought I would have to call in professionals.

As I was digging the 18 inch by 100 foot trench this last week, I ran into a number of "coincidences" or "good luck" or "fortunate" events.

-First my 5 year-old accidentally found the wire from the first valve box. He was helping me dig the trench and simply stumbled on it. It saved me about 40 feet of digging plus any time looking for the hidden wire.

-Second I found a broken zone that I did not know about. I would have eventually found this, but the fact that it was right in the trench I dug was an amazing find.

-Third, I found the end of a zone I knew had taken a hit, but planned to leave it unconnected. Since I found it, it was easy to reconnect.

-Fourth, when I connected what I thought was the supply line, it turned out to be the disconnected zone. Guess where the supply line was pouring out? Yep right in my trench! So I swapped the connections and had the supply line up and running.

-Fifth, I found the second set of wires with little effort. I was a little concerned that I had the wrong wire when a portion of that wire went down almost to China. It went straight down for a LONG way - likely due to being caught in the back hoe. After digging down the depth of a long shovel, I gave up and simply used the line I had found. It turned out to be the right wire.

So these five things combined with the fact that I was able to reconnect the electrical lines and the water lines with no MAJOR hassles was such an exciting endeavor that I really had to consider whether God himself was helping me. I rarely if ever have projects get completed without some major issues. This was beyond anything I expected.

He doesn't promise us that life will be easy. But He does promise us that He will be with us and that He will take care of us.

The Bible tells us that He has the hairs on our heads numbered. So if He counts hair, He can certainly help with sprinkler systems. I KNOW He did with mine.

RSVP

When I was a kid, I made up the words for RSVP - Respond Soon Very Please. Of course the grammer is slightly askew, but hey it worked for me.

Over the years we have encountered a number of people who do NOT respond, not soon, and not at all. People forget, get busy, or simply don't care and as a result don't respond to you. In recent weeks this has intensified as we've had no less than 5 encounters where people have not responded to us.

It starts when I leave a message saying "please call me." It gets a little more specific when I say "please let me know your decision." And finally I've even said, "Please call me either way so I know your status."

A majority of these encounters are with young people who have interviewed with us. They indicated a desire to work with our daughter, but then fail to follow through. Most simply do not call back at all. Others state that they will call, but don't.

So what have we instilled in this generation that makes them think that they can hide behind their cell phones and text messages? Have we forgotten to teach them common courtesy? After all, even if you don't want the job how hard is it to say to someone, "I've decided not to accept the position." It's not as if the prospective employer is your best friend, you haven't even worked for them yet.

I know that each generation tends to complain about what the next generation is lacking. Well this is my complaint - the current 18-25 somethings are lacking in the "courtesy gene." Perhaps they never had it passed on to them, or perhaps it's not a gene after all, but an environmental issue - their parents never taught them. Either way, it's annoying.

Of course with every problem, you should offer a solution or you're simply part of the problem. So my solution is this:

With each interview, I now charge a $5 interviewing fee. Yep that's right, if you want to talk with me about a job it costs you a five spot. This will be refunded if you return my calls AND return for your first shift. If you don't call me then hey I just got myself a free gallon of gas for my trouble - but that's a subject for another post.

Thank you - 6

Progress continues with work on sheetrock! We're getting close now! A number of BIG 'Thank yous' are due. Here they are:

Jon and Joe at Riverview Home Improvement for their contribution with the siding.

Men from Constance: Lee, Mike, Ken, Rob, Chuck and of course Jeff for their time hoisting, cutting, and hanging sheetrock.

Just to be silly, I'm thanking myself for time spent working on the sheetrock. Not that I need the thanks, I'm just curious to see how closely you're reading :) Plus I'm very excited to be able to do something that I can handle!

Insidulation

I'll be you've never heard the title of today's post before. Of course you haven't since I just made it up. It's a word to capture the work that's been accomplished the last two days.

On Monday just before 7 am, the siders were here ready to go. Just before 8 am the insulator was ready to primp and fluff the place. It's just amazing to me what gets done when people are professionals in their trade. Things that would take me forever (if I could even do it), take them only minutes or hours.

The tricky part comes when I the homeowner need to make decisions, but I don't really know the answers. I end up getting a little concerned because I don't have the expertise. It seems to work out best if I get options from the professionals, weigh them out and then make an educated guess. So far it's working.

By afternoon the insulator was done and the inspector signed off!

By the end of the day the only thing left for the siders was the back. They had to piece our existing house together with what we had torn off last fall. They did an awesome job!

Another Day in the Life

Have you ever stopped and captured your day? I'm frequently amazed at what happens in one 24 hour period. Not that this second "Day in the Life" post will be terribly exciting, but it gives me a chance to capture a single day.

5:45 am Rise and shine

6:00 am Get Josh up

6:20 am Get Victoria up

6:45 am Start waking middle-schoolers, the little boys just get up by default.  Today the siding crew begins to show up.  There will be a big change today!

7:05 am High Schoolers out the door, boy it's STILL cold!

7:06 am Get middle-schoolers breakfast.  Start answering questions from the siders.  They need to know how our platform will come out away from the house.  Call to my project leader for clarification.  Talk more with the siders on where to put the "hangers" for the platform.

7:45 am Insulator shows up. Now we get work on the inside AND the outside.

8:00 am Middle-schoolers on the bus, everyone else ready to leave

8:15 am Answer questions from the insulator

8:30 am Catch up on messages, emails left, schedule appointments

9:00 am Discuss questions about addition with Jeff

9:30 am Get some work started

11:30 am Finish morning work, get a quick lunch

1:00 pm Call client. Phone training

2:15 pm Finish a "crisis" with a co-worker

2:30 pm High schoolers home

3:15 pm Take middle-schoolers to bowling

3:30 pm Set up middle-schoolers at bowling alley

3:45pm Pick-up meds at pharmacy

3:50 pm Pick-up mower at hardware store

4:30 pm Watch Josh's adapted softball game. Take pictures. Talk with parents.

6:00 pm Head home, Mustangs lost :(

6:15 pm Arrive home, Laura leaves with Timmy for Awana

7:00 pm Homework with Vicki

7:30 pm Start bedtime routine

8:00 pm Put kids to bed, Laura goes to get Timmy.

8:30 pm Finish up work projects that couldn't be completed during the day.

10:00 pm Last email, turn computer off, watch a little hockey.

Amazing What a day! Filled to the brim with meetings, appointments, messages and even some sports. I've begun to realize of late that if it weren't for the kids I have, there would be MANY things that I would not have the opportunity and privilege to experience.

Thank you - 5

Progress continues with the addition of a furnace and duct work. A number of BIG 'Thank yous' are due. Here they are:

Tim Yeager and Northern Heating and Air Conditioning for their contribution with the furnace.

Dave Klein for his huge contribution of duct work and time.

Steve Ruzicka of L & R Building Supply in Ham Lake for his contribution on the windows.

Frank and Giuseppe Garruzzo for their cash contribution

Mel and Margaret Price for their cash contribution

Athlete of the Week!

As if the championship didn't burst my buttons enough, we received a call from Josh's coach on Monday stating that he would be a Star Tribune athlete of the week! WOW!

In the last week, he's been a part of a team that won the state championship, been on KSTP Sports Wrap, been in the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press and now this!

What else can I say, but I'm proud of him!

Check it out here (never mind that they say he's a senior).