A week ago today I woke up and headed to the kitchen to fix breakfast. I immediately noticed a huge brown stain on the ceiling about 3 x 3 feet that was dripping. Then I looked over at the kitchen table and see that it is covered with water and is also leaking from the ceiling. Since it was it was dripping only in those two rooms and it happened to be above the two bathrooms, we were confident that a pipe froze and busted.
We turned off the water and waited 2 days for a plumber to arrive at our house- because all 20 that we called were snowed in and could not make it to our home. While we waited things only got worse. The kitchen ceiling fan began pouring water in a stream, the light fixture over the dining room starting streaming and room by room, water started dripping out the ceilings.
Here is what was weird... since we had no damage to the second floor, we could not figure out where the water was coming from.
The plumber came and tore a hole in the kitchen ceiling and confirmed that it was not a pipe. He said to call a roofer. We did and he suspected that we had "ice damming". We headed to the internet and after looking at pictures and seeing how the rooms were being effected we did indeed have ice damming.
Basically it is where solid ice prevents water (the snow that is melting) to run off your roof, in turn, forcing the water up under the shingles. The water was running down the walls and pooling on the first floor ceiling.
We called our insurance company and they had a restoration team come out and take a look at it. We decided to go ahead with the removal of the wet sheet rock and we were totally shocked.
Here is what we saw in every room wall and ceiling...
OUT ----> and OUT -----> and MORE OUT ----->
Then they began covering everything with tarps from top to bottom. This is our dining room.
Bathroom is covered.
Then they started tearing it out!
And MORE out...
This is our kitchen ceiling.
The dining room.
The living room wall and ceiling.
The foyer wall and ceiling.
The homeschooling wall and ceiling.
In the end, all rooms but two have either a wall or ceiling removed or parts of both.PART TWO
Some of you know of our raccoon saga. We found out when we moved in that we had raccoons living in our attic. We had them removed, but they left behind tons of damage to the insulation and piles of feces. We knew that we needed to have it all removed and replaced, but just couldn't jump because of the expense.
As the guys started tearing everything out, they noticed the soggy poo insulation and they had to stop. Raccoons carry a bacteria that can cause meningitis and even kill you. They are in the process now to come (in protective gear) and suck out all the old funk in the attic, remove the final ceilings, blow in new insulation, re-sheet rock, trim and paint every room.
Our insurance is covering most of this damage. It will not cover any roof damage as it a new roof and was installed to code. It will cover the removal of the insulation and putting new in, but not the sanitation. It will cover all the inside construction work. And the cherry on top for me, they will have the carpets cleaned when they leave the job. Hallelujah. All in all, after we pay our deductible, Adam and I feel that we have been very well taken care of by everyone involved and we can see God's provision and working all this restoration of our home for our good.
PART THREE
So where are we now??
We are at a hotel for a week. We could not stay in the home due to raccoon feces, fans blowing and other construction issues. Hopefully we will be home by this weekend or early next week. We are a few miles from home doing life as "normal". Like a little vacation where you don't have to wash your own towels, which I like very much.
We also have a mini-fridge and microwave that has helped us tremendously. Having juice, cereal, sandwiches and soup has been so wonderful. Hotel food was good for the first day here, but then your stomach pitches a fit along with your wallet. And steaming HOT showers back to back to back for all of us! This is quite a treat as our water heater is old and does not allow us this luxury.
The hotel we chose has a huge play pool area that we have visited every morning.
Even little non-swimmer has ventured into the water. Notice the 2' 9" on the side there. Good job babe. (Seriously, he does not know how to swim.)
Nehemiah likes it most of the time...
... but then little merman has to get out and get all warm and cozy.
I CANNOT believe that school has been canceled for 2 weeks straight! This never happened to me as a child and did not happen while teaching! I am shocked, really. Lucky for us we are carrying on as normal with homeschooling. A bit more relaxed because we are swimming and hangin' at a hotel, but still our school work gives Beautiful and Avi Joy some purpose in the afternoon while brother sleeps. Here she is trying to read her comprehension book while Avi Joy sings her spelling words. Note the plugged ears.
And Oh this girl and her messy curls. I love to do a quick series of shots and post them together. They speak for themselves and I just think she is the most magnificent little thing. Enjoy.
I have had several verses touch my heart the last week or so, but none really as much as Hebrews 13:5, "Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present circumstances and with what you have; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!"The Perryman Family
