Thanks and Giving/ The Great Flood

 This is what I came home to on Wednesday.  What Spencer saw was 2-5 inches of water covering the floor of our entire apartment, except for Liam's room. 

 Needless to say, I cried.  Spencer tried to prepare me, but it was impossible for me to imagine.  I thought, it's just our stuff, we are ok and that's what matters most.

 It is just stuff, and thankfully, nothing with serious sentimental value, but it's our stuff.  And it's a big mess.  As you can see, nothing is where it was when we left for Thanksgiving and it is now covered in a layer of drywall dust to top the water. 

 It is going to take a while to get it all cleaned up.

 Books, toys, shoes, clothes, furniture are all destined for the trash, but first they all have to be photographed and documented so we can hopefully get money from insurance to replace them.

Through it all, we know we are blessed.

I am thankful we had more than a week with my wonderful family full of good food, lots of laughs, and even a date or two.  I'm thankful I was still there when Spencer found the mess and able to stay an extra day with my parents so that I could be slightly less overwhelmed.  I'm thankful Liam had so much fun playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Johnny because these next few weeks won't be nearly as much fun.

I'm thankful we stored our most sentimental and important things off the ground so they are okay.  I'm thankful Liam's room is dry so we can at least have one room to store stuff that is clean and dry.  I'm thankful for a very kind friend who is out of town and letting us occupy their home until ours is livable again.  I'm thankful for all the friends who have stepped forward to offer meals and babysit Liam so that we can get things straightened out.  I'm thankful for all the family members who have listened to us complain.  I'm thankful Liam is being really cooperative with all the changes in environments and stress.  I'm thankful for the radio station that plays all Christmas music, because I'm pretty sure any task is more enjoyable while listening to Christmas music.

Mostly, I'm thankful we don't have to go through this alone.  I know the Lord has blessed us with knowledgeable, kind and generous friends and family to help us, because there is no way we could do this alone.  Happily, we are making progress, and our Christmas vacation is right around the corner, so the end is in sight!