They All Fall Down

I can't help but feel like the world is falling down. When I hear what is going on in other people's lives I feel like I should be grateful for how "well" things are going for us. Nevertheless we've been sick since the beginning of February and now that everyone is getting well, things are literally falling down all around us. 

You might remember these photos from a fun day out in the yard:

The very next day this is what that section of our backyard looked like:

It was a very blustery day and apparently that was too much for the old pine tree. Luckily it only hit part of the lilac bush which Nora had been sitting beside the day before. We are really glad that it did not fall while we were outside taking pictures and playing. I am not sure we would have had time to dodge the tree.

Our fantastic neighbor Rex offered to cut up the tree for firewood. We hope the exchange is fair - tree removal for fire wood - but it sure seems like a lot of work. You can tell this isnt Rex's first rodeo. He's done this before. Every branch is removed meticulously and stacked in his wood pile for next fall and winter. I dont think anything but pencil sized branches went in the scrap pile.

This is what is left of the tree. A few more days and I think we will have our yard back.

As if a huge tree falling in the yard isnt enough - you may recall the hail storm:

We knew the hail caused some damage to our roof which we thought we had repaired. What we didnt know was that hail damage can continue to wreak havoc on you for weeks to come. A week after the hail storm we had another storm system which blew several shingles off the roof resulting in more damage:

So now we have a bathroom full of hoses trying to dry out the attic. And of course, today is diaper day. Which means I am laundering my diapers in the middle of all this:

And on a happy little side note, the hoses keep falling out of the ceiling so I have to keep going into the bathroom to put them back up.

Like I said the world is falling down around me. I am trying to focus on the many blessings: the tree did not hit us or the house, the hail storm only effected our roof which is fixable, the bulk of the water damage was in a bathroom which is much easier to clean up than say the office, we have insurance which will help pay for all this, all of us are safe. Yet, despite all these good things I still feel like we are stuck in Lent - buried behind the shadow of the cross. The past several months have been dark and trying and I for one am more than ready for Easter to go ahead and get here! Easter may be late this year but for our family I hope it is coming right on time.