Happy (drip, drip, drip) New Year

Happy New Year?

Something is missing where our faucet used to be.  Oh wait, it's the faucet.

2010 ended with a new motor in our broken furnace.

2011 started with a leaky faucet, which rapidly developed into a broken sink pipe.

Ah, the new year.  From me to you, 2011, welcome.

The day started out with T (who is on call this weekend) getting called to the hospital for a operative case that had come in over night.  We recovered quickly, as the kids and I spent the day at MoMo and Papa's house, eating sweet rolls and watching Alabama win the Capital One Bowl.  T and I got the kids to bed early (after a day with lots of play and no naps) and prepared for an unexpected quiet evening to ourselves.  First on our agenda was to make dinner together.  The evening was set up to be such a treat!

Raise your hand if you love broken pipes!  You can have mine.

An hour later, as I lay sprawled out on the floor in the cabinet under the sink mopping up the tell-tale puddles that had drawn our attention to the problem pipe, I made a decision.  

I decided to start out the year by counting my blessings rather than cursing the circumstances.

#1: T and I were home together, with kids asleep and safely out of the way when the pipe burst.  No curious little helpers, no motherly multitasking for me.  T was here to take the sink apart to find the leak for me.  He is calm and gentle and innovative.  He never once acted frustrated.  

#2:  Although we can't use the kitchen sink, I had just run the dishwasher and we have a utility sink in our laundry room.  T was able to rinse and wash our dinner dishes in the laundry.  

#3 to 1,000,000: 

Our house is warm.  

We have each other.  

We had a night to ourselves to solve the problem.  

We have two precious children asleep upstairs.  

We have full tummies.  

We have a God who loves us and chose just this moment to let this happen.  

We made it to 2011.  

Happy New Year, everyone.  I am not one to make New Year's resolutions, but it seems just as appropriate to start out the New Year by counting blessings.  Hope you will join us.  May God bless 2011 in many more ways.