Untitled – when life leaves you speechless
by Rita Davidson
When we first purchased this house, it was after a long journey after our fire from July 19, 2013. That was when fire tore through our home and business and melted our van, we lost everything literally including our identification, purse and shoes, all except the pajamas on our back that day.
After 6 months living homeless with no running water, or indoor toilets, we were beyond desperate to find a place to call home. (you can read more about our journey in my upcoming book, “Breadcrumbs from God”.)
After living on the run, finding this place was like a dream…winter was fast closing in and our boys were at the end of their ropes with so much stress from trying to process memories and living in a too small trailer with their disabilities. So we purchased the only house big enough, in our price range, or so we thought.
Starting over is not something you expect to do at 44 years of age. Having to take out a double mortgage (which was a miracle in itself) was a frightful thought. But after nearly 30 years of marriage that is exactly what we had to do. We moved into this house with only “basic belongings” donated after the fire, not 30 years accumulation. (you know how much THAT can be! ) So after a year of settling in and recovering from being on the run, we soon started running out of living space. (things like no basement, missing closets, an 8 foot wide living room all start taking their toll.) On top of that moving in my elderly mother with us was very unexpected and squeezed us even further. So the house hunting continues (as we were told it was cheaper to move than to build and fix this place, but time will tell what God wants of us.)
The first Christmas was like a dream, we woke up here November 1st, Feast of all Saints. We knew the living room was a bit small but “oh we could expand one day”, we kept saying. Love covers a multitude… LOL
We soon after experienced LOTS of humidity, I mean LOTS. Dripping windows CONSTANTLY, running down the walls, pooling and freezing in the windows. It took months, now years, of research to resolve this and it’s still not resolved, only more questions than answers now.
But then this:
A strange SOFT windowsill alerted us to something being very wrong. I mean you shouldn’t be able to press INTO your windowsill that holds UP your wall and then your roof. Unbelief, shock and a few other emotions bubbled up as we waited weeks to find out what this all meant.
While we waited for the only friend we had that could help us, I anxiously began to peel back the perfectly applied paint, to uncover dry rotted wood underneath. Still no answers, but patience IS a virtue they say.
Finally the day came! Our only friend Earl that is still helping us with repair, upgrades and a listening ear came taking time from his busy schedule. What was that ROOTS growing UP UNDER our window? OH yes…Just look at those things struggling for life. Ugh
Here is Earl, opening up the windowsill as we wait to see how bad this really is. (I just KNEW it was bad) Everyone else was hopeful. LOL
Earl was just in shock. I mean the windowsill just turned to powder in his hand once opened up. As a life long carpenter and house builder he had never seen anything so bad. It was quite obvious this rot was here long before we moved in. Sadly all covered up with nice fresh paint for us new owners.
Here Earl is pointing out the heavy rot and infestation of ants that left all trails though the now punky wood. LOOK at that!
The corner, we could not tell how deep the rot went…but it sure went beyond the window.
A close up…are you speechless like me now? I still stare at these pictures in unbelief.
So my favorite guy ever, Mark (hubby on the left) and Earl (right) took that window out a full two feet, to remove all the rot. We ended up opening up the wall two feet to the right and one foot down to remove all the rot around this window, before it could be rebuilt back up. ugh
Here is the finished hole after. Kinda fuzzy I know. Sorry. That lovely sun coming in just couldn’t let the camera to adjust correctly. But you can see the outline of the new drywall. Now we have to finish the second coat of mud and paint the room. That comes next, hopefully before winter.
Dishonesty. Hmmmm
It takes all kinds. I sure hope THEY can sleep at night.
So while we continue to seek God’s will we ask you to PLEASE PRAY for our house needs. Whether God wishes us to move or stay, as long as HIS will be done in us is all we ask.
For those still supporting please KEEP it up. So few support our rebuilding efforts, so long after this fire, but our needs continue changing and we still have so much recovery to do. I thank our regular supporters, from the bottom of my heart. <3
Our needs are far more than we ever share publicly and so we thank you for remembering us,
Donate to our family here: www.gofundme.com/davidsonfamilytrust
as we continue to try find that HOME, that is more than just a “house with four walls”.
Now what COLOR should we paint this bathroom? Any ideas?
God bless you,
With love,
Rita xo 🙂
Rita is a Catholic wife, and mother of seven, with three autistic boys. Author, of “Immodesty, Satan’s Virtue” (2001) and speaker, she has a PASSION for making #realcatholicmodesty understood. She is a licensed Hairdresser, and Make Up Pro with a degree in Natural Health who enjoys essential oils. She enjoys making people smile and sharing God’s love with anyone who will listen. After overcoming a stroke, disabilities, they lost everything in a devastating house fire that made them homeless for six months. She is determined to lead souls back to Christ by finding the #realcatholicbeauty in their lives by carrying their cross with JOY!
©Copyright 2016 Rita Davidson & Little Flowers Family Press All Rights Reserved.
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