The Sky Poem

The Sky

Ever-changing, drifting, swaying

Cloud-filled, moon-filled,waxing, waning

Ceiling high or ceiling low -

Childish winds play to and fro

Guided by the season's will,

Sometimes warmed and sometimes chilled,

Farmer's friend and Farmer's foe

Determines when it's time to grow.

Kym Lamb

Horizon's Cover Poem

Morning peers above Horizon's cover.
Stretching her radiance over the day.
Removing darkness and shadows,
She warms the Earth with her presence until;
Dusk calls and she begins her descent,
Pulling down evenings shades,
Retiring once again to Horizon's cover.

Kym Lamb

Speculation + Too Much Information = Paralysis

I have decided that sometimes too much is simply too much!STOP!!!!!

In our ongoing adventure to get back home, I have researched, downloaded, called, emailed, Facebooked, Tweeted, read, said and prayed for a resolution.

I have thought in the the box,out of the box around the box...but what I really want is more DOING.

I mentioned in one of my phone conversations that I am not one to take a sledge hammer to a nail hole but I really feel that a little sweat would make me feel a lot better than all the hot air I am exchanging.

We finally found someone to do some testing to help us determine how to proceed. It is another 7 day wait, taking another week off our goal of being home before school, but I am aware no one else is running on the same timetable I am.

But we must remove SPECULATION! This is an ugly word that can make the proverbial mountain of out the mole hill.

Like most people during a time of chaos, my mind has taken the mad dash from bad scenarios to horrendous images of how our Toxic House will impact us. It is important, however, to make a reality check:

We are feeling better- check!
We have a place to stay - check!
We have food in our bellies - check!
We have jobs - check!

Even in our circumstances we have more than most of the people in this world.

Our new drive to church gives us time to talk as a family. Our conversations on this drive often focus on the clouds in the sky. What they look like? What we think they are? Does it look like rain? How can they block the sun?

My devotional kept with this theme as it asked "Can you see Jesus in Your Clouds?" (Day 29- The Utmost For His Highest).

"Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith."

One thing about a Midwestern sky is it's ability to go from sunny to stormy and back to sunny in the blink of an eye ;0)

Waiting for our sunny day...Kym

Count It All As Joy

Can I be frustrated, when I count it all as joy?
Can I be angry, when I count it all as joy?
Can I be sad, when I count it all as joy?
Can I be scared, when I count it call as joy?

I certainly believe so. The key is counting it all as joy after you work through the emotion of your crisis.

As we have been trying to navigate our Toxic House situation, it has been difficult to accept the tortoise pace and the perceived lack of response.

I understand that our house is NOT their house. They are going home to a a place that their children can breath free. Where they can sit down at their dinner table and lay their heads down on their pillows with our worry. My problems are not their problems.

As a business owner, I understand the time versus income dilemma. I have the same 24 hours in a day as everyone else. I pray though, that I have always provided my clients with hope and direction when I was not their best choice.

I am not loud or nasty. I will not demand or force my situation on others but instead continue to communicate our need and trust that somehow, in someway we will once again have a place to call home.

I was encourage by the following quote from "My Utmost for His Highest" July 28:

"If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God."

Joy#1: God...

Timeless Blessing - A Note From My Grandmother

A half folded notebook paper falls out of its place and lands on my foot. I open it up to see a poem entitled "Times Blessings" in my Grandmother's handwriting:

Times Blessings

Count time by lovely memories,
Not by days and years-
Count it by the handclasps
The smiles and happy tears;
Count it by contentment
And daily tasks well done,
By star-filled skies at evening
And mornings warm with sun.
Count it by the friendships
You've made along the way-
And by the many times that God
Has smiled upon your day.

Did my Grandmother write this for me? Probably not. My Grandmother passed away over a decade ago, but our housing situation has us spending time in her home, with her history - her life.

I don't know about the day my Grandmother was having when she wrote this down. I don't know the tugging of her heart that prompted her to record these thoughts. I don't know if these were her original words or ones written by someone else. But they captured her thoughts that day...just as they did mine, today.

I showed my Mom what I had found and through a few tears she smiled and acknowledged..."That was Mom." She went on to tell me that she has found little notes and reminders and encouragement tuck throughout Grandma's things.

I am sad that I didn't see the inspirational side of my grandmother while she was alive but I am glad that she is still communicating to us who she was...even though she is gone.

Looking for my God Smiles Today!

Kym

Roaming Nomads - The search for Toxic Home Answers

Steps closer to being back in our home...0

O.K. Maybe that answer is a bit pessimistic. I have made several calls and receive lots of advice how to proceed.

There are always multiple ways to handle any situation but choosing the correct one is always my preferred choice. But much like our presidential choices...I am not feeling confident with any of my options.

Reviewer 1:

Remove all carpet
Rip out drywall from basement
Install and A/C
Install more soffit vents
Get a new dehumdifier
And have the questionable insulation in the attic checked.

Reviewer 2:

Run tests to determine the source of the illnesses.
Determine how to eradicate problems.

Insurance:

We don't cover any of that...but call us we can ever help you with anything. (To his defense he was very kind and understanding and sorry he couldn't do more.)

Finances:

I do not have an envelope for when my house makes us sick.

My choice would be to take Reviewer #2. It makes more sense to me to know what I am dealing with before I try and "FIX" the problem. But at a cost of $2-3,000. It is not a feasible option for us.

Health:

Our ultimate concern has to be the health of our family. My daughter and I are struggling the most and doing everything we can to feel better. We are counting our blessing that we have place to stay with my family. It is an hour away from our home and we are feeling very disconnected from our community and our normal lives...but we have the necessities.

Our kids start school in 5 weeks - which leaves a very small window to get them home before that date.

The Insurance man ended the conversation mentioning that we should come in so they could review our policy to be sure we had everything we needed...holding back the tears I told him it would probably be a while before we did that...if we still had a house that needed coverage.

 Request:

If anyone has been through this process we would appreciate feedback and direction as to who and what you did resolve the issue.

Finally but not lastly, please keep us in prayer.

Thank you for listening. My normal optimist nature is a little challenged, writing helps me to sort through ideas, express emotion, review my facts and adjust my attitude. 

Love to you all,

Kym

Homeless - When Good Homes Go Bad

As I sit at a local Barnes and Noble I am contemplating our current situation:

My children are playing in the kids area  - when they once would have been playing in their bedrooms.

My husband is trying to sleep in the wood chair across from me - instead of having his feet propped up on our couch.

I have turned the local coffee shop into my office...

My family has moved out of the home we have lived in for almost 12 years...because it is Toxic to us.

My parents have graciously opened up their home. About an hour away from my husband's work, my children's school and our life...we are learning to adapt to our new situation.

We have spent the last several weeks trying various things to resolve the issue...but are now at a true loss as to what to do.

So, our first request to you is prayer...

The second...do you have experience with Toxic Home? Are you someone that can help us resolve this bizarre issue? I have spoke to several people, who for a fee (usually very large) will give us their opinion, or take some tests ( for another fee) and give us fancy names for the stuff that could be making us sick.

Others simply tells us it is high pollen this year, allergies are up, take a pill and it will be fine.

The local health department visited and has given suggestions but for the most part we are all guessing and our symptoms are far too severe for just a little mold, or a bad pollen season.

I do not know what tomorrow will bring...but today we are blessed and trust that God directs our paths...even if that path feels very far away from where we have been and where we thought we were going.

As we left my parents home today my Father reminded me to keep the Faith...and reminded me that isn't during these times that it matters most.

Keeping The Faith,

The Lambs