Mini Disaster

I guess you can call it a disaster.

I hate to do it, because it could have been so much worse, but it still shook me up pretty good.

We had a pipe burst in our basement.

This was my pride and joy just a few days ago

My very own crafting corner.

It was my sanctuary filled with all my favorite treasures

and goodies acquired in trades.

I was so happy about my space!

This is how my space looked when I got called home from the water park yesterday

(thank heavens a thousand times over my son stayed home and was here when it happened)

my drawers, my jars, my baskets and totes, all filled with water

I panicked, no doubt about it.

The pictures are so random because I was sobbing as I took them.

Hubby is out of town this week and I had no idea how I was going to conquer an entire basement of sopping wet boxes and books and supplies.

I didn't realize my sisters were on their way, and they took control of the situation and started setting things out to dry immediately.

I thought it was mostly my crafting goods, but everything was soaked in our entire basement. As we started emptying boxes we found the harsh truth....pictures. Lots of pictures. And numerous scrapbooks from my wedding and first years of marriage, my first baby being born.... I was losing it. My sisters stayed focus and set to rescuing it all.

We hung pages and laid pictures out carefully...a neighbor stopped by to see what was happening and bless her heart,she shed tears with me as we pulled my husband's photos from his mission he served over 20 years ago out of a sopping wet album.

Even sealed bags and containers were filled with water

These photos do not have digital copies, and I really had no idea they were stashed away with my craft supplies. It broke my heart to see them laying out as the sun started to go down, hours after we started the process.

In the garage things sat over night trying to dry out and wait for me to make sense of what can be saved.

Another thing that upset me was to see so many of my books ruined. They were like sponges, swollen and sopping, and just fell apart when you tried to move them. My favorite, marked up, well loved copy of Atlas Shrugged completely fell apart today when I tried to open it.

I am not sure if my crying is symbolic, therapeutic or even normal anymore....

I just keep losing it.

In case you wonder what a girl like me looks like on the morning after a day like yesterday wonder no more.

Bags under the eyes, greasy hair, blotchy skin....it is my badge of honor today.

And even though we lost a few precious things

(this bubbled picture is one of the few baby pics I have of my husband)

We saved hundreds and hundreds pictures and pages all together.

Today I pulled my 'baby blanket' out of a wet box I hadn't got to yet...I am so relieved with all the important things we have found just in time.

I can't complain in spite of the sadness. We are so blessed, we have so much... my heart actually aches for people who lose everything....EVERYTHING to a natural disaster.

My sisters and my kids and my neighbor made what would have taken me days take only hours to salvage and sort. I am so grateful to them for their help.

I hope I am blessed to remember this moment and help others more in the future.

Even standing beside someone or saving one thing for them is a gift.

I believe we will need it more in the days to come.

I hope others may blessed as I was in my time of panic and need.

Summer Tidbits

Colorado Springs.....wow.

It has been celebrated that I attended my first real flea market.

That was epic, of course. But look at a few more great things we saw.

This house caught my eye while on a neighborhood spy drive.

And it had a for sale sign up.....hold me back, right?

We toured the Air Force Academy Chapel and cathedral- where my son and his group sang a cool Sacred Harp song impromptu style.

The chapel is stunning, in a Star Trek modern kind of way.

We also hit some shops in Manitou Springs

We were sure to grab some ice cream for the kids and chocolate for mom,

but mostly it was window shopping and sightseeing.

It was a great few days of time to together,

following my son with his choir around to hear a couple of performances,

and also just time to kick back.

The perfect way to start the summer.

To hear the amazing kids share their talents with the Sacred Harp Shape Note song "Hark I hear the Harps Eternal" Click HERE. (but the image is horrible. New camera- no knowledge on focus. Sorry. Don't watch, just listen)

I am proud of my singing son.

Flea Market and Funky Junk Finds

The blog world has opened my eyes to the possibilities of decorating and connecting with other women who care to create. I love the Funky Junk blog for all that it does to push home decor out of the box ( and give a more masculine feel to the world of Shabby and Vintage decor).

I went to my FIRST flea market while in Colorado this weekend- and hubby was in tow, not too excited about the vans oozing with junk- but a good sport, none the less. Before I knew it we turned a corner and eyed this vintage STOP sign which my hubby could not bear to let pass by. (And it was not exactly cheap).

We were told by the vendor it was from the 40's, and after a little more research I have learned that most stop signs with additional words above and below the STOP are probably dated from the 20's-40's. The earlier signs were yellow, though, so I am not sure where this fits in.

We also spotted these super cool and funky surplus trunks

thanks to Funky Junk inspiration me and my son agreed these would be awesome stacked by his bed as a nightstand with a cool light and clock. Would you believe we got both of these for $25 ? I was a little giddy over that. (Note to others- remove your funky trunks before you try to tour the Air Force Academy. The guards did a double take at these in our trunk and shook them to make sure they were empty. Oops!)

A blog post by Stacy's Shabby Shoppe also had me enjoying some mommy ME time at a local antique mall where I found this super shabby ladder.

I am envisioning it in my reading nook with a few cozy quilts tossed across the bars and maybe a magazine or two slung on the rungs. It isn't in my corner yet, but my Mother's Day gift did find it's way to it's spot.

Speaking of Mother's Day, I know it's been a month, but I have to just say I loved just relishing in the day with my boys, and really loving what it means to be a mom.

I am going to share a little card my youngest tucked into my hands the day after Mother's Day as he was getting ready for school.....

it made me cry like a baby... who else but a mom is loved like this?

linking up today with Romantic Homes blog.....the links are all so fun!