The car had a slightly oily smell to it yesterday, so Rich took it to the garage yet again. Seems this car has more manufacturers notes than Coka Cola has cans…

Anyway, long story short, the garage tried to find a work around for the problem, which seems to be some valves and tubing getting too cold and preventing the oil from moving properly, pushing its way out the dip stick. If the work around does not succeed, we are looking at several hundred dollars just for the kit to repair the problem, without the labor… so we hope and pray that the work around works… today went driving, no smell of oil.

We shall see…

Well, as a few of you know, we applied for a delayed birth certificate for Rich’s youngest daughter Emily. It was required for her to be able to stay in the public schools. On Rich’s birthday, last Thursday, the certificate finally arrived in the mail.

It was an unbelievable process of red tape and the inability of people in authority to make wise decisions. The icing on the cake? We live in Ottawa county, and Emily was born at home, in Ottawa county. But the birth certificate reads Kent county. Well this has always been a problem since our mailing address is Grand Rapids (Kent county), but we physically live in Marne Township (Ottawa county). Marne was originally called Berlin, but with WWII, the name of the town was changed, though the race track in Marne, called Berlin Raceway, remains  named Berlin – but I digress.

So I made a final call to the office today, to find out if this is important, as we really don’t want someone to give Emily a hard time because of a minor error on her birth certificate. The woman looked at the documents and said, well, the papers from social security state the address is Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids is in Kent county. If you want it to say Ottawa county, you need another letter from Social Security stating that she was born there. I asked if it made any difference. She said no.

Now here is the weird part. We needed paperwork from Social Security to prove that Emily was born, nothing else would do. But in the process, we misplaced Emily’s social security card, which she needs, so she will have to apply for a new one. Social security will not accept her birth certificate as proof that she is who she says she is. It will be interesting to see what happens with that one.

But she was happy, and surprised, to get her birth certificate, and we are so thankful that this saga is over. A great story though. I’ve left out all the details… but you can imagine.

Hallelujah!

So, yesterday was Rich’s birthday.  I had asked him what he would like for dinner, and he said he hadn’t had web burritos in a long time. I was like, “what are those?” He was kind enough to find a recipe on cooks.com for “Grand Rapids Wet Burritos.”

The ingredients were simple enough, but I was sure glad that Andrea helped me. Otherwise I’d have been wrapping food into soft tortilla shells for at least an hour! The end of the story, the burritos were great, and all were happy.

Phil came for Rich’s birthday as well. He gave him a great sweater and also a warm vest, both much needed. A good fit. Also a copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, with the comment, “Of course it all may become obsolete the way the government is going.” All the others also had special gifts for Rich. I could tell it made him feel good. He needed to know how much people care for him.

So, I learned to make wet Burritos. One of Rich’s gifts was a bunch of nice games for everything from 1 to 6 players. We played Chinese Checkers. I had not played that since I was a kid. His older son, Lloyd, won (I think in revenge for me forgetting his birthday on Tuesday, even though it was on Monday).

Once everyone went home, I showed Rich how to use Facebook, from a perspective he could appreciate.  And so ended Thursday.

Today, the job hunt continues, I need to finish up a couple of projects for some clients, and then try to do some straightening up around the house.

My emotions move from up to down and back again. Sometimes my feelings of hope are the same. It may seem crazy, but when I see Rich happy, things feel a lot more hopeful.

He has a doctor appointment on Monday. I pray for wiscom and insight to help him improve.

Woke up thinking it was colder than usual. Boy was I right. Our fuel oil tank was on empty. Consequently, the inside temperature of the house was 50F and dropping.  The first floor temperature was soon to match the upstairs temperature as there are no heating vents on the top floor. BRRR.

We had been waiting for me to get paid from a small job, before we filled the tank, but the extra cold weather the last few weeks devoured the oil.

The girls noticed the chill – not a very nice birthday present for Emily, but we all survived with only a few hours of chill. The oil company came as soon as they could… perhaps sooner?

Their phone lines were acting up. I had to call 3 or 4 times and give the information to them in snippets. The last time I got through I was told, “We will call you back, I’m going to tell the manager in person. He has a cell phone and can call our driver…”

So by 9 am fuel oil was in. The driver even helped us bleed the lines of excess air so that the furnace could start without a problem Rich was thankful, as his son was at work, and he was the only one who knew how to do this!

Of course I lucked out. I had a job interview and test for working for the US Census. Don’t know if I’ll get the latter job, the interview was cancelled, but I did come home to a warm house <Grin>.

We had a nice evening for Emily’s birthday with all the kids. Though Phil’s brother came by and since no cars were in the driveway (Rich had to run errands and Andrea had the car at work), he assumed no one was home and left!!!

Lloyd comes, and I had completely forgotten that it was his birthday the day before, although less than 2 hours before I’d given his card to Rich to write in! Everyone laughed and admitted, well, your birthday WAS yesterday…

Roy made home-made sweet and sour chicken. I don’t know how he did it without a recipe. I left the kitchen wondering how the orange juice and pile of vegetables and cut up chicken would become sweet and sour chicken – something Emily really likes – but it came out great! I live in a family of chefs!

Emily seemed happy with her gifts, including an alarm clock that would play her iPod – a reason I was so very thankful she found her iPod (see my January 4 posting).

What a fun and crazy day!

And now an update on the more mundane affairs of life in this part of Michigan. Today was beautiful! I actually opened the curtains to let the sun in. Bright and warm at 20F, a lot warmer than last week!

Took the car in for another checkup. The mechanic thinks they found the “real” problem… we shall see. I am working on a help project for a startup – they are happy with what I’m doing. Have an interview with a non-profit organization tomorrow, and applied for another more serious position elsewhere. It’s been a quiet day. Cooking left overs for dinner.

Emily’s birthday is tomorrow. The girls are cooking, and we are planning a nice evening for her… and I feel encouraged as I realize that God has not given up on us.

Thank you Lord for our home, for warmth, and Your love and mercy.