the-richmonds.net

Ashley recently posted about online map websites. I've spent (more accurately, "wasted") many hours searching around with the Google Maps Satellite view. I would find all of the accounts that I've run bookfairs at, and zoom in to see if it happened to be on a day that I was there with my truck and trailer. Never did find myself, but it is fun to zoom in so far (especially in the urban areas, with higher resolution images) that you can see people and almost tell what make and model cars parked in the lots are!

I noticed a few months back that MSN"s Live Maps had a neat "Bird's-eye" view (in many locations, property can be viewed from one of four angles). We found our old address there and were able to narrow down when the picture was taken to about a week, because we could see Heather's car, my truck and trailer in the driveway, along with Heather's dad's Tahoe. The wreath was on our front door, so it must have been when Heather's family was visiting for Thanksgiving in 2006 (Christmas was in Colorado that year).

Even more fun than Live Maps' bird's-eye view was Google Map's Street view. The picture was a bit more recent. We can narrow the time that this picture was taken down to a matter of two days - our neighbor's driveway had just been paved and the ribbon was still strung across the end of the drive when the Google car went by.

I checked Steven and Ashley's address at that time and it hadn't been captured by the Google Street View camera yet, but I checked just now and the main road past their condos had been done. Street by street, the US is being captured on camera. It's also interesting to see the websites that have sprung up that are devoted to finding the "interesting" things that have been captured by the Google camera car: accidents, mysterious black holes, solar flares, weird landmarks...

Now, we live far enough out in the sticks so that all we have available at our address is a low-resolution satellite image!

Jalyn called me last night and we were able to talk for just a little bit.  Abby had a little set back this week, and had to go back into surgery.  Her skin was not healing as it should have been, it was raw when they changed her dressing.  They had thought Abby would have to go back into the NICU after the surgery, but she did great and was able to stay in her regular patient room!  So that was good news.  Jalyn said that Abby doesn't seem to be in nearly as much pain as she was before.  So that is good too!  They have a vacuum dressing on her now, that is supposed to promote the development of new blood vessels.  If her skin heals properly this time, they should be able to take Abby home in the next few weeks!  Keep praying!!!  

They don't think her blood is clotting anymore, but they are still watching very closely when she needs an IV.  

The little sweetie had the loudest hiccups while I was on the phone, I could hear them!!  It was precious!!  Abby gets them everyday, and they usually last around 20 to 30 minutes!!  It was cute!!  Abby is quite a little fighter, and one tough cookie!  We can't wait till they can take her home, and they can begin to get settled in to all the new routines that come with bringing baby home!! 

Chris is back to work now, and Jalyn is able to stay with Abby all the time.  Abby has been bottle feeding for a couple of weeks, which is great!  And she weighs in at 9 pounds 7 ounces now!  She is doing better and hopefully this skin will heal properly!!

Jalyn sounded really great, it was wonderful to hear Abby in the background too!  This has been so tough for their family, but they are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  Little Abby has such a sweet little personality already, and she is proving to be a very strong little girl!  I can't wait to meet her!!!

Keep praying for this dear family, and especially for Abigail's leg to heal!  We want to hear that they are able to go home soon!!!  Thanks for all your prayers, they are truly grateful for each and every thought and prayer for their baby girl!!  

... it pours all over the inventory on the back wall...

I ventured out through the rain to go into the garage today to get ready for tomorrow's bookfair, and I heard a "drip-drip-drip" coming from the back. Upon turning on the light, I saw a steady stream of water flowing through the back ceiling and down some of the shelves. I haven't totaled up the inventory that was damaged yet. I guess that's what I've been paying insurance over the last six years for.

In light of this discovery in the garage, I checked throughout the rest of the house for leaks. What I thought would be problem areas are bone dry, but there is a couple of places that will need to be re-flashed, as there are leaks in the attic near two of the chimneys and the vent stack.

The rain also brought the mud back in the back yard, so I have to hike all of the books (in Rubbermaid totes, of course) from the garage down to the road to load the trailer.

I almost preferred the snow!

Larry Kittle informed me yesterday that our buyer in Milford has backed out of the deal. Our house went back on the market, and we're back to square one.

I don't know how long we'll have to try to sell the house before Countrywide starts the foreclosure process. Before the short sale was finally approved, we were getting notices from them that said they would start the process if we did not come current on our account. If they hadn't taken so long in approving the short sale of the house, the buyer would have been moved in over two months ago. I also think it is interesting that now, after signing four extentions to the original purchase agreement (while waiting for Countrywide's response), he decides that he wants out. He had MANY opportunities to get out before this....

It's all in the Lord's hands, I know - but sometimes it just feels so frustrating, when we try to do the right thing, and everything just seems to work against us.

Now, we're praying for another buyer, and fast.... I don't really want to have to deal with foreclosure.

Another Update:  Thank you so much for all of your prayers, she still has much to go through, but Jalyn thinks they are getting closer to getting Abby home.  She did have her leg removed yesterday, however, they were able to save most of her knee.  They are hoping that the skin will heal and there will be no infections.  She is off her breathing support, but she is still heavily medicated for her pain management.  Jalyn thinks this was the major hurdle keeping them from home, so if things heal properly, they may get to take her home soon.  That is what we are praying for!  Thanks so much for taking your time to pray for Abby as well as Chris and Jalyn. Continue to keep them in your prayers... Abigail is a fighter!

New Update: Please continue to pray for baby Abby and her precious family. The drs have set a surgery date for tomorrow at 11am... they are still hoping to save most of her knee, but they are unsure of the possibilities. Abby is still having trouble with blood clots and the doctors still have no idea why. If you could remember this family tomorrow... Chris and Jalyn are having a very hard time with facing the reality that their precious new baby girl will be without a leg. We thank the Lord for Abby and know He has her in His Mighty Hands. We are praying for the 3 of you... With all our Love... The Richmonds

Update: Please pray for precious baby Abigail. She has had a problem with blood clots and the Doctors are unsure why. I don't know a whole lot, but we do know that Abby may lose her little foot. We pray for a miracle, and we know that God is the ultimate physician... please pray that He will touch her foot and heal this sweetheart. Thank you! Also, pray for Jalyn's recovery and Chris as he is strong for his family. We are truly grateful for your prayers, and we pray God's blessings and healing on this dear family.

Congratulations Chris and Jalyn, on the arrival of your baby girl! Welcome Abigail Renee LaPole! She is 5 weeks early and will need to spend some time in the NICU, we are praying for her lungs to finish developing quickly so she can go home with Mommy and Daddy very soon!! Even though she was early, she weighed in at over 9 pounds! We are also praying for a speedy recovery for Jalyn. We are thrilled for the both of you, and we cannot wait to meet your precious little Abigail! Love to all three of you, The Richmonds

I know it's been near a month since I've updated the photo gallery here.... things are finally starting to settle and I've had a few extra minutes in the last few days to pick some out to share.

First of all, we have the kiddos' size comparison pictures: Mason's 2-month (3-month coming in a couple of days!), and Hannah's 28-month.

There were a few more February pictures to add to the end of the January-February album, and I creted a new album for March.

Heather has been working on some knitting projects, so I created a new album for Heather's handiwork to put those pictures in. I moved over some of her cake pictures to that album, too.

I compiled some pictures of our "new" house in Maine, as it was when we looked at it for the first time, along with some of the improvements that we have made since we moved in.  These pictures can be found in the Maine House album. 

I woke up this morning to a scraping sound on the road... yep, it snowed again last night. I checked the forecast and they're calling for snow 4 out of the next 5 days. Nothing major, accumulations near an inch. Those are almost more annoying than the big storms! You can't snowblow an inch, it winds up just getting packed on the driveway and becoming ice.... and I had JUST finished clearing off most of the driveway (which has been a sheet of ice since we moved in) over the weekend....

We found out yesterday, that Countrywide has finally come to their senses and got their act together enough to accept the short sale of our house!  I don't know all of the details, but they applied the offer to the actual mortgage, and noted that the short sale was on the Equity Loan.  I guess that will look better for our credit history.  So, this is one stress in our life that we can put to rest!  Praise the Lord for working this situation out in his perfect timing... even though it seemed like forever to us!  And in this market, we are so thankful to have had a buyer so soon!

Matt was home the other day, and I was able to take about an hour by myself to go grocery shopping!  I went to the country store down the road a couple of miles first, then I went to the small Hannaford just a block away from home.  Well, while I was at P&L, the small country store, I had purchased a huge bag of gigantic chicken breasts!  At $1.88/lb., it is not a problem to buy a 10 lb. bag!  I will just use what I need now, and put the rest in the freezer!  As I was perusing the isles, I noticed some juices and put those in my cart!  Also, grabbed a bag of onions!  Not too much stuff, but all was fairly heavy when you started to bag them up at the checkout! Anyway, this little old man was there packing up my bags of groceries, and then he took my cart away.  Now, how was I going to get these bags to my car in one trip without the cart?  Hmm... well I just assumed that I could tough it out and carry everything in my two perfectly good arms out to the car, heavy as they may be, after all it was only a few car lengths away from the checkout counter!  Well, when I was all finished paying and had everything back in its place in my wallet, I went to get my bags from the cute little old man.  He nodded his head and led me out the door, carrying my grocery bags to the car!  Awesome... not sure if this is a normal thing for heavy orders, or if he was just being kind and he was having a slow morning, thought he would be helpful!  Anyway... it was rather unexpected and I can honestly say I have never had anyone carry my groceries to the car for me!  Welcome to small town living!  I think I can get used to this!!  However, I will have to ask Kelly if this has ever happened to her!

... I will be paying $8 a gallon by the end of this season.  It has been going up about a nickel a day for the last two weeks.  On my way home last night, the price of diesel ranged $4.09⁹ to $4.19⁹.  There is still about $1 a gallon difference between diesel and regular unleaded.