A story of God's goodness . . . new fridge edition

Written back on July 25 just after our new fridge was delivered.

Throughout the past 24 hours Dave and I keep looking at each other and saying things like, "could that have been any more miraculous?" We have both been reading through the Old Testament and it says over and over that the stories were to be told to their children and written down for the generation to come. Tell the stories of God's faithfulness regularly so that when things aren't as clear you remember His goodness.So here is the story of the our new fridge.

Three out of our four kids have colds. Anna had a terrible night, the kind where it doesn't really feel like the day begins at six, but at nine the night before when you thought you were going to bed. A trip to see the doctor is definitely at the top of the day. I noticed that the milk felt different and there was some condensation, but tyranny of the urgent won. We went to see the doctor in Owensboro.

With a "just summer colds" diagnosis we arrive home right at lunch time. I go straight to the fridge to make a bottle for Anna and I know that things aren't right. Sure enough, food in the freezer is also starting to thaw. I call Dave and leave a message, then send him a text message as well. I move the freezer things to the deep freeze, call Samsung to see if I can get any service recommendations, fend off a thousand questions from the kids, try to find a service man online (not how to do it in rural KY), and then give up and move the fridge food to the mini-fridge and coolers.

Side note: I laughed at Dave's college mini fridge when we were first married. That mini-fridge has saved us through several tricky refrigerator situations!

Dave finishes his lunch meeting and gives me a call. He has already messaged a couple of men and is starting to get some recommendations for guys to call and is on his way home. Once he arrived he checks a few basics and starts leaving messages for the repair men. No one answers his call, but within a half hour or so he gets a call back. This man had a cancellation while he was eating lunch and can come right over. It is a blessing to him and to us.

Later we find out that he is the only service man left in Tell City/Hawesville and that it normally takes a week to get an appointment with him. He was at the house within the hour of Dave's call. Miracle.

He went to work on the fridge. I was thankful for Dave's flexible schedule that afternoon. Barry even came by the house to work on a flyer so Dave could help me! Then we got the diagnosis: a stuck compressor. He said a new compressor is as much a new appliance and his recommendation was to start fresh.

This man was really nice and let us ask him a load of questions about brands, warranties, appliance stores, deals, and types of fridges. He was able to give us local recommendations and the knowledge of which machines he was fixing most often. We felt like this conversation and the time he took talking to us set us up for the next phase of the process.

We decided to go to a local store in Tell City that was open until 5:30. We arrived around 4:45, each child armed with a favorite book and the admonition to stay quiet and still. A salesmen showed us around what they had, told us a little of what they had in stock, and explained that they delivered to KY once a week. If we ordered a refrigerator that would be 7-10 days for delivery to the store, then up to a week before they made their KY deliveries. We were a little bummed that they didn't have what we were looking for in the store, but when we described it the salesman went to get an invoice for a delivery they were doing the next day. It was for the exact type of fridge we were looking for, in the right color, at a reasonable price. He said that it was being picked up from a supplier and delivered to KY tomorrow. If we liked it, they would just pick up two units and have it to the house later in the day.

What?!?! It could have easily taken us two weeks to have a new fridge in the house, and that is only if we decided on one right away. God's goodness.

Our maintenance man said it wasn't advertised, but they would price match with Lowes and Home Depot. Sure enough he knocked the price down a little lower. By 5:15 we were paid up walking out the door. (Or rather chugging . . . the kids and I played train while Dave did paperwork.) We painted behind behind the fridge while it was empty and easy to move, a spot I didn't get to when I painted the kitchen, and then scrubbed the floor that night.

I expected the delivery late in the day, but heard a knock just after noon. At 1:00 they were rolling away with the old fridge and our new baby was cooling down in it's freshly painted home. (Mom, remember that time you helped Dave pick up a new-to-us fridge and move the old one out? "Measured" will now forever be in quotes when it comes out of Dave's mouth.)

Over the last year not a lot of things have gone as planned. We have wondered why things have gone the way they did. How could that have been God's goodness? And we read His word and trust Him through it all. Then we have days like yesterday. Twenty-four hours from discovering a warm fridge we have a new one quickly getting cool.

Miracle.

The Nutcracker

On Friday, December 1, we kicked off the month with a trip to see The Nutcracker. It was presented by Owensboro Dance and the performers we local youth. There was a unique hometown feel to the show.

This was our first trip to The Riverpark Theatre in Owensboro. The venue is between the Bluegrass Music Museum and Smoothers Park, so we pass it reguarly, but have never ventured in. It was bigger than I expected and gave the kiddos a real theatre experience.

The three big kids dressed up and we talked about theatre etiquette. The performance we attended was one of two hour-long shows designed specifically for school groups. A special treat was that they left the curtain up during intermission so we could watch them clean up and change the set.

The kiddos favorite parts were the flying characters (they made full use of their flying apparatus) and the humor. There was even a clown nurse, which Sarah, naturally, loved.

It is a joy to expose the kiddos to such beauty and history! And Lydia's subsequent twirling and "balleting" is delightful :)