To see her heart....

One more week of school here in the Holcombe house. I am a little excited to finally sleep past 6am! Maybe. As I get older I'm finding that my inner time clock is a creature of habit! Oh for the days of sleeping until noon! I think that is a past that will never be revisited!

As the school year closes our kiddos are bringing home their endless piles of past assignments. Many I just flip through, mostly because I'm rushing to get to the next thing on my very long to do list. Many times missing little nuggets of gold. This particular day I was running on empty and moving at a snails pace. Really in need of a pick me up moment of encouragement.  As I flipped through Kenzie's papers I came across this writing assignment. Just a few weeks after Mother's Day and I'm still receiving little notes of love! Except this was a little different.

A few days before while riding in the car, I had been a part of a sweet what I thought was a random conversation with Mackenzie. Mom, You love me when I am bad. When I am happy. When I'm... and endless list of when I'm. They weren't questions but statements. Facts that she had come to realize about my love for her. Then I receive this beautiful page of a second graders thoughts on why her mom is the best.

My mom loves me the way I am in my heart....

Wow...she really understands what I have always tried to portray to my children! No matter how much they mess up, are good or bad, ugly or cute, their heart is where I look to know the true them. The beauty of the inner being that was entrusted into my care. The outside vision of them doesn't always match with what I see when I look at their heart. I guess in some ways this helps me to shower more grace upon them...even when they don't deserve it!

I can't tell you how much I needed that note that day. The tears flowed as I felt my Father say...Yes, I love you that very same way! I love the way you are in your heart. Past all your mistakes,ugliness and sin. Just like you are!

In my opinion...My God is the best because He loves me the way I am in my heart!

Oh the places she will go...

Today, after 29 years of endless years of car seats....We are car seat freeeeeee! The emptiness in our car is a little sad.  However...so exciting for this new road our family will walk!

I never planned to have nine children. However I did promise myself  I would never have a baby after the age of 40. In true Mackenzie fashion 1 month before my 41st birthday I gave birth to our 9th child. Three weeks early after weeks of ultrasounds and endless doctor visits, our little caboose made her grand entrance!

Since that day she hasn't slowed down....I am not getting out of child rearing easy! Mackenzie will make sure of that!  A challenge I will always cherish!

I guess being the youngest of nine, God knew she would need a little spunk. That spunk would give her the survival skill that she would need to get through life. Head strong and more than likely a natural born leader. Not a shy bone in her body. She has no fear and  in some strange way behaves as though she were a teenager. Her love for her brothers and sisters is amazing to watch. Her love for her niece is even more amazing! With another niece coming in just a few months I'm sure this will be a journey I don't want to miss!

 Where did the time go? 

 

 

Youngest of 9

Born in the month of January

Lover of Chick-Fil-A

Loves her niece Reese

Still loves our morning snuggles before the day begins

Hates to sleep in a room alone

Loves art

Head strong

Loves to eat pistachios with her brother

 

 

This little girl has brought life and love to our family. She has kept us on our toes. Filling us with pure exhaustion! I can't help but think of all the amazing things God has planned for her life. The people she will meet and the places she might go!

 

 

Mackenzie Claire you were given to us to be a blessing! A blessing you are! I pray that whatever God has planned ,you will give it your all and share that sweet smile with everyone you  meet. I can't think of a finer person to walk me to the end of child rearing with. You have given me strength on days when I just couldn't seem to find it. Your smile has brightened everyday that I have been blessed to see it. Your morning snuggles makes my days so much better!

 

Happy Birthday! 

I love you!

Mom

 

PS...I will walk with you on the day you graduate from highschool!

 

The big reveal !

After 25 weeks of waiting, I can finally say the wait was worth it! Isn't that how most trials are? So many lessons learned. Some I would rather have not experienced but necessary non the less.  I see now... had I got what I wanted when I wanted, I probably wouldn't have the kitchen that I have today. Christian Roofing and Remodeling did an amazing job! Working with their contractors made this whole transformation a pleasant experience.

I wish I could say the same for our insurance company and mortgage company. On a side note...the mortgage company still hasn't released the remaining funds to our contractor. We finished on November 10, 2014. Many calls and unmet promises. To bad I can't charge them interest for holding onto the money that isn't even theirs.

So what started as a leak at the dishwasher water line,and this very long journey, is now a beautiful space to feed my family. Many weeks of fit pitching fighting with the insurance company. 25 weeks of no mopping...Yuck is right! Jumping through way too many hoops. My sanity tested over and over again.
Now I can finally say......

                              MAMA HAS HER KITCHEN BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The microwave vent hood above...It was a gift! I really wanted one,but spending the extra $ wasn't in our budget. The old vent hood was really needing to be replaced but would have to be reinstalled. A week before the cabinets arrived I received a call from a friend. She wanted to know if I needed a vent hood...a microwave vent hood! She had one that was sitting in her garage and she was needing to move it out. Do I need one?! Yes and Yes!!!! The funny thing is...It was black and the very same name brand as my stove! If you ever doubt that God cares about the little desires of our heart....please stop! He didn't have too but He did. I never really expressed this desire. Just one of those things that I thought would be nice to have. Yes...it still puts a smile on my face and reminds me how much He loves me! 

We are all enjoying our newly renovated kitchen. Some days I find myself just standing there staring in amazement! Thankful that the renovations were complete just a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. Smiling as I watched our family gather on this day with so much thankfulness for this sweet gift!

What's wrong with me?

I can't help it! My kids do some of the funniest things when they are bored! I have laughed so much at this short video that the laundry has doubled...if you know what I mean girls!? Laughter is good medicine! Please share the laugh with those you love...and even those you don't!

My head is spinning...

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. The months of September and October have been jam - packed with milestones and journey changing events in our family.

In September while juggling wedding planning and kitchen transformation drama, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. We did sneak away for a couple of days....but not the celebrating we wanted. So we have postponed a much needed anniversary trip until sometime next year.

 After much prayer and fit pitching(I guess this is a southern term for throwing yourself on the floor while kicking and screaming!), On week 23, the gutting of my kitchen began!!!! Our mortgage company took three weeks to process our insurance check before they would release our funds. By the time we had those funds in hand, it was the week before our daughter's wedding. So here we are 23 weeks after the demolition of my kitchen began. The wedding was absolutely beautiful! All of our hard work, in spite of the kitchen drama, turned out better than I had hoped! My sister Kelly and daughter Emily were my saving grace! They did an amazing job with all the details!

 

We moved from wedding right into kitchen transformation, without taking one breath! Yes...I'm tired!

Yes...I'm beyond done! Yes...God is still good!

 

Monday morning was met with much fear and trembling excitement! I was never so happy to finally see that work truck in my driveway.

 

 

 

So, once one's kitchen has been gutted...How does one manage to keep her household of 8 fed without the proper tools? Friends...this one was genius! Planned long before our dishwasher decided to start this journey.

 

You see...My stove was moved to the garage. The only problem is...No stove No cook! I'm smiling at this point...except it is very expensive for a family of 8 to eat out.

When we bought our home 15 years ago, my laundry room was in the basement. My husband having mercy on me, moved it to the space between the kitchen and garage. It is now a laundry/butler's pantry, complete with counter space! As for my stove....it needs a special plug. Wouldn't you know there just happens to be this sweet little odd plug that we have never used in our garage. The exact plug needed for our stove.

 

 

This my friends is almost like camping! I'm cooking in the garage. I'm washing dishes in the laundry sink. I guess my neighbors (who can see in my garage when they turn into our subdivision) think I have finally gone over the edge. I'm so thankful it has been warm this week.

 

Along with the stove my garage was filled with old and new cabinets.

 

 

The new cabinets are now sitting in my kitchen! I am loving this new look! My favorite is the extra cabinet to the right of my refrigerator. I now have a space that will be a coffee station.

 

 

 

Our walls are prepped and waiting for paint. The counter tops are ready to be installed on Monday. Flooring on Wednesday and then the final touches. Twenty Four weeks of a kitchen journey from Hell. Two weeks of a kitchen transformation with all the inconveniences that try my patience. One big tired family that is ready to have their mom back. One big God who has carried me through with encouragement from family and friends.

 

 

 

 

When all this is done, I will look back and say....I survived the Kitchen remodel of 2014!

 

November and December will be the end of this very long year.  A year with much spiritual and personal growth. I have been pushed beyond what I thought I could ever handle. Given an immeasurable amount of endurance. I have seen the hand of God gently hold me and carry me while walking this journey. Providing me with the strength,grace and mercy that I never knew was possible.

 

 We will end this year with Kelley's 3rd(Hopefully last) ankle surgery. Maybe I need a T shirt that says. " I survived 2014!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Plot thickens...time line continued

Part 2 of the time line...


8/25 Emailed contractor to see how the estimate was coming along.

8/25 Received estimate from our contractor

8/25 Submitted Contractor estimate to State Farm

8/25 Called our claim team to make sure they had received our estimate and was told it would be at least 24 hours before they would receive it.

8/26 Emailed Mr. Rust.. State Farm executive... to inform him of our issues with our kitchen claim and to inquire what we could do to expedite this claim.

8/26 Response to email from Mr. Rust requesting more information about the claim.

8/26 Received a call from Jada at State Farm informing us our estimate was approved.

8/26 Emailed our contractor to inform him of State Farms approval of his estimate and that we were ready to get started with the kitchen.

9/2 Received insurance check from State Farm

9/2-9/3 Spoke with Mortgage company about the claim process.

9/4 Spoke with Pearlie Harris from State Farm in response to my email to Mr. Rust

9/4-9/5 Spoke with mortgage company again about the process of our claim...was told they had mailed us a claim package with instructions from the mortgage company.

9/8..As of today's mail...nothing!

September 1st...I was finally celebrating my Insurance check in hand and then....

September 2nd...My Facebook post...

Nothing is ever easy ! Now to jump through hoops for Green Tree Mortgage! Procedures they say...Send endorsed check along with contractors estimate,w9, and State Farms estimate. 7-10 day processing time. Then they send 1 check to us and contractor 50% of the funds. When job is done then they send an inspector (they want to oversee the job) out before the release of the rest of the funds! All this for a 2 day job! Somebody shoot me!

September 4th...My Facebook  post....

Did you know if you have an insurance claim your mortgage company can take and oversee the funding and the job? I have a kitchen claim that I fought for 14 weeks to get settled and now that I finally have the funds from the insurance company and the go ahead, my mortgage company is seizing the funds and overseeing the job once I submit the endorsed by us check and about 5 other documents they will need from the contractor and insurance company. Once they have the paperwork, they will release 50% of the funds and the remaining 50% once their inspector has approved the completed job. What do they think I'm going to do take the money and run? So my name is on the contractors contract and will be responsible for the charges. There is no guarantee I will even get those funds back.

 

With one month left until our daughters wedding I see no hope in getting our kitchen completed before hand. As of today it remains in the same condition that it was 15 weeks ago. My emails to our insurance commissioner Ralph Hudgens have gone unanswered ( I didn't put this on the time line but emailed him with questions on 8/14), my insurance company that complicated this whole mess has now passed the baton to our Mortgage company. I am the one left standing saying... Wait a minute!...Don't I have a say in this whole mess?  I really hate that my time, energy and what sanity I have left has been consumed with the last 15 weeks. What should be a time of celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and our daughters wedding has instead been weeks of regulations, hoop jumping and mental exhaustion. 

 

Really, the truth of the matter is....

When my kitchen is complete and I can once again walk barefoot on my floor, I will look back and say...GOD WAS AND IS GOOD!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Time lines... A whole new perspective on this journey!

Recently I had a conversation with a very special woman. In that conversation, she made a suggestion of placing a time line in my email to the insurance commissioner. Yes, we have gone that far! Not what I had hoped but where we are at.


As I continue to obtain yet another quote, I am finding this is not as easy as I had hoped. On Monday I did have what I pray will be the last contractor come to our home for measurements and photos in preparation for his quote!  Now we are back to the waiting game. One week for the completed quote and one week for SF's yes or no.


As I wrote out the time line...all 6 pages...I saw this whole ordeal in a different light! Wow...I am a patient woman! My children may not agree with that statement. What I did leave out was my emotions during all this...at least I tried to leave them out. The anger, bitterness, moments of feeling  abandoned, the fatigue due to the hours of searching and sitting with the contractors in order to come up with an accurate quote. Maybe the disruption to our family...the very large family! Plans put on hold because I couldn't have extra people in the house due to the condition of our kitchen. There is a little word called "Liability" that keeps swimming in my head. The time I have been stuck as I walked barefoot on our kitchen floor, the one that is now plywood with vinyl debris. Or the counter top that now just balances on two base cabinets and a dishwasher...leaving the side of that  dishwasher and underneath the sink exposed. Maybe how the contents of those cabinets are now living in my dining room in rubber maid containers and floor.




Without further ado....A little long but worth what's at the end!



Kitchen Claim 2014...Week 12 and counting!


We contacted our State Farm agent early March of 2014, concerning water damage from a leak at the dishwasher line. An appointment was made with an claim adjuster


The SF adjuster showed up several hours ahead of scheduled time with no warning.


3/11 received first State Farm Claim estimate


Discovered a huge mistake and called SF adjuster to notify him of the mistake...$ for a new refrigerator. We were advised to destroy the check. A new one would be issued.


3/17 received new corrected State Farm estimate


Minus previous mistake


Dated letter 3/23... Received letter from SF home office needing documented repairs by 7/13/14


Dated letter 6/6... Received letter from SF home office
Cancelling our insurance because repairs were not made by 7/13


Dated letter 7/11...Received letter from SF home office stating to disregard previous letters.


**** All claims packages have stated that the homeowner has up to two years to make repairs.


Repairs to the water line were made before we even called our SF agent.


6/9 - 6/12 Repairs began. Plumbing disconnected, dishwasher disconnected and removed, Refrigerator removed, stove moved, counter tops removed, 3 base cabinets removed. Vinyl flooring removed and damaged sink based removed from kitchen. Due to the nature of this claim we returned two base cabinets and placed the countertops to rest on said base cabinets and dishwasher. After several days we realized the nature of this claim could not be completed as per our SF adjusters recommendations, we reconnected the dishwasher and plumbing to the sink and returned the refrigerator and stove to the kitchen until further authorization from State Farm.


Due to the condition of the cabinets and SF's instructions SF was contacted. We were told they would need a letter from a contractor stating that said cabinets couldn't be repaired.


6/18 We received Area Decors letter. We were advised the damaged cabinets could not be repaired. The requested letter stated that the cabinets could not be matched. Unitemized amounts were included in the letter.


6/19 Photos and Area Decor's letter was emailed to our SF claim rep.


6/24 Received a 3rd supplement from SF, to our claim package with a check in the amount of $4243.98. $352.30 less than amounts on Area Decor's letter.


Realizing these figures were well below what was needed, I made a call to the SF claim office to advise them that we weren't in agreement with this contractor concerning his quote and that the letter was only meant to be the requested letter stating that the cabinet could not be repaired. I was never given authorization or instructions to obtain cabinet quotes. SF had only approved for the sink base cabinet to be repaired on three sides up until this point.


From 6/24 to sometime the week of July 14th numerous attempts were made to get clarification of the amounts given on the Area Decor letter. During this time we were advised that until clarification was made from Area Decor we could not proceed with submitting other contractor quotes.


Between 7/11 and 7/15 I proceeded to obtain an accurate kitchen quote in hopes that I could get a clearer picture of the cost. It was during this time SF finally decided to throw out Area Decor's letter. I was then given the ok to proceed with obtaining a cabinet and countertop quote. With no guidance from SF that is what I did.


7/15 Home Depot Cabinet measuring


7/16 Home Depot floor measuring


7/26 Received Final quotes from Home Depot for flooring, cabinets and countertops.


7/29 Final Quotes and builder supplements were emailed to SF claim office


7/31 or 8/1... I called SF to follow up on submitted quotes and spoke with a SF team member. Was told they would forward the information to team leader and would call me.


8/4 Spoke with head claim SF team member and was advised that the submitted bid was too high. I could choose to have the original SF adjuster come back out or proceed to get another quote. During the conversation the SF team member stated that SF had dropped the ball on this claim.


At no time were parameters or directions given from SF in searching for quotes.


8/4 SF team member emailed me a list of contractors in my area. Stating we need an unbiased quote.


8/7 Southeast Restoration came to our home for measuring and gaining information for a quote


8/11 Received an emailed quote from Southeast Restoration. Several mistakes were noticed. I called to advise of the mistakes.


8/12 Noticed major measuring mistakes on the SR quote so I emailed them the measures from the SF claim package to compare.


8/12 I personally found a list of 6-7 contractors for my area. I proceeded to call down the list. 4 of the 5 numbers listed were no longer working numbers.


8/12 - 8/14 Several attempts...2 phone calls and a couple of emails noting the mistakes... were made to get clarification and corrections made on the quote.


8/14 One last email was sent to Southeast Restoration with my concerns of no response to the emails or phone calls.


8/15 I received a corrected quote from Southeast Restoration.


8/18 We had another company come to our home for yet another quote. Was told it would be Friday 8/22 before we would receive their quote




Hmm...I wonder what my whole life would look like in a time line? Would I see my God in a different light? Would I see how He has fought for me and placed just the right people in my life for my good? Would I see how very patient He has been with me? Loving me always even when I didn't deserve it. Waiting for me to get my act together and submit to His will not mine. Would I see that His timing is perfect...never late and never early!? Would I see that no matter how many plans I had for my life, His were always so much better!? That through the pain of life He brought beauty and Joy.

I know I can not make time stand still or speed up. I can not go back or skip over. However I can step back and look at my life as a whole and say ...."Yes...My God is good!"


"He knows what's best for me and I will follow!"