Well this is the year of abnormally large gifts. Part of that is necessity, after a lot of years of use things just wear out. The most recent and daunting replacement/upgrade is the water system in our house. The night of Afton's birthday Aliza had a bad report that there was standing water in our storage room. After investigating we found leaking pipes. Water literally squirting out of pinholes in the copper pipes. Greg attempted to just tape the pipe to get us through the night but the pipe tore apart in his hands. He and Mark began learning how "easy" pex pipe is and repaired the immediate problems the next day.
The old pipe was thin and weak this is from the water softener to the water heater.
This is the pipe into the house. That's about a pencil width of water flow.
After several consults with his brother the builder we were overjoyed to hear that the builder was coming for a visit.
While here I was surprised that Bruce, the younger of the two by 6 months, is actually taller than Trenton. Can't you tell these two are related.
Working with Greg's brother is always a learning experience, he is an expert in home stuff like Greg is with car stuff. He likes nicknames and Reed earned the name of Hercules. People are usually surprised when they observe Reed's strength and no nonsense approach. I'm so thankful for Kevin's generous help. And once again so thrilled to have reliable running water!
After one night of work the strong older brothers had the hole started. I was actually most worried about this step. Greg is thorough and so we are replacing everything. A lot has not been operating at all so this is a necessary project. The boys thought they would skip out on helping their dad one night so they got to dig for an hour and a half in the dark. Three teenagers can get a lot of dirt moved if they want to.
The final project was about 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep for about 12 feet. They did well. And now all is replaced and good on the outside. We increased from 1" to 1.25" without restriction we have lots of water these days. Now to tackle all the inside plumbing. Thankfully we have a pretty simple inside layout. It's just taking the time and mess and more clean-up mess to get it done. But considering the very weak shape of what replaced it's not something we can ignore for a few more years. I'm impressed year after year at my husband's ability to do things. Nothing is out of his league and nothing is ever too hard. I'm a wimp I don't have that same vision.
A second memory I want saved is this. One night around 11:30 p.m. we were heading to bed. Getting ready to brush teeth etc. My phone rang asking if Greg could come give a blessing? The friend is a devout member of another faith. Greg said yes and we proceeded to get him ready. Earlier in the evening he had smashed his hand on a car door. Life had been pretty stressful and I think Greg was honestly just dragging from a lot of long days. So with the newly smashed finger throbbing I helped Greg get changed from work clothes to church clothes. Rarely do I help him with much personal stuff. This night it was tender to dress him. When he came home I did it all again.
I was struck by the lesson of how we love those whom we serve. He often helps me as I am holding a sleeping or eating baby or am too pregnant to reach my feet, but rarely do I have the chance to return the favor. After two decades of marriage life can get pretty heavy. I'm thankful for moments of humility to remember and feel that soul piercing love of another. Life is good and I am so blessed to have water, skill, and muscles to take on whatever life throws.
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