The Downtown Farmhouse

The last 21 days have been a blur.

You know how it is? 

You plan and prepare. You think you know exactly how it will go and when it actually comes, it’s like a hurricane. You have everything ready but everything that you have isn’t really what you need. There is never enough time in the day and you have way to many things on your To Do list. 

Today, Jack is 3 weeks old. 21 days already. 

A blur. 

The left picture is Day 1

Top right  is  2 weeks old. Right bottom is yesterday. 

Watching him change and grow is such a miracle. 

Steve asked “when will people get sick of pictures of Jack?” Probably yesterday…..but that’s ok. I will continue to diary so that we can remember the first weeks of his life 

We can remember the evenings when we have dinner now as a family of 7. 

We can remember when Justin’s Grandmother Christine came to visit and had dinner with us. She loved on Jack and watched her grandson be a Daddy. 

We can remember when Uncle Kyle drove over from New Smyrna every other week because he loves Jack so much. We will remember the day Courtney, Kyle and Moshe sat on the couch and laughed. They made faces at Jack because he made them first. 

We will remember every night Sing-a-long with BB (BB is me!) and how he loves the song Wheels on the Bus and Old Jack Wissinger had a Farm. 

We will remember Jacks first Sunday he went to church. He is already loved by so many. He only made it through the music and the first 10 minutes of the message but he made it. 

I will remember watching my daughter be a Mommy. Watching her learn her baby and to watch her figure things out. I will remember being proud of her and how I watch her care so intimately for her son. How every new mommy is so sleep deprived and even when there is an opportunity to rest, she can’t stand to be apart from him. That’s love. 

I will remember Justin caring for his son.  Watching him change diapers and caring for his family the entire first week as his wife rests from a difficult delivery. I watch him as he becomes a Daddy. He works hard for his new family of 3. I can see worry on his face when he is unsure. I can see happiness when he is content. I might only be his mother-in-law, but he is my son. 

I will remember watching the people I love the most, love on this precious new life, we all want to hold him but lovingly we sit and watch when it’s not our turn.

Tomorrow I’ll return to house pictures and the carport Reno, painting and building new things. 

But today, without apology, I will post pictures and news about Jack. Happy 21 days old sweet baby. I could not love you more.

Love,

BB

I originally posted about this flat file cabinet here. The E-One Treasure

This cabinet was ugly and rusty.

Ok. That’s not nice. 

I often feel ugly and after working too hard the day before, I feel a little rusty too.

She’s a beauty just waiting for a make-over.

Here are my inspiration pictures.

We can do this!!!

All the pieces were disassembled and pulled out into the yard. Hardware was removed and prepared to paint.

My spider fearing friends need to look away NOW.

This baby was hiding in the cabinet. Goodness knows how long it’s been growing in there cause he was HUGE!!!!

You would think sanding metal wouldn’t be so gross.

It was gross.

Each drawer had to be prepared and painted separately. There were 5 drawers and the shell. Carport renovation has things a little higely pigely so finding a place to work can be challenging. 

The hardware was in great shape so I just gave it a spray paint face lift.

Only one thing was a challenge.

A missing wheel.

A wheel that the drawer slides in on.

Here is where ingenuity and imagination comes in.

Dad? I need a wheel for the file cabinet. One is missing and I have no idea where it is. 

He says “well I saw it but I have no idea where it is.” 

Enter an old table leg and a saw. 

I feel a little like Fred Flintstone.

Here she is all painted and put together. 

I want to use this piece for an exact purpose so it needed a little height.

Enter Amazon Prime 

This beauty is now our coffee table. 

I want to style the top with a basket or tray to hold our tv remotes and what nots but I’m loving it! 

The old house has always been designed for the people who will live here next.

No we are not moving. 

However, when the time comes for Steve and I to live in the old house alone, I’m not sure what two people are going to do with 4400 square feet. 

Our laundry room is big.

It has lots of storage and shelves and the next family that lives here will love it.

I have this thing about everything having a place. A place to call its own. Even the iron. 

Here is my inspiration picture:

I must have the items I need to make this. Right?

To the hoard I go. 

I find some white shelving 

I find some brackets 

I did have to buy some hooks 

But they were brown so I had to paint them.

Screw this piece to that piece. 

Add the hooks.

Order a super cute ironing board cover because now it’s wall art.

It is finished.

Now if I can get the shelves painted and styled, this laundry room will be in the books.

With a new baby, it’s already one of the most popular rooms in the house. 

Happy Memorial Day friends. As you enjoy your day, don’t forget the remember those who have sacrificed their lives for us. Those who have protected and served our country. 

Hug the ones you love a little tighter today. 

A few years ago, before the old house was even a thought, I started a little business. I would travel the town on any given Friday and/or Saturday morning and find treasures. So called treasures to most would be junk and most would say “throw that trash away” but I have been gifted to see the future of trash. What does that make me? 

The trash whisperer? 

It’s not below me to travel roads on garbage day just to make sure no one is throwing away a treasure. I’m currently working on a table I pulled from such an excursion. 

Friends sometimes ask me for help with their treasures. I feel honored that they trust me enough to take their piece and sometimes, without guidance, give it a face lift. 

Recently I have had two different friends allow me to get my hands on their treasures. 

The most recent beauty belongs to my previous neighbor. 

We were visiting their home one evening and I spotted this treasure in their garage. “I love this? What is it and where did you get it?”

She replied, “It was hand built by a church member to hold hymnals. It’s really really old. It needs to be restored and I’ve been looking for someone to do it for me.”

Well I just happened to know someone that does that.

She knew I restored old pieces but didn’t think I would be interested with the house reno and the new baby. 

“As long as you are not in a hurry, I would love to do it!”

So it came home in the truck with us. I think that was March………..

Every few weeks, I would drag it out into the yard and work on it. 

Honestly? I thought it was going to be a easy job.

Sand it down.

Re-stain.

Put it back together,

Bada Bing. Done 

Here’s before after I had already removed the doors. 

Sanding didn’t work. 

When you sand very old stain, it turns into glue. Very sticky glue that gums up your sandpaper. 

The job just got much bigger.

All the old stain had to be removed. 

That means stripper and a scraper.

Ya’ll I hate stripping off old stain.

It’s dirty and slimy. 

I stopped counting after I stripped off 3 coats. 

But look at her now!

Yesterday she went from living in the garage with the spiders to her owners looking for her a place in the house. 

She had me at the old hardware.

I am grateful for the talents I have received. 

I am grateful for the people who entrust me with their treasures. 

Now it’s Sunday and not much work will be done today. However look out world cause Monday is coming. 

Now this girl is getting ready to get up and get ready for church. If you don’t have a church, come to Church of Hope. I’ll save you a seat! 

But first…….coffee.

Have a blessed day friends. 

If I say “Granola” you know what that means right?

All Natural.

All Organic.

No Preservatives.

You get it?

Courtney Dawn Kern Wissinger = Granola

It’s not a derogatory term. It’s not meant to be degrading. It’s just fact.

She’s proud of her ways and does not waver.

As she traveled through her early adult years, she was quite the gypsy.  She didn’t have a set plan and she wandered through the country and parts of the world. She liked living the way she did and when she returned home in May 2015 she decided she would settle down.

She met Justin and they were married in August 2016 at the old house. It was a great memory for the old house and then came baby news.

Typical conversations would be talked about.

Is it a boy or a girl?

What theme should we decorate the nursery?

What OB will be delivering the baby?

Courtney – “I would really like to have a home birth.”

I thought silently “Of course you would. Probably outside, sitting under a tree, singing kumbaya while waving burning sage”

Home births are for hippie’s right? Those granola folk that are hairy in places that I don’t want to talk about and smell a little. No way. NO WAY. My grandchild will be born in the sterile hospital, under supervised medical care where all the bells and whistles will go off at any given moment alerting the many people just waiting to tend to my child and my soon to be grandchild.

Courtney and Justin meet with a midwife. Crap. I am losing this battle.

Oh Thank GOD! Insurance will not pay for a home birth with the birthing center they visited. Hospital here were come!

So the grandmother I am, I asked everyone I knew to refer OB’s and of course I passed on the information pronto.

The first OB was chosen. The first visit was completed. Notice I said first.

The second OB was chosen. A few visits were completed. Notice I didn’t say finished.

A conversation was started at dinner one evening very far into Courtney’s pregnancy.

Here’s how it goes.

“I have found a birthing center that will accept our insurance and we want to have the baby here, at the old house. Is that ok?”

We might have looked like this.

or this

But we said Yes.  Scared to death……..but Yes.

The first appointment with the midwife is scheduled. I’m going! I am NOT going to like this woman and no one can make me. She is going to have to answer all my questions and she better get them all right. I’m going to sit in my chair with my legs crossed with that serious expression on my face that she’s going to know I mean business.

Who am I kidding? I really wanted to hug her and ask if she really knew what she was doing because MY BABY IS HAVING A BABY and I don’t have a clue about home births.

She did know what she was talking about and I immediately felt at ease.  You know that moment when things just click and you feel at peace? Yep, that’s what I felt.

The second appointment was scheduled and it would be a home visit. Uh Oh. She would be meeting my parents….and Steve. The super skeptical one. If you think I am over protective of my kids, I’m a super slacker next to Steve.

We all survived the home visit and now it was just wait. Wait for labor to come. Wait for women who were practically strangers to come into our home, spend hours and hours taking care of our daughter and delivering our grandson.

That doesn’t sound weird at all………….yes it does. But we are doing it anyways.

Labor Day comes.

3 women come into our home.

They cared for our child as if they loved her. They were kind and sincere. They were professional and wonderful. We spent almost 24 hours together and we are now family whether they like it or not. Dialis, Karin and Heather from the Loving Arms Birth and Wellness Center will forever be remembered and appreciated as they brought the newest member of our family into the fold. The most precious gift of life.

I am a convert.

I am an advocate of home births.

I lived it. I saw it. I believe it.

The old house is 114 years old. I think back to its younger years and how it has probably welcomed many births.

Now it has welcomed Jack.

Becky and I attended a funeral last week.

The funeral was for the Father of our sweet friend Debbie and the Grandfather of our friends Robby and Becky. 
We had never met Mr. McLaughlin.  You don’t go to funerals for the person who has left this Earth. You go to the funeral for those left behind. 

When Debbie came down the aisle and locked eyes with us, her eyes filled with tears, we knew that coming to the funeral was the right thing to do. She never expected us to be there. We didn’t know 95% of her family. 

Mr. McLaughlin was “not leaving home but coming home” as spoken by the priest at Our Lady of the Springs Catholic Church. His journey home ended as he entered Heaven. He met Jesus. 

The years that he spent debilitated with Alzheimer’s were no more. He was whole. 

As the family now has to figure out living this new way of normal I will pray. Will you pray with me? 

My friend Robby faces his own set of challenges and as he spoke the Eulogy as his Grandpas funeral, he spoke of his family verse. Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

It’s not easy to not be afraid. The world we live in is sometimes a scary place. 

This week I will read Deuteronomy 31:6 often. It’s a promise to us. 

I will also be listening to some good old Irish tunes. Maybe some “Danny Boy” or a little “When Irish eyes are smiling” because Mr McLaughlin loved those songs and evidently he was a singer and would bust out singing every once in a while. 

To Debbie, Robby and Becky,

Your life here on earth will never be the same without Dad and Grandpa, that’s a fact. The good news is, he’s dancing to an old Irish gig, hanging with Jesus and shooting the breeze with those who went before him. And? He’s just waiting on you to get there. 

I love you friends.

Charma 

I was curious about Mothers Day so Google helped me out.

Anna Jarvis

The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.

Even Anna Jarvis didn’t like Mothers Day and she created it. 

Being a mother is my most favorite job. No matter if it’s Biological Mother, Mother-in-Law, Dog Mother, Stand in Mother, or my newest role of Grandmother (thanks for letting me join this club:))

I do love that my son will be with me on Mothers Day but I would be excited if he was with me on the second Tuesday of any Tuesday.

I pondered what to write about being we have a brand new mother in our home.

Our home houses three Mothers. What a long heritage of Mothers we celebrate.

My mother celebrates her 61st Mothers Day this year. She will receive a phone call from my brother who lives in Ohio. But you know what? He calls her all the time, not just on Mothers Day and that’s what counts.

My mother is the most self-less human being I know. She cares for all of us because that’s just who she is. Happy Mothers Day mom! Not just today but everyday 

I celebrate my 31st Mothers Day this year. 

Nothing makes me happier than watching  my family flourish as they embark on adult lives of their own. Being able to walk beside them on their journeys. To know that they trust my opinion and enjoy the time we spend together. 

There are many people who do not have relationships with their children. I personally know many and my heart breaks when they speak of the turmoil they endure. 

There are woman unable to be mothers. There are woman that have had the heartbreak of miscarriage after miscarriage and dread the day when Mothers Day rolls around. 

There are mothers that have their mothers are no longer here on  Earth. Mothers that have gone ahead to meet Jesus and even though they will meet again, today is still a difficult day.

I will enjoy mothers day this year not because of the gifts I wil receive, because they know better, but because we will be together, under one roof, for the whole day.

Courtney, Kyle and I were speaking of this Sunday and what the plans would be. 

“What are we eating?” “Who cares as long as we are not fighting the crowds at a restaurant.”

“What do you want to do Sunday?” “Come home from church and put on my pajamas.”

Simple plans? Maybe…but it makes me happy.

Courtney celebrates her first Mothers Day. It will be her first week as a mother. 

Do you remember your first week as a mother?

I’ll give you a hint.

I’m writing this post and it’s 3:57am.

I think a nap might be the only thing on the agenda for this Mothers Day.

We celebrate Mother’s Day everyday. 

Especially today!

To all you moms out there. 

Enjoy being a mom today and every day.

I hope you get a nap.

An 8 car carport plus a storage shed on the end and we even have 2 cars sitting outside. 

How do we have so much junk? 

The carport is getting a makeover and it’s not soon enough. Ratty looking and there is no where for the junk to hide. 

Here’s before. 

The last few weeks have been a little crazy. Dad was in the hospital and we were preparing for baby boy to arrive knowing that the carport roof was going to be replaced any week. We were just waiting for the roofer to call and say that the supplies were in.

So we knew that things needed to get rolling. What does get rolling mean?

We needed to get serious about cleaning up and clearing out. 

We started with paint. When dad doesn’t feel well but wants to be outside, you find something he can do sitting down.

Open the can. See if it’s still good. Put in the keep pile or add to the giant pile that needs to go to the dump recycling center. 

One of the many items Dad must go through. Old cassette tapes. Makes me laugh.

This chair was stationed strategically as I pulled plastic storage bins from a storage room that will be demolished very soon. The majority of the items in this storage were car parts. To be exact- Dads car parts. 

You name it, he’s got it

His job is to sort through each bin and:

*Keep

*Sell

*Donate 

*Or trash 

Easy? You think it’s easy?

His love has always been old cars. My love for old stuff comes very close to the heart. While I save old furniture, he saved old cars. When Steve and I met, Dad was into restoring corvettes. I’ll never forget Steve coming to the house and there were two vintage corvettes lined up in the backyard. I think he was impressed.

Dad is a car part hoarder.

Is there a tv show for that? 

So in between hospitals and babies being born, we have been working on the carport. 

Today, the roof is being ripped off, wood replaced and any repairs made. 

It’s going to be a long hot summer while we work to renovate the old carport but just wait and see. It’s going to be fabulous darlings. 

Love, 

The girl who forgot how tired you are when there’s a baby in the house 

Dear “the last 24 hours”

Thank you for the gift of life. It’s remarkable and our lives will forever be changed with the addition of Jack William Wissinger. His birth was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and we are completely and ridiculously in love with this new little human.He is perfect in every way. 

The midwives checked every inch of his body and proceeded to check his Mommy.

She tore. 

Who knew that there were levels of tearing but there are. They assess the situation. If her tear is a level 3 or above, the repair would need to be completed at the hospital. 

It was a level 3. There are muscles involved and a trip to the ED would be required.

2:00am we pack up mother and newborn and off they go. The midwife was going so there was no need for me to go. I started laundry and wanted to get a few hours sleep before my new duties of BB began.

They return at 5:30am. 

Expecting a very tired family and a sore new mommy, we meet them at the door. 

Mad was the expression we saw.

The ED Dr. on call did not feel as if the situation was life threatening and would not come in and repair her tear. 

Now……you can mess with me, but mess with my kids? And now my grandkid? I’m mad too!!!!

The nurses were furious. The midwife was beside herself but without a Dr. there was no reason to stay.

Courtney laid down.

Justin paced.

A few hours later, as I am writing my story from the birth so as not to forget a detail, I hear Justin on the phone. He is speaking to an OB Dr. I don’t know who he called and where he got his name but to listen to my son in law taking charge of his new family made me want to bust with pride. He could have went to bed because for goodness sake at that time he has been awake for 30 hours but instead, he got the ball rolling and they had an appointment for Courtney to be seen at 9:00am. He would assess her and decide the next step. 

The OB says that she will need to be repaired in the operating room. The outpatient surgery is scheduled for 3:45pm.

Baby boy gets to stay with me. I have my first babysitting gig and I couldn’t be more happy.

The hours go by.

I am a little fretful because when he wakes, he will want to eat and this BB has nothing to help that situation. 

5:42pm and she hasn’t gone back to surgery 

Jack has slept peacefully since they’ve left. They text and ask how he is and I always respond “perfect.” Because he is. 

6:30pm and she finally goes back to surgery 

9:30pm the surgery is finally done but she is still super groggy and they won’t let her leave. The baby, at this time hasn’t eaten in hours and is starting to stir. The nurses said that Courtney can nurse so bring him over. 

Justin is already out getting her RX. I change and put the baby in the car seat and Daddy picks him up and takes him to his Mommy.

The new family of 3 return home around midnight.

Everyone is able to sleep in their own beds.

“The last 24 hours,” you were spectacular, scary, exhausting, fearful and so many more emotions but we are moving on.

See ya!

Last night, May 8th at 10:45pm,  I met my grandson.

It is currently May 9th at 6:08am and while I should be sleeping because I was awake for 24 hours, instead I am sitting in the room next to my daughter and my grandson listening to them sleep. Listening to the whimper of a new born baby. Listening as it hurts to roll over once you have delivered a baby. 

Just listening.

The story begins on May 8th at 3:30am as we are awakened from a sound sleep. Before Justin enters the room, we have already been listening to the sounds of footsteps overhead. He enters and announces “we are in labor, contractions are 6 minutes apart!”

My mind immediately goes to:

Has the midwife been called?

I need to call Kyle, he wanted to be notified immediately.

Oh crap, I didn’t go to the  grocery store and now there will be people to feed. 

My house is a wreck. 

Oh whatever, the baby is coming.

The baby we have been waiting for.

The baby we have talked about for months. 

The baby that we thought there would never be. Courtney didn’t want babies. She wanted to wander the world and be a gypsy. But I’m going to be a grandmother today.

5:00am comes and the contractions are 4 minutes apart. Somebody lit Sage upstairs and it kind of stinks. I am hoping that is not a smell that I will need to endure for many hours.

The TV is on and they are watching the British baking show on Netflix. 

5:30am comes and we hear a knock on the door. DeAlice, the midwife arrives. Yes we are having a home birth. That’s a whole other story in itself. 

She does the same things that a Dr at the hospital would do. She takes Courtney’s vitals and then…… we hear the baby’s heartbeat all the way downstairs as we wait for an update. 

I had texted Kyle immediately upon the labor news however he had not responded back. I call. He answers knowing that the only reason I would call him at 5:00 in the morning would be to announce labor. He answers groggy and by 6:00am, Uncle Kyle is on his way 

We anticipate the news at 6:20am, they will be checking to see how dialated she is. 7 cm!!! Wow this is going to be a fast one.

Not even close. 

They labor together, Justin and Courtney. This is a magical time and we respect this time that they will spend together as their last hours of a family of two. 

I sit and listen 

There door is cracked open and every once in while I hear the moans of labor intensifying.

Every hour or so I peek my head in to see if anyone needs anything. You know thats what I do.

The midwife is knitting 

Friends is on TV and Fender has not left Courtney’s side. There is a knock at the front door and Heather, the Midwife Assistant arrives. 

6:45am and Courtney comes downstairs. Contractions are two minutes apart. 

7:30am and Kyle arrives. This Momma bird is always happiest when her babies are all in the nest. 

I retreat upstairs to get a status report. That’s my job.

Courtney is taking her 4th shower and at 7:30am the second Midwife arrives. It’s a full house upstairs 

Justin has amazing friends. His best friend Clint, whom he has known since he was 6 years old arrives. 

Around 8:30am, Justin’s other friend Ben, a pastor, stops by to pray for our family. He prayed for them 9 short months ago when they stood on the porch of the old house and pledged their lives to one another. 

Courtney has requested bacon.

It has become a parking lot at the old house. 

9:00am Courtney comes downstairs again and says that it feels better to walk. 

1:00pm rolls around and we are all walking around the front of the house. Labor is what it is. It’s hard. Just hard. 

She squats while standing in the front yard.

Her water breaks. Oh my goodness. 

The midwife immediately assesses the situation. 

“Remember 1:05pm.” 

She positions herself all up in Courtney’s business, right there in the front yard and listens to the baby’s heartbeat. “Sounds good, she announces as cars are driving past.” 

It’s really hazy and smoky outside due to the brush fires so we don’t stay out long.

Labor continues and it’s hard to watch your child, no matter how old they are as they struggle to bring a life into the world but still suffer. 

Courtney decides to try the tub around 3:30pm.

There is labor, labor and more labor. Just a tiny bit more dialation is needed. 

9:00pm arrives and it’s finally time to push. 

Many family members wait downstairs as it gets closer. I try to give updates but it’s getting really close and I’m afraid I’ll miss it.

At 10:45pm I witnessed the most beautiful sight that I have ever been privileged to see. Not only was I able to witness the miracle of birth but I watched my grandson take his first breath as he entered the world. 

Jack William Wissinger became a member of our family weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 21 inches long with a head full of black hair. 

He is the most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on and I am blessed to be his BB. 

We have had a few complications with Courtney so I would appreciate your continued prayers. Nothing life threatening but as she begins this new life as “mommy” it’s all hard enough with anything extra.

We are tired, so tired 

But we thank God for all the blessing He chooses to give us.

My cup runneth over.