One year after our flood

It's almost been a year since our house suffered a flood while we were gone camping for a few days. Everything had to go, including the ceiling and floor. Windows, air conditioner, heater, ducting, plumbing, electrical, lighting, cabinets and appliances were also replaced. Here are a few pictures of the process.
Our entire kitchen fit into this trailer.

Jim gets ready to replace the kitchen plumbing.

Jim, Nicholas and friend Darryll put the new ceiling in place.

Cabinets in place - getting ready for counter tops.

Elder Cassaro in Montana

We haven’t blogged since Ian left, but our adjusting to him gone is better now. It helps getting his weekly email and a hand-written letter besides. If you haven’t been on his missionary website (at www.missionsite.net/eldercassaro) you can read his letters and see his pictures which are also posted on his facebook. You can write him an email at IanCassaro@aol.com and he reads it every Monday morning.


The area Ian is serving is the northwest area of Montana….more hicks than cowboys. It’s very cold already and most people live there to be away from other people, especially missionaries. But Ian is doing his best to stir up the place and light it on fire. No bikes or apartments in this mission. The missionaries live with families and drive cars. He says he hasn’t had time to feel homesick and looks forward to each day. His first transfer day is coming up this weekend, so after a 10-hr bus ride back to the Mission Home in Billings, he’ll find out if he gets a new companion, a new area, or both.

Elder Ian Cassaro, Missionary

The day finally came for Jim and I to take Ian to Utah to start his 2-year mission. We spent a few days with Ian before his report date, visiting family (the Fosters and the Hanks) at their homes and going out with them to the Mayan Adventure for dinner. We took Jim to see the sites in Temple Square and took a tour of the Conference Center. He was impressed with it all! The last day with Ian, we dropped by the MTC (Mission Training Center) to see if we could take a few pictures in front. I told two new Elders there what we were doing. They said, “Oh, you should go ‘that’ way. Then they took us around the MTC. They hadn’t heard that visitors weren’t allowed around the property. They gave us a nice tour of the place, with some pictures and it helped with Ian’s nervousness quite a bit, so we didn’t feel too badly when we knowingly broke the rules. Eventually we were busted and nicely asked to leave. After two days of playing between Provo and Salt Lake, we said good-bye to our baby boy. A sad, but proud moment. Ian will be at the MTC for three weeks before going to his assigned mission in Montana & Wyoming. We already miss him so much, joining the thousands of missionary parents who wait for that precious letter each week and the holiday phone calls. Thank you everyone who helped Ian get there, whether it was financial, by example, or words of encouragement and support.

Ian's Going to be A Missionary

When Ian turned in his paperwork to be a missionary, he had high hopes of living in a foreign country and learning a new language. After two weeks of waiting, he got the letter announcing where he'll be going and when he'll leave. Ian and Leah met Jim on his UPS route. With grandparents and brothers listening on the phone, Ian read his 2-year assignment.







Ian will report to the Mission Training Center in Utah on August 26th, 2009. He'll be serving in the Billings, Montana Mission - English Speaking.
Although Ian is a bit disappointed that he won't have the experience of living outside the country, he realizes that he will always receive his mail, he won't have to live in confusion for months while learning a new language, and he won't have to get used to eating strange food. He's mostly relieved to finally get going with this part of his life.

Ian's Changing Hair

For the past several years, May is the month that Ian gets his hair straightened. For about six months he grows it out as long as he can stand it. Only two rules: his hair has to be out of his face and has to be clean at all times. His Aunt Rachel straightens his hair and he wears it like that for a day or two before she gives him a summer hair cut.

May of 2009 was no different than past years, except for the hair cut at the end. Before the final cut, Rachel had fun styling his hair several ways, including a Mullet. The difference this year……a missionary hair cut. With Ian’s Mission Papers turned in we expect his call in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Ian is enjoying his new look.

Happy Birthday to me......I guess

As my birthday approached, I was looking forward to celebrating it with a camping trip at the Colorado River near Needles, California during Memorial Weekend. Since our RV died two years ago, our 4-day home would be in a large two-room tent and a double easy-up awning. Jim, Nicholas, Ian, the dog and I packed up the truck, hooked up the jet skis and had a nice 5-hour drive to the river. Jason and his family were there as well. By the time we got our campsite set up, I wasn’t feeling well but did my best to cook a nice meal on the Coleman stove in the dark and heavy winds. The next morning I woke up very sick and seemed to get more sick each day. I was able to enjoy a boat ride and a few outings on the jet skis but mostly slept. Jim bought me a cake and I received two gifts and cards and everyone at the campsite sang “Happy Birthday” but I was too sick to enjoy it. On the way home I slept the entire way, arriving home to a flooded kitchen, dining room and living room from a broken water filter on the frig. After a quick trip to the doctor, I was diagnosed with Bronchial Pneumonia and received some meds. Shortly afterwards, our kitchen and adjoining rooms were a mess with Insurance Claims Adjusters, and Water Damage Crew, furniture and décor packed-up and moved out, our carpet and padding was removed and the walls cut open.
Our house currently has the pungent odor of old wet wood and Listerine (the smell of the chemical used to prevent mold) with the continual windy sound of the dehumidifiers and air mover machines trying to dry out the second level of the house. Happy birthday to me….I guess!

The Cassaro Girls Have Boo Boos

Several years ago our dog(Kya) had a partial knee replacement, which is common for Pit Bulls. Everything was fine until about six months ago, when her scar opened up and began to ooz and a knot began to form. You can see the knot in the picture. I scheduled her for surgery and they removed ALOT of old sutures that were no longer connected. She has stitches and drain tubes. The next day, after returning home from church, I walked across the lawn in high heels, hit a hole, and fell on my face, breaking my big toe. The people who saw me fall looked away pretending not to see it. Who hobbled over the help me? The dog.