Renovation HELLP - REVISED

 Hello Dear Ones,

I’ve got something on my mind. So we recently bought a house, decided to do a simple renovation and opened some things up... that lead to the discoveries of water damage in the dining room floor from the deck that the previous owners had tried to solve themselves and didn’t disclose to us. This lead to a rat infestation when they opened the deck up and the house up but didn’t put anything over the holes which gave the rats access to the entire inside of our floors. We all smelled something but nobody knew what it was, not even the inspector. We thought it was either smoke or the little dogs kept in the house by the previous owners. We also discovered things like the house needing to be re wired and another incorrect self installation from the previous owners in the kitchen which had the big wire hook up to the stove completely melted and wires exposed. 

So now instead of a few simple renovations we are looking at massive renovations. A complete house transformation, up and downstairs, outside and a garage. I - AM - SO - STRESSED! I feel like I can’t breathe, gasping and crying at the same time. 

Then there’s the fact I’m going to be parenting two toddlers in an RV all summer as we will have to repack our basement suite and move out so the whole house can be done all at once. And that’s if the renovations get done on time. Let me clarify that the RV will be borrowed from my sister and parked in our driveway - if it all works out.

I think is what is so difficult is that before anything is even touched in the house we are shelling out thousands of dollars. We have had to go the permit route because of the extent of the renovations. This means we paid for a land survey, we have paid over $2000 for drawings of what we want our house to look like when all is said and done but they still have to do all the drawings for the city so it will be double or triple that in the end. We now need another engineer who will cost a minimum of $2350 and a health and safety check over the entire building for asbestos and whatever else they look for plus the permit has to be applied for, paid for and hopefully we get approved. So before any contractor comes, before any work is done it’s thousands. 

On top of everything COVID19 has been ongoing for a year with our government pulling more and more power with no end in sight. We just got told that no social events of any kind are to happen for a non disclosed amount of time. We have been under this “strong ask” since November 2020, now it’s February 2021. And Trudeaus “hotels” have me worried too as I have friends and family who will need to come back into Canada - they have good reason to have left, nobody has been vacationing. Who has $2000 to be trapped in a guarded room, sent up gross food waiting for a clear test result when they already showed a negative test just to fly. Plus the power grab this is needs to be shut down, these things are not being done for our safety as Canadians - we are losing our rights as a free people at an alarming rate. 

All of this causes stress and anxiety and those things cause flare ups in both my body and my husbands health. We both have diseases that are unseen. I have EDS type 3 hyper mobility which means I dislocate partially and fully without cause. My husband has ulcerative colitis and his flare ups cause his body to stop digesting his food so he loses weight and it drains him of all energy - he suffers from fatigue. He’s essentially been robbed of his youth but if you ever get the chance to meet him you’d never know, he works so hard to stay as normal as possible and amazes me daily with all he accomplishes but he carries a deep sorrow over it. The only time it’s made him stop was when he was hospitalized in 2017 for a month and nearly died. Our daughter was about 9 months old at the time and it was a very intense time for our family.

We always wanted to do the renovations right, we were hiring a contractor, looking up all the laws so we were doing things “right” but now we are having to jump through alllll the expensive hoops on top of our renovation turning into a house demolition and revamp for health and safety reasons.

However, God. He knew all of these problems before he lead us to this place. He opened all of the doors at just the right time and in a crazy time in real estate we were able to look at it, bid on it and buy it - without anyone else driving up the price - this is a miracle. I know that. And I wouldn’t want to live in any other location - I live in a dream of forests and rivers, mountains and lakes. I am so grateful.

Having faith doesn’t mean you won’t find me some nights bawling curled up on the floor due to the stress of not knowing where the funds for rebuilding this home are coming from but soon after I also hope you’d find me leaning into my refuge and strong tower pouring my heart out to God, knowing he hears us and has us safe in his arms. He uses people in our lives to love and support us but ultimately He is where we learn who we are and He fills us to overflowing.

NOW - I took my gofundme link down in respect to a family member who disagrees with it. I’ve been working on the commandment “honour your father and mother” and I believe this applies to in-law parents. I made it with a clear conscience and truly believe there was nothing wrong with it, but out of respect I have taken it down.

Find the healing and sunshine dear ones,

Laura

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Hallway View and the Bathroom on the Right