A Few Thank Yous

We spent most of our day cleaning, rearranging, and organizing. We're making room for renters in the basement next month. Thank you to each of you that have inquired about our little spot of rental real estate. We're super excited for who might be down under soon!

Thank you to each of the 186 "unique visitors" that have visited my blog the last few days, checking in on my mom's property situation. And thank you to each one of you who have written letters to the city council on her behalf. You have until first thing Monday morning to shoot off a brief letter if you are still thinking of going to bat for her. Here is a paragraph that one friend wrote...love this:

It is imperative for public officials with power over the citizens, in this case land division and all the related requirements including water, to be professional, knowledgeable and provide reliable information.  Land division is a long process and there is no excuse for government officials to not take the time to be able to provide accurate information on a process as painful and expensive as platting.  If water was going to be refused it should have been refused long ago before the government took her money without providing her a service and long before the Thaut’s were allowed to have spent $50,000 to complete a process that would apparently never be allowed to be fruitful. 

The council meets at noon on Monday and then again in the evening. And really, a simple letter is wonderful too. This friend has fought his own land use battles (and won!) so he has a unique angle on the whole thing. See this letter from another friend that is also helpful to mom's cause:

Dear Members of the Bellingham City Council,
 My name is XXX and I lived in Bellingham for 22 years and have been a Whatcom County resident for 43 years.  I am writing to you today asking that you would please rule favorably for Judy Thaut.  This appeal is not for grace but it is for wisdom and courage in your decision as you have the opportunity to right an injustice that has befallen this dear woman.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Please pray for a favorable outcome for my mom. It would be so, so nice if (along with favorable) we could get a definite answer on Monday too. We're both so worn out from this. It's consuming. And my full time classes start up in a few weeks. I need to be done so I can focus on kids and school. My mom needs to be done too. This has been a huge interruption to normal life with terrible, almost daily, ups and downs. It just needs to stop.

Thank you Kaisha and Mom for this beautiful painting for my very blank walls. I love it. Happy birthday, to me!

And thank you, to Collin's friend, you know who you are, perpetual Favorite Person, one of my OtherSons that I love to death, for this incredible orchid! I've never owned an orchid in all my life. I absolutely love flowers, especially in the house! But I have too many kids to attempt sustaining plant life as well. I didn't know orchids are so simple. It only needs a good soaking about once a week. And the flowers stay for months! And look how perfect it is in this corner. I love this! 

And thank you everyone who has been ordering jewelry! This picture is a special order that one friend had me make for another friend. I love it. Today I put 4 necklaces together for someone. This is a great time, before school starts, for me to be putting in extra time on orders. Ahhhh. It's been a crazy busy week. I cannot wait for things to slow down and I can get more study time in. Sounds so relaxing. Maybe tomorrow.