About two years ago, we received a phone call from the employer of our youngest daughter. She fainted at work and wasn't responsive. Four additional calls to EMS and the medical mystery was solved - P.O.T.S. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Eventually, it was discovered that BOTH the younger daughters were affected and the extreme heat of Texas made it mandatory that we leave the state that I am a fifth-generation citizen of. It's likely that I have the same issue, but back when I was younger, it was called 'heat prostration' and my keister had to stay inside during the hottest part of summer.

To cut to the chase, we're putting our house on the market and have decided that Oregon will be our "landing space." The problem is that putting the house up for sale is an expense we didn't budget for. We can either cover our middle child's medical expenses or use the money for the landscaping and maintenance needs on our 2.2 acres - which means trimming 4 trees and taking down 2 trees that have been negatively affected by our recent winters. There is also a trailer full of junk we need to haul off, but the landfill fees have escalated lately.

There's a bit of additional worry: my husband has severe asthma and high blood pressure. While I know he'd rather take care of these issues, physically, it's impossible. We have contacted a couple of contractors to provide the services we need, but while talking to one this morning, a snake decided to slither in the grass under the ramp where we stood - almost totally hidden in high grass. We can't put this off, but we can't afford it without some help.

So, I'm asking for a bit of help so we can clear up these items, get the house into show-ready shape, and get ourselves down the road and towards a healthier homestead in a cooler climate.