Blessings In Disguise...Hurricane Irene

I am sure that many of you are thinking that it might be hard to find blessings in the midst a hurricane. But I have had the joy of finding many. On Sunday, August 28 hurricane Irene made her presence known to us at 6:30am. And I only know because the luxary I have been afforded, of having a fan blowing on my face to sleep, was suddenly stripped from me. The sound of silence was unfamiliar to me. But I quickly realized what was so important and how truley I had been blessed. No trees on my house or my car. No water filling my basement (I don't have one). No waves crashing my house to pieces. And the reality that we are fortunate enough to know that there would be resolve for us. We live in a country where we have power. We have clean water. We have food...So yes, I say we are blessed.

71 Straight hours with no power...we are so blessed, we had food to eat and a grill to cook it on, coolers WITH ICE to keep food...we are blessed. No hot water for 3 days...we are blessed, we had running water to wash our hands, our dishes and our table to eat on. No hot water to shower...we are blessed, others went 7 days without and we had warm water in the tank for 2 1/2 days.

No tv or internet...we are blessed, we were given the time to spend with eachother with no distractions allowing for 9 hours (minus 2 hours for breaks) of credit card monopoly,and a reenactment of the Red Sox game with baseball player pieces from a chess game (Sox vs. Yanks at that).

It was nice to see how the kids were finally able to find a way to entertain themselves. Some things like entertaining yourself are easier for some rather than others. This one is quick to find something fun to do. She set up a tatoo shop and charged a quarter per image. Adam actually was asked by a coworker when he got his. Then his brother saw his ankle one and wanted to know where he got it. He liked it. Hopefully not a lifelong career choice for her though.

We had to cook the food that was in the frig and freezer so it would not go to waste. My mom got a kick out of the precut cookies that I insisted on trying to cook on the grill. The kids thought it was a treat. In the last hours before we got power back on Wednesday morning we were blessed with the wonderful sharing that our neighbor passed on to us. He had been offered the use of a generator and invited us to hook up a 50 foot extension cord to allow us to have a light, the game on radio and a strip of rechargable devices. The little things that make you happy.

Before I went to sleep at night I walked over to the window and took a moment to take in the quiet of the neighborhood. All was dark except the God-made silhouette of the trees against His sky that was slightly lit. It made me realize that even in the dark, He is Light. The quiet, gentle sight I had the pleasure of seeing before I went to sleep. (I was sure to make a point and reassure that it was out.)

In the day that followed we went to my FIL's house to survey the damages to his house. We found many reminders of our fortune along the way and some as we got there.

These eyes say it all...

Fortunate this tree did not fall on our house...(can't say the same for my FIL)

Fortunate these trees did not fall near us...

Fortunate to have family that was all fine...

The girls crushing stones.

The boys guarding the girls' shoes from them.

The next time you forget what the Lord provides for us, shut off the power...ALL OF IT. Thank you Lord, for all my blessings.

"See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the dessert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Then the eyes of those who see, will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear, will listen."

Isaiah 32:1-3

March

3-5-11 (Celebrated on)

Happy Birthday, Sunshine. (3/7) Keeping with tradition, I took just Skylar to her birthday breakfast. It is so nice to get that time together to really focus on her and how big she is getting. Hard to believe our little Sunshine is on Care Bear number 6! Each year she gets a new "Funshine" bear because she is our sunshine. She also gets a pair of butterfly wings to soar to the heights God has in store for her in this year of her life.
3/12/11
This year we went smaller for the friend party. We let the kids choose a single, small party in their birthday month and a big, 3 kid party in a May or bigger now. They each choose the smaller gathering during their month. Pizza making, shirt decorating and a princess movie. Her closest friend, Olivia and her cousin, Shayla.
Kamden trying to be secretive while making Skylar's cake. Denial...Over time some of us choose not to accept that we can no longer do the things we used to.
He's still in denial that we have had children and he has had to take a back seat to them. Mommy's old baby.We ended the month with Skylar's first "Father/Daughter" dance. She was so excited to be going this year. But as it turned out wound up very sick right before it. I did the horrible parent thing and gave her some motrin and sent them on their way. Shh, don't tell any parents I did that. But it only comes once a year and she wanted to go so bad.

Oh, to be a fly on that wall to see those two social butterflies striking up conversations left and right. Ok, so I am joking. But they hung with the other dads and girls. I was thankful the photo backdrop was still set up because these guys were too shy to go in and get their pictures taken. So I got to do them myself.

My secret agents, with flashlights in hand, did get to stop in and sneak a peak of the last dance and watch them dance. Tears streamed down my face as Cinderella played. Skylar's oh, so favorite song. Just to watch them holding eachother makes me realize just how quick this is all going to go. Before I know it, I will be crying as he dances with her at her wedding. Capture these precious moments now and embrace them for they move so quick. Skylar and her friends, Olivia and Sierra. Skylar was still so shy that the only time she got up to dance or mingle was when Olivia arrived. Her and Olivia were such a great mix for eachother. Skylar mellowed her out and Olivia got Skylar out and moving.

February

This month seems to be lots of snuggling with eachother whether pet or person.
For a short time, all three of the kids were in the same room to sleep. Each of them had expressed an interest in being together. So rather then upset them at a time that they wanted to be together, we bunked them all in the boys' room. At some points during the ending of that era, Kamden and Skylar found themselves talking during times that they had been asked to be sleeping. So our solution for those evenings was to move the talker to the empty room. More times than not, Kamden ended up on the floor in Skylar's emptroom. I began to think he enjoyed it. Then he confirmed it one night during a switch. We would move him back to his bed once he was asleep and the excitement had died down. This is what I went in to find during one transition...he had found daddy's had and felt the need to sleep with it on. So sweet to hold on to a piece. How can you stay frustrated with that? 2/9

Dustin has been doing a great job staying faithful in his devotion. Since we have been attending the "new church" Dustin has been encouraged to stay in the Word on a regular basis. He knows that he is rewarded both short and long term for his dedication. The kitties are liking this quiet time with him. Once you get them inside these two are so snuggly and many willing takers.2/10

(And no, he does not hold his pencil like that. He is pointing with it.)

We spent time with Nana and Papa during the Winter Festival. You know you are in the woods when you see a mustache contest in the local parade. 2/13Sometimes at nana's house it is just the little things that make the best memories. Kamden shares in her amusement and uniqueness of snowglobes. Though this year it probably feels like we were in our own snowglobe. Dustin did an awesome job with basketball. This was his second year doing instructional and he is eager to be on the travel, competative team next year.Dustin has such a 'natural ability' in every sport he plays, is what many say when they watch him. We believe that it is a God-given talent that was given him for a reason. The Lord is going to use him on a sports field somewhere. My prayer is that he stays as a leader and continues to recognize right from wrong and chooses the less traveled path. Not only is he going to be a good example to someone we may never know by name but he will start with his younger brother at home. 2/19Now if that doesn't say "guilty", I am not sure what does. 2/20I am not sure who is more excited about Disco being in the house... him or Dustin. 2/21That is our month of love.

Andrea