Catching Up

So a week ago, the weathermen were forecasting a big ice storm, no big deal. The majority of the time what the weatherman says and what the weather actually does are two different things. We wanted a snow day so we prayed for some ice...nothing major, just enough for a snow day.

Let's just say that God went above and beyond to answer that prayer.

We got killed. Holy cow. I grew up in Kansas City. I remember ice storms from when I was a kid. NOTHING compares to what has happened in Northwest Arkansas. It's so incredibly sad. I started to cry Wednesday morning when we first were able to get out. I honestly can't put into words what our city looks like, except to say that it looks as if a tornado (or a war) went through and destroyed LOTS of different things.

We lost power at 9:30 Tuesday morning. We hurried and got things around and situated and were ready for the long haul. By Tuesday afternoon, Tanner was freezing really bad, so I called her Dad to come get her since he was out anyway and they still had power. She has been with them ever since.

I'm so thankful that she was able to go over there and help with the kiddos and to stay warm. A huge wave of relief was lifted from my shoulders knowing that my girl was safe and warm.

Long story short-we were without power for 36 hours. We were lucky. Some people are still without power and will be for many more days.

We lost all 5 of our trees. Again, we are lucky. There are some people who lost even more. We had no damage to our house. A big chunk of our big cherry blossom tree out front almost landed on Tanner's window, but thankfully missed it.

Though all three of our trucks sit outside, none were hurt by the storm. We are surrounded by trees but luckily their branches got trimmed this past Spring and they no long have limbs that can touch our cars. Praise God.

We discovered at 1:30 this morning that our plumbing was backed up. Yep, heard a gurgle from our master bathroom so I got up to check it out. Not so pretty, let's just say it that way. So Roto-Rooter came out this morning and $135 late it's fixed. Praise God!

Our friends Derek and Holly, along with their little girl Ivy, came over and stayed yesterday. They still don't have power, so they spent the night. It was nice to reminisce about the good 'ole days and get our minds off of the destruction that was outside.

I bought a chain saw today. I also bought some pink twine. If I'm going to help with the limbs, they need to have a little pink in them! (Steve thinks I've lost my mind) When I told Tanner that I found a chain saw and bought it, her response was "Uh, yea, so how'd that go for ya?" CrAckED me up!

I have discovered that if you walk into Lowe's as a single female, you get a lot more help from the employees. Both men and women are that way. I guess maybe I look so pitiful they have pity on me and therefore help out. I don't know, but I like it.

I'm amazed and touched at the kindness, patience and generosity of people that I've come in contact with over the last few days. It's nice to see everyone come together and help each other out.

I'm off of here and am heading to bed. I'm worn out. I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm hoping tonight will be better. We are going to try and start clearing the front yard tomorrow. We've got lots of work ahead of us, but I'm confident that if God has gotten us this far-He'll continue to get us to the end.