Homeless...

Friday night the storm began with thunderstorms, sleet and hail. We first lost power Saturday morning around 8:30, and continued to have it off and on throughout the day. Pastor James brought Colton home in the morning, and said the roads were passable, but he had to travel at about 45mph. At 6:30 Saturday evening, the power went off for good. Jackson had just completed making a big pot of soup, so we sat down to a candlelight dinner. After dinner we started a fire and Shannon and the boys played cards for quite a while. We were all set for a nice adventure. We read stories and had a great family time, waiting for the power to come back on.

WE'RE STILL WAITING!

By Sunday morning we were out of water, as there is an electric pump connected to the well. This took us city folks completely by surprise. It hadn't occurred to me that we could lose water. We were able to collect melting water from outside to flush the toilets (10 people and no flushing is not a good thing!). The house was not too cold--around 62 degrees, but the fire wood from the barn was damp and made for a smokey fire. Shannon grilled us steaks for lunch, which was a great meal. They boys hoped we could be stranded more often. Papa Joe (Shannon's grandpa) got his power back around 2:00 pm, so we decided to go over there and take showers. We got word that power was on in Reinbeck, so after cooking dinner at Papa Joe's we headed to my parents' house to sleep. They are in Florida on vacation, so we had the whole place to ourselves.

Monday and Tuesday came and went, and still no power at our house. We took the kids to Waterloo to play at Playland Tuesday evening to burn off some steam. This morning Shannon and the boys went back out to our house to feed the pets and take the garbage out, and it was 41 degrees inside. The meat in the freezer was beginning to thaw, so they transferred it to the deep freeze. I spoke with the Grundy Co. REC, and they told me it would most likely be another 4-7 days before we have power. We're praying that it will be restored before Mom & Dad return Saturday evening.

Jackson, Chase, Bryce and Colton finished up their Iowa Tests of Basic Skills today. We brought the rest of their schoolwork to Reinbeck today so we can get back in the swing of things. Katie "babysat" Hudson while I finished up tests with Colton today. She gave him a BOY baby doll to sleep with, and a PINK blanket.

We're thankful that we have somewhere FREE to stay. We'll see what happens this weekend. Mom said we are welcome to stay as long as we need to. We're not sure how long that offer will last! Their water and electric bills might be off the charts this month!

Pray for the electrical workers. They're working hard to repair all of the downed lines. Pray for their safety. We've already heard of one fatality. With another storm on the way, most likely repair efforts will be slowed down, or at least more difficult. It has already begun raining here.

"The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." Proverbs 10:28

Road Trip

Today Alex, Chase, Noami, Hudson and I loaded up and headed to southern Iowa. Alex's friend, Mark lives in Lovilia. He'll be spending some time there and going to a couple youth group activities. We incorporated "school" into our trip and sharpened our map reading skills. I learned that Chase and Alex should never navigate together! As I quizzed them as to which direction we were headed, one would invariable say "east" and the other "west". If one said "north", the other would think we were going south. Surprisingly, we made it there without any problems. Chase and I had one little detour as we branched out and took a different route home. We got lost in the town of Beacon. Fortunately, it was small enough that we soon found our way out of town. We ran into some sleet/hail/rain/snow on the way home, which made travelling a little slower.

Katie's toe has been hurting. She has a cut on the bottom of it, and as she remembers she tries really hard to get sympathy out of anyone near her. When I got home this afternoon, she told me in her sweet little voice that her toe was hurting, and could I please sing it a song to make it feel better. We sang "Jesus Loves Me", "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Jesus Loves the Little Children", and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". After that it felt better.

Colton is visiting his friend Hunter in Nevada. They are best buddies. He left yesterday morning and will come home tomorrow. Hunter just had a birthday a few days ago, so he's six now.

It seems quiet around the house with only six children!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

In Memory of Sam

Today was a sad day at our home. Our black lab, Sam, had been missing since last week. It was a mystery as to where he could have gone, as he wasn't prone to wandering off. We had concluded that he must have been picked up by someone and "dog-napped". Well, as Jack, Chase & I (Jodi) came back from bible study this morning, Jackson saw something under the forsythia bush where the snow had been melting. He discovered that it was in fact Sam. Unfortunately, he had a large animal trap around his neck. What a shock! We have no idea where he could have found it. I called the Sheriff's office, and they told me that often times trappers will put coyote traps in the middle of a field. Apparently Sam got too close to one, yet still managed to make it almost all the way home.

Sam is the second dog we have lost in 6 months. Yahtzee died last August, and our neighbors were generous enough at that time to give us Sam, as they had two labs. He was a great dog, and very sweet to the children. We still have Yellow Dog, and have posted a picture of him in memory of Sam. It wasn't until today that we realized we don't have any pictures of Sam. Yellow Dog misses Sam, too.

"Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief." Proverbs 14:13

A New Frontier

DRIVERS BEWARE! There's a new threat on the road, and his name is Alex Clark.

Today Alex took the plunge and applied for his driver's permit. He's now an official driver in the state of Iowa. He drove me (Jodi) home from the court house, and did a great job. After taking a couple corners pretty fast, I reminded him that his goal should be to drive more like Mom than like Dad. We'll see how long that lasts!

Shannon put his plumber's "hat" on today, as his first assignment on his day off was to unplug the upstairs toilet. It seems as if Katie and Naomi put a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet and flushed. Not a good thing. Liquid Plumr didn't solve our problem, so Shannon headed to Norby's Farm & Fleet and bought a snake to clear out the blockage. All is well now. Only time will tell which "hat" he needs to put on next...

"My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways." Proverbs 23:26

Birthday Parties, Baby Showers and Stitches...

What do these three things have in common? They're all part of a typical day in the Clark household!

Yesterday was Naomi's 2nd birthday. We celebrated yesterday after church with cake and ice cream. Papa Joe was able to come, and Grandma Shirley came a little later in the afternoon, but Papa Ken wasn't feeling well and stayed home. Naomi had a pink cake with flowers and candles. She did a good job blowing them out. She enjoyed opening her gifts and playing with them. She wasn't sure about all of the hoopla at first, but by the end of the day she was liking the attention!

Our church hosted a baby shower in honor of Hudson after the evening service. We enjoyed snacks and fellowship while opening gifts. Hudson was awake quite a bit of the time, and was passed around and snuggled by a bunch of the church members. It had been several years since we had been given a baby shower, so it was quite a blessing!

Upon returning from church, Colton and Katie were running around the dining room playing, and Colton tripped over Katie, fell, and smacked his face on the door to the basement. His eyebrow split open, requiring stitches. We got the girls in bed, settled everyone else in, and headed to the ER. Colton was a VERY brave boy, and didn't shed a single tear the entire time we were there. He left with five stitches and five stickers...a fair trade in his estimation! He's quite a sight now, as he has stitches on the right eyebrow, and a big scab and shiner on his left eye from earlier in the week. How many times a week do I say, "No running in the house!"?

"The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall." Proverbs 10:8

Our Newest Addition

Hudson Archer Clark was born on January 9, 2007 at 5:15 p.m. He weighed 6# 15.4 oz., and was 20-1/4 inches long. His siblings arrived at the hospital within a couple hours of his birth, and welcomed him whole-heartedly into our family.

The morning after we arrived home from the hospital, Naomi exclaimed upon waking and seeing Hudson, "My baby! My baby!". All of the kids have done a great job helping out with the extra responsibilities around the house. Colton has demonstrated an adeptness for changing diapers, and volunteers as often as possible. He's also my most reliable one to hold and "jiggle" Hudson just enough to get him to settle down if he is fussy.

We have spent a great amount of time since Hudson's birth attending basketball games and tournaments. After attending Alex, Jackson and Bryce's games, our count is now at over 35 games. We predict he will have a deep appreciation for the game by the time he is actually big enough to play--otherwise he'll never want to touch a basketball!

Hudson has been a good baby. He nurses well, and sleeps relatively well at night. He's spending quite a bit more time awake lately, and enjoys observing all of the commotion around our house.

"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth," Proverbs 5:18

Meet Our Family

Hello! We are the Clarks: Shannon & Jodi, and our children Alex (14), Jackson (12), Chase (10), Bryce (8), Colton (5), Katie (3), Naomi (2) and Hudson (Born 1-9-07).

We have decided to open this blog to keep our friends and family posted on the happenings in our lives.