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