It's cold outside!

Sorry that I have been so crapy about posting to my blog. Life has been a little crazy and that in combination with learning how to use our new computer has been a sure way to get behind. So I thought that I would just dive in and get started or I will be REALLY behind once the baby is born!

In January the Louisville area along with many others were hit with a nasty ice storm.  I would have to say that I didn't handle the situation well - AT ALL! Just ask anyone who talked to me during the storm. I was bitter (no pun intended) and a little angry (ok more than just a little) with the situation. We had just done this no power thing in September! Did we really have to do it again? and in the freezing cold?

Now in my defense, I was hormonal from the pregnancy, I felt that I had once again let Alexi down with not being able to provide for her in ANY situation, and we were facing the biggest and most emotionally challenging surgery Alexi would (hopefully) ever undergo in less than a week. The idea of living with someone else while also living at the hospital didn't appeal to me. I was very overwhelmed and it didn't look promising that we would have power before she was to be admitted to the hospital. 

When we got word that the storm would most likely hit our area we prepared as best we could in the little time we had. Gathering flashlights and candles and putting them in a common place, pulled out blankets, checked the generator, did laundry, did dishes, ran the garbage disposal (you'd be surprised at how fast it backs up) and most importantly I prayed. I was for sure that the Lord would spare us and allow the power to stay on. That we would be able to heat our home and give Alexi a safe place from the storm. After all, I had faith that we would be spared. 

Wrong! We were not spared.

The view from our front porch

The ice was so heavy it weighed down all the trees. Many trees were lost to the storm.

The view from our deck

I can now say looking back that I can see the Lord's hand in providing safe shelter for our little family. There were so many wonderful people to welcome us in. The Lord had answered my prayer, just not how I though or wanted it to be answered. I learned a very valuable lesson during the storm. (Not to mention that we now have a better idea of what we will need during the winter for food storage, etc.) The Lord DID provide and I am very grateful for the generosity of our friends and family. Thank you! The Lord doesn't give us these experiences just for the fun of it. We are to learn from them and put those lessons into play. I hope that in the future I can remember this and react differently to the situation.

Shane shoveled and shoveled and shoveled and....

shoveled and shoveled and... - I think you get the idea

Our homemade refrigerator 

I wish now that I had taken more time to document our experiences during the storm. It was so beautiful outside with the ice covering all that you could see. We had some great times while staying with our friends and family. Jason and Brandy kept us laughing and we have some great memories of staying with them.

Overall we were very lucky. Many people were out of power much, much longer than we were and sustained far more damage to their homes and yards and to this day are still suffering with the clean up efforts from the storm. As I said before I learned a very valuable lesson from this experience. I have counted my blessings and I'm grateful what I learned.

We stayed one night with these crazy people, check it out here.