The Day After Irene

One thing about the aftermath of a hurricane is how quiet it is once it's over. It's kind of like being outside when it snows, and there is hardly anybody out on the roads and all you hear is stillness. That's how it felt like when we woke up early to go for a walk the day after Irene hit. We felt as if we were the only ones venturing out.

I have to admit that even though I was raised in South Texas (a.k.a. hurricane territory), I was a little nervous about a hurricane heading our way towards the Jersey shore. I began preparing on Thursday. In case of a power outage I didn't buy a lot of frozen foods. I managed to buy the necessities and called friends and family to let them know what we were doing to prepare. I was exhausted by the end of the day on Friday! I really didn't want to stress over Irene. To tell you the truth...I was anxious for her to hurry up, come our way and just quickly pass us by.

The girls seemed to be more intrigued than worried over the hurricane coming. They had never been through one and were curious as to what was to be expected. My husband reassured me that everything would be fine and that the Lord will take care of us. Jon's words were true and we had no damage. We had a little bit of flooding in the basement, but that's to be expected. Luckily we thought in advance and grabbed the important things from the basement, and took them upstairs. 

Church was cancelled on Sunday, but we still kept the Lord in mind. The kids and I decided to go out for a walk in the woods and enjoy the nice, cool air. We were talking about gratitude and how happy we were to still have plumbing! The girls also said that it's a good thing that playing the piano and violin does not require electricity. So true!

There was no major damage in our area. Mostly just power outages. We all enjoyed the outdoors and observing at what mother nature can do. Some of the lakes were like raging waters. It was actually pretty cool to see.

For those 18 hours without power we didn't miss the internet (I obviously didn't blog), or the television. Of course we had our cell phones and I only posted once on Facebook to let everyone know we were alive and well. Instead of complaining of being without-we were giving thanks to what we had. We truly are thankful that we were together as a family, and to just be alive!
                         
We thank everyone for your worldwide prayers that were said for us here on the east coast. I told most of  my friends and neighbors that it could have been a lot worse...a lot worse. Believe me, I would know!

XOXO

Hoping to be prepared

Are you ready for Hurricane Irene?

You betcha.

I've got my bananas, triscuits, and my string cheese. I've got my corn dogs, three gallons of whole milk, and endless boxes of crackers. (Let's hope our power doesn't go out. I'd hate to drink spoiled milk again and spend another long night with my daddy.)

My sisters have their charged up iPhone's, chocolate candy, and gallons of Alex's Lemonade. Since my mom grew up in hurricane alley...she has extra batteries for her camera, flashlights, some chewing gum, diet coke, and at least 20,000 books to read!

My daddy...well, he says he doesn't really need anything (except mints.) 

Although we are 45 minutes away from the beach...we hope it doesn't hit our area. Daddy didn't go out to buy any plywood to board up our windows. (He's too busy pulling a lot of overtime at work.) Anyway, he doesn't think we'll severely get hit by Irene (neither does my mom), so he didn't spend any money on that. So far all we are getting is rain...which we don't mind.

I still hope it doesn't hit Atlantic City too hard...or any other place.

God bless you all who are on the path of Hurricane Katrina...I mean Irene!