Meanwhile in Texas.....

We have had a lot of rain! A LOT of rain! As in TOO much rain!

It seems like it is raining every single day lately!

Friday morning Amber woke up feeling extremely ill! Her nanny had come in for a few hours so she  made a quick trip to the doctor. Strep Throat! No wonder she felt SICK!

When I found out I immediately started getting my things together and Louis Dean drove me over to Quadville in his big white truck since my car is out of commission due to the power steering pump that went out on Thursday afternoon......just around the corner from our house!

God is so good!!! I could have been stranded somewhere but instead just coasted right in to the driveway.

As soon as I got over there, the skies turned dark and the thunder rolled and Harrison put it perfectly when he said, "MeeMaw, it's raining! AGAIN!"

The quads went down for naps after I read Farmer Boy to them. That's one of the things I packed in my bag along with three flavors of Jello - I thought it might soothe Amber's throat.

The quads helped me make up the Jello - Strawberry/Banana, Pineapple and Peach.

I showed them how thin it was and that when they were ready for dinner that night, the Jello would have changed into something they could cut with a table knife!

As soon as they woke up we had tea!

Tea and crackers!

They love the little packages and I give each child their very own!

They do love their Tea Parties!!

They have learned that it's rather fun to clean up or WIPE AWAY!!!!!

The rain stopped and we all headed for the front yard!

The quads thought they were so daring by walking on the retaining wall ties.

Amber had bought a spray bottle for each of them and they had a ball watering things down!

Trystan was busy filling small holes in the sidewalk!

I love to watch kids play! They are creative!

Amber was so sick she had to stay in bed all day.

Poor thing! She was totally exhausted and had no 'umph' to fight infection!

We had a good dinner - if I say so myself! The kids LOVE smoked sausage and ate adult portions!

We did, indeed, have that Jello for dessert and they had fun cutting it with a butter knife.

I turned the bowl upside down at first to show them it was not the watery Jello they saw when we mixed it earlier that day. It is so easy to impress kids!

Mike is a hands on kind of dad and gave all the baths that night while I got dinner on the table.

Reading and bedtime followed.

I spent the night so Amber could try and get over the hump on this strep throat thing.

As soon as the kids came downstairs the next morning, they wanted to get dressed!

Mike corralled them while I made breakfast.

I don't often get a photo of him and the kids so I was pleased to snap this one.

Not good of Logan but I'll take what I can get!

Breakfast is served!

Amber slept off an early morning headache and by afternoon was beginning to feel better.

I brought over a watermelon thinking that is another thing that feels good when you have a sore throat! Kailey and Logan are little homemakers and helped make melon balls.

They are so cute. Trystan is a homemaker, too, but she also loves her little doll babies!!!

Louis Dean came to get me and man, oh, man, were the kids excited to see him!!!

They acted like they hadn't seen him in weeks!!!

He was Quad Mobbed!!!!

I love watching him with the kids and I love watching the kids with HIM!!

They are all helping Granddad get up!

Facebook

Yes, I LOVE being a Grandma, MeeMaw, Bella and MiMi!!!!

I came home Saturday afternoon and went straight to bed!

I was tired and I didn't feel well so I thought I had better REST before I got sick, too!!!

Not only did I nap, I pretty much stayed in bed the rest of the afternoon, evening and night......

until about 2:00 this morning! It was raining earlier  but I woke up when it started coming down HARD!

I decided to check the kitchen door where it had flooded in before and just as I turned on the light - I saw the water rise right before my eyes! Praise God I woke up just when I did!

The rain water came pouring in through the French door like a river and within minutes it was INCHES deep and flooding into the den!

I took this photo late this afternoon after the water had all receded. 

In the wee hours of the morning, the water level on the stone patio  reached the same height as the wooden decks - about 8inches deep!

The water rolled into the kitchen and down the utility room and out into the den flowing along the edges of the room and all the way up under the baby grand piano in one far corner and the organ in the other! What a mess!

I was afraid all that rain would cause the kitchen floor to buckle but it held firm, thank the Lord!

Louis Dean used his wet/dry vac and filled it up six or seven times! I was sucking water up in my Rainbow which holds about two quarts and I emptied it over a dozen times.

At first we were sucking standing water filling the vacs in minutes! 

Finally about 5 or 5:30 this morning the water stopped flowing!

We made sure the kitchen was all DRY and then I suggested we go back to bed and he could buy another wet/dry vac when he got up and we would go at it again.

The sewing room also flooded and we hadn't even TOUCHED that area as yet.

As soon as Summer saw my posting on Facebook, she called a professional and lined him up for the afternoon. I thought Louis Dean would balk and insist HE could handle it - but he didn't.

Instead, he was profoundly grateful! Amber and Mike were grateful, too, because as sick as they both still were, they had dropped the quads off at his parent's home and were going to head over and try to help us. It was a blessing to simply hire a professional to take care of it. They were able to go home and take naps - alone! You can't get WELL unless you REST!

Johnny (the professional)  started in the sewing room and there is a big fan blowing in there as I write.

The den was the worse and would have flooded over the entire room had we not been up in the middle of night sucking up gallons and GALLONS of water!!!

The center of the room remained dry!

Summer knows Louis Dean very well.

When he is upset - he wants FOOD!

She knew he loves Casa Taco so when she came to pay the guy, she brought tacos for him and nachos for me. Let me tell you, it was such a blessing to simply sit back and let someone else do the work!

Meet Johnny! He came on a SUNDAY and will be back tomorrow on a HOLIDAY and we are so grateful Summer called him!!!

Johnny set up fans and pulled up some areas of the carpet and said for us to turn the A/C down as low as it will go tonight. Mold simply can't grow in the cold! We have window A/C units in both the den AND the sewing room so that's another blessing.

My son, Jesse, had been away on a Boy Scout trip and when he saw (on Facebook) what was happening, immediately gave us a call!

Jesse had a giant meat lovers' pizza delivered to our door and Louis Dean was once again a happy camper!

We are grateful for the way my kids take care of us!

It is a humbling thing but we are adjusting to accepting help when we need it.