Storms and Silver Linings!

Storms were rolling into the DFW area as we packed our bags and Louis Dean's guitar in the car and headed for Dallas to stay at Amber and Mike's house for a few days.

***Photo from At the Ranch Facebook page***

Dean took this photo and shared it on his ranch page today.

Amber had a procedure done on her knee Wednesday morning so Granddad and I were taking over the morning and afternoon school runs for the quads.

By the time we settled in over here I was receiving text messages from the power company saying that our electricity was out and would be back on by 10:00. The texts continued to come with the message 'We have discovered further repairs are needed and your power will be restored at such and such a time. Little did I know then that it would be off for 36 hours. Sometimes not knowing is a good thing. It stormed all night long and made for good sleeping weather.

We did so good Wednesday morning!!

I set my alarm extra early and was up before 6:00. As in the morning!

I estimated we would need to be in the vehicle and backing out of the driveway at 7:20 in order to get to school on time. And we WERE!!!!

We dropped the kids off at school and returned to the house where we had coffee and woke up.

Then Louis Dean and I surprised Amber by giving the kitchen a good cleaning.

He likes to wash dishes by hand and I like organizing so we made a pretty good team.

I left him doing his music and drove back to Irving to get my hair cut.

That magic moment of crazy needing to get your hair cut arrived over a week ago and I was chomping at the bits to get over here!

My hairdresser is the best and she pulled me back together!!

Since I was in Irving, I decided to stop by the house and check on things and pick up a few more clothes.

The outside looked a mess - the entire neighborhood did!

My gardening neighbor, Tamara, had a big old ash tree fall on her house and my next door neighbor had their basket ball goal fall across their car. 

I opened the font door and it didn't smell very good. Normally my house has a nice fragrance to it.

I walked around in the dark and through the back of the house and everything looked fine. I went through the sewing room to look at the gazebo and it had fared pretty well.

I started to relax. The sewing room ceiling had started leaking before we left Tuesday night and I had put a bowl on the floor to catch the water. The bowl was now full so I dumped it out .....and noticed the carpet was really wet. 

I went to the kitchen and discovered water had come in through the French doors and ran down into the den. The den was soaking wet - all over the entire room.

The laundry room has a rug and it was squishy wet. It was a mess!

What to do? There was no power so the sump pumps had not been on and the water had once again poured into the house!

I locked up and went back to Dallas.

Louis Dean was all excited about a new song he had learned and wanted to play it for me and he was just so happy. It made me sad that I had to tell him my news and then, of course, he forgot all about his new song for the time being.

We encouraged one another with the thought that it was so much better to have been over here when the storms were bringing all that rain and the power had gone out.

If we had been home - we would have been helpless to do anything but watch the water come in and we would have had to leave - knowing the water would continue to come in. 

It was so much better for all that to be happening without us knowing it at the time.

Ignorance can really be bliss!

Mike brought Amber home from the hospital and the surgery went very well.

She continues to take the next step toward solving the problems with her knees.

There was no sense in going back home until the power had been restored so I made the most of my time with Amber and we put on a really cute movie to watch!

Louis Dean and I did the school pickup and homework with the kids.

I started dinner and Louis Dean went to Home Depot for Odor-Ban and some things.

Mainly he wanted to think about what he needs to do so this doesn't continue to happen.

And he also wanted to get a hamburger!

Amber is reading The Box Car Children series out loud at night and we are all enjoying it!

This morning (Thursday) I got a text that power had been restored right after we got back from taking the kids to school. We had coffee and made our plans to go home right after morning traffic.

I would do what I could and then come back over here to Dallas while Louis Dean stayed home to suck up all the water, set up fans, and spray with Odor-Ban.

He felt a bit of trepidation as he unlocked the doors, turned on the lights and surveyed the situation.

The water in the kitchen had mostly run down into the den by this time.

I pulled the extremely heavy with water rugs outside and got them up on a bench to drip dry.

I pulled things out from under the kitchen table and pantry and anything sitting on the floor and mopped the whole kitchen.

One room was put back to rights.

The water had not gone all the way across the room so that one rug remained dry.

The den looked good but it was soaking wet.

Everything had to be picked up off the carpet and all my Christmas paintings under and behind the couch were pulled out.

Then the shop vac was turned on and the sucking up of water began.

Louis Dean is my hero!

I admit to being a bit blue at first but he reminded me that this is not anything new. We have done this before and we can do it again. And hopefully his plans will prevent us from continuing to do this!

I made lunch for us and then I went back to Amber's.

This time we watched......

I love it when a plan comes together!!

I did the afternoon pickup and it made me feel so good when the kids were so excited to see me!

They are such sweet children.....

Trystan - I call her 'Polly Perfect!'

Harrison - such a tender hearted little boy.

Kailey - she keeps us all in stitches!

Logan - my Mini Me!

We came in and the kids know the drill - empty their lunch boxes, stow away their back packs, get a snack and play a little while.

Aunt Summer called to say she was coming over and she stopped at Sonic to get drinks for us.

She called to say that after she picked up the drinks - she had been involved in an accident.

It was not her fault and the other lady gave her all her information and apologized profusely.

It was her first accident. The other lady, that is.

Summer was a little bruised and shaken up but her car was still drive able, so she came on over after Mike had gone up and helped her deal with the car.

Pastor Cindy brought dinner in tonight and it was truly appreciated.

She brought three chickens, triple sides and even a big peach cobbler hot from the oven!

We appreciated the food and even more than that - Pastor Cindy led us all in prayer. And we truly needed that.

I fixed everyone a plate before the girls had to leave for softball practice and then we all had another plate after they came home and had their showers.

I played 'Diner/Cafe' with them.

Two took their showers while the other two ate dinner at the Diner.

They sat on the bar stools at the counter and I was their waitress.

It was a lot of fun for all of us.

I even gave them their check and they paid me with real money.

Then I would slip it right back to them under the counter!

Amber read to us before they all went up to bed and I sat down here in the living room to catch up on my journal entries.

So now I am caught up!

I ordered my bee suit and it was supposed to arrive today but it didn't.

Maybe tomorrow.

Our bees arrive Tuesday but the storms have really done a number down there in the country.

I hope we can get in and once we get in - I hope we can get out.

If there's anything I know - it's the importance of being flexible.

"The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."

Proverbs 16:33