Sunday, May 24, 2015

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.



18 comments:

  1. What a rain! A lot of fighting against that flooding, too! How good that Summer came in with a professional helper! I wish this rain season will stop asap and let you guys live your comfortable lives in peace! Hugs!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a disaster! But God certainly took care of you waking you up at just the right time. Your children are so wonderful taking care of things the way they did and even feeding you. You are truly blessed. I hope things dry out for you and stay that way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. so glad you had help come in and do that dreadful job for you. i do hope the rain has stopped for a while so everything can dry out... i love that black and white photo of the quads, their faces are pricless. God bless Summer and all your kids... hope Amber feels better soon

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thankful you were home when the worst happen. What a blessing Summer saw the comment on FB and started handling thins from there. Turned out to be a great day,. Hip Hip Hooray !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh bless your heart Linda. How horrible for you both. What a blessing your dear children are. I pray this does not happen again. This rain has been incredible...days and days....let's hope everyone gets well and the sun shines again. Y'all are such an incredible family! Big hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a blessing that Summer sent help your way and it was wonderful that your son sent pizza. Comfort food does wonders for me, too. Great quote about grandma and I couldn't stop smiling at how excited the kids were when they saw Louis Dean... :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bless your hearts Linda....what a time you have had this summer. And truly Thank God for professional people who come to the rescue!! Bless Summer for thinking of it. Texas was on my Fox News page this morning....it sounds as if the whole state is suffering!! Hope you see clear skies soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Linda! What a time you have had. I am so glad you allowed a professional step in, your lovely family is just trying to give something back as you do so much for all of them. I do hope Amber is feeling better and that your poor house doesn't suffer any permanent damage XX

    ReplyDelete
  9. Linda, Am I going to have to send you and LD some swim flippers? My gosh. It's a blessing you have those vacuums. That was so wonderful of Summer to get Johnnie there for you. And the other children too. Bless all of you. Now to get things dry and hopfully keep them that way. I am praying all this rain goes away. We are forecasted to have rain the next 3 days...or more. Blessings to you, love you guys, xoxo,Susie

    ReplyDelete
  10. You know that old saying "what goes around comes around"? Well aren't you two good examples of that:)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I saw all the rain/flooding Texas on the news last night and was hoping you were unscathed. You do have good kids - glad there is hopefully no permanent damage. Very strange weather.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I smiled when I saw the Noah's Ark photo, Linda. God is so good indeed! Your photos are lovely, as always.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sorry about the water getting in your home. I had that problem a few years ago and had drain system put in. However, it still cannot take care of all the rain we are having. So far, has not gotten in my house again.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yep, my grand-daughters have learned an new word this Spring. Raincoats!

    ReplyDelete
  15. So sorry about that awful flooding. It's a good thing you weren't gone in the camper. You caught it so early and it was wise to have a pro come in. Your big kids are so sweet. Probably because of their genes. Those quads.....oh they are sweet. I love how excited they get. The black and white is precious. Could you do a painting of that. I would think you would be exhausted after entertaining those little ones. The closest I have to quads are three grandchildren all the same age. They were born six weeks apart. But my DIL's sister has triplets. Hope things quiet down for you soon. Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a sweet family! I'm so glad they jumped in and helped and I'm even more happy that you accepted. And you tell LD I'm the same way, when I'm stressed I want to eat. :D It looks like you were both in good hands.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Linda... you bounced back so graciously!!... I don't think I could have an attitude like you do!! Brian and I so enjoy your video's....

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think you need to dig a moat around your house. Poor thing I'm so sorry for all that water.
    Its fun to see the kids growing and their interaction with y'all. Too sweet.
    And great picture of Mike and the kids

    ReplyDelete