But the reason why I am blogging this is because we were so thankful for yesterday. A few months ago we had a power outage that we weren't very prepared for. Luckily that power outage was on a couple of hours. However yesterday the power was out for around 18 hours. So from the previous outage we learned to always be prepared. Which with yesterday we were 90% prepared. We had our 72 hours kits, indoor can fueled cans for cooking, our windows were covered with plastic to help conserve our heat. Which I later found out that neighbors were sitting in temps as low as 45 degrees. I am so thankful that our house didn't reach below 59 degrees. Slightly cold but nothing a pair of socks, a comforter and 2 layers couldn't help.
But what we were low on was lights. After Halloween our glow sticks and candle supply was so low that we only had about 4 hours of light so we had to venture out to the only place with power- WALMART!
Highlights of yesterday
-driving down Main street we seen so many power lines down. We seen power poles snap in half and sway back in forth in the wind - Scary moment
-Walmart was the only place where their lights and debit machined worked- grateful moment
- after I ran inside to ask the cashiers I signaled Mike to drive back around so we all could go inside. However waiting for him to drive back up by the entrance to hand the kids off to me I was losing my balance. I was literally falling to my knees so I made my way to the side of the doors where there was a small cement wall. A lady behind me was trying to run beside her husband to their truck but she couldn't move. She started to fall due to the wind so I grabbed her hand and pulled her behind this small wall I was at. She and I were both very grateful to have this wall right by us.- grateful moment
- man underestimated the force of the wind when we was walking out the Walmart doors with a cup tray with 4 drinks. 3 steps into the wind and it all slipped over-funny moment
-Mike made it back to the entrance, dropped the kids off, and parked our van. He was able to make it to the doors with such little effort. Anyways we picked up some GF soups, glow sticks, tons of flashlights, lamp oil, and batteries. But we were thankful that we made it to WalMart when we did. The camping/outdoor survival aisle was empty but within 1 minute of finding what we needed that aisle was full of people grabbing items.- thankful moment
-after paying Mike went to get van I waited with the kids for him. The door greeters told us that we couldn't take the cart outside since they are a danger. I told them I was waiting for my husband. So they waited with me and offered to help- thankful moment
- when Mike pulled up 1 kid at a time ran inside the van. While I was handing Cati off to Mike I looked behind me and 2 workers had my items in hand to put them in our van. The bags were literally floating in air to the point if they let go my stuff was off into the wind. - thankful and amazing moment
- while driving home we took Frontage Road. Safer since no power lines. But a few semi-trucks had tipped over -scary moment especially for Hailey
- we seen only 1 semi truck parked behind the frontage road wall waiting out the wind.-smart moment
- we prayed so many times while driving home- humbling moment
-made it home to see that our roof siding was gone- scary moment
- Mike parked our van on the grass so we would only have to walk maybe 5 steps into our doorway. Mason and Hailey walked it themselves. But Lily and Cati wanted to do it themselves. So we let them with supervision. Lily made it with a big smile with drooling coming out of her mouth. Cati on the other hand walked 2 steps and fell over due to the wind. But luckily she fell into the house- strength testing moment
- we had our meals on our indoor can fueled system that we had prepared for a while back ago -thankful moment
- since their was no TV the kids played games, Legos, colored pictures, and used their imagination in ways I never seen before. They pretended that space ships were shaking our house and the only way to survive is to look upside down - creative moment
- Mike was prepping me for when it was time for him to go to work. He says he was teaching me but I say that he was scared for us. So he was going over how to light the lanterns, how to seal off the rooms to conserve our heat and keep telling me to get everything ready and done by the time the sun starts to set- teaching moment
- the winds finally stopped around 3pm so the kids and I went outside to access the damage and start cleaning up and this is what we seen from just our house
- Mike told me that while driving he seem so many trampolines on the freeway that it made me think of ours. A few weeks ago Mike chained it to our gate so it wouldn't fall when snow started to collect on it. After thinking about it if it was chained to the gate it would have done some serious damage to our house- grateful moment
- After cleaning up for a little while I noticed that sun was going orange so everyone went in and got ready. I cooked, sealed off the doors, and cleaned up all before sunset. - grateful moment
- After dark we had a member from our bishopric come over to see if 1st I was home and 2nd to see if I needed anything. It turns out that most everyone on my block was gone. That it was just me and my neighbor to the left that were on our block- scary moment
- But I knew I was prepared so we stood home. It was hard to not run but I knew that I needed to trust in myself. And that God will deliver us through this night. So I went back to reading the kids some stories until they fell asleep - running on faith moment
- But at 8pm we got power again! And I was so happy and thankful that I thanked God over and over again.- thankful moment
I am so grateful that we walked away with little damage. That we all were safe, warm, and feed. I am so thankful for all those talks and lessons geared towards people being prepared for emergencies. Because this time we were. I was so proud of myself ( Mike and my mom were scared for us- not sure how to feel about that but I know it was all in good nature) But I am so proud of our kids for eating from their 72 hours kits and not complaining. I am so thankful that we had 72 hours kits.
Now to rebuild them and stock up on the things we used. But this time I made a Black- Out backpack. I filled a backpack with glow sticks, lighters, candles, a lantern, and flashlights and put it by the kitchen along side the number to the power company. I taped a glow stick to each bedroom door in the house just in case their is a power outage again everyone can find light without yelling that it's dark.Once our kits are done they will be in an easier place to find instead of under my bed and clothes.
I know that yesterday could of ended in a much different way but I am thankful for the trials that were given to us so we can learn from them.
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