One Thousand Gifts - Hurricane Edition

What a week we've had! An earthquake on Tuesday and a hurricane on Saturday. I have had enough natural disasters for a while. At least it has caused us to seriously look at our emergency supplies. The power has been out at our house since Saturday afternoon. Water has been off and on, sometimes looking a bit brown. Yesterday morning I was talking to John and I said, "Why don't you drive us to Knoxville and my mom and dad can come pick us up there." I was only half serious. A wish. Time to spend with my parents. I could still bring homeschool books and Holly and I could continue school in airconditioned comfort. Not to mention showers and warm meals. We both kind of dismissed the idea. John went to bed (he's working midnights) and Holly and I went to church.

That afternoon, Holly and I had tuna salad for lunch - leftovers from the night before. The house was comfortable for a while but as the day went on we became hot and sticky. There wasn't much of a breeze and the neighbors generator was making a lot of noise! Holly and I went to church early for orchestra practice. John arrived just before 6 for the service. He told me then that he had made some calls and we would leave on Monday morning for Tennessee! Packing was easy since there wasn't any way to do laundry. We just threw some things in our suitcase and were on the road!

So from the interstate, here are some of the things I am thankful for this week:

• Safety in the storm


• Peace to lie down knowing we are in God's Hand


• A strong roof over our heads


• A huge oak tree with strong roots and limbs - only small branches and large acorns fell on our roof - for hours


• paper plates


• paper cups


• disposable cutlery


• lots of ice in the freezer in preparation for the storm


• cold milk


• a gas grill


• food on the table


• nice juicy warm hamburgers


• a full pantry


• church after a rough week


• a neighbor with power offering showers


• and storage for our frozen/refrigerated itmes


• a cool breeze in the morning


• the portabiltiy of homeschooling


• a loving, generous husband


• loving, generous parents

What are you thankful for this week?