My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

Well, that was an unexpectedly long blogging break!  Last Tuesday, a massive storm blew through Connecticut, wreaking havoc everywhere it touched.  Our area was hit hard, so we have been dealing with power outages and tree clean-up ever since!  Now that we finally have our internet back up, I just wanted to pop over here and say we’re all fine and thankful that our family is safe.  The kids have been telling me about how so many of their classmates’ homes and cars have been damaged by fallen trees, and it just drives home how blessed we are that all the trees that fell on our property were far away from any structures.  In fact, the craziest damage we had was not tree-related at all – the wind picked up our entire swingset and playhouse and tossed it down the hill!

I didn’t realize what a bad storm it was until well after it happened.  I had gotten some notifications on my phone earlier that day to be on the lookout for a severe thunderstorm and tornado, but I kept thinking, “I don’t live in Kansas, tornados wouldn’t do much damage here!”  And when the sky got dark and I saw the trees start to sway, I nonchalantly called the kids all down to the basement “to play,” because I didn’t want to freak them out, especially Danny, who tends to be scared of storms.  I sat on the floor in the basement playroom together with the five kids, and almost as soon as we got down there, the power went out.  I still wasn’t thinking this was anything more than a thunderstorm, but I felt the need to cover us with God’s words, so I asked the kids to start taking turns saying Bible verses out loud.  In the meantime, we heard loud banging against the house, which I figured was hail (I still don’t know whether it was hail or debris).  A few minutes later, the storm had passed and the sky lightened up, and we bounded upstairs not expecting anything other than to see a few leaves blown around.  It wasn’t until I saw the swingset in the wrong place that I realized this had been no ordinary storm!

I’m missing some of the pictures of the trees across our road (Jim had to park and walk to our house right after the storm because the roads were so blocked with power lines and downed trees, and then he sawed his way back to his car with a chainsaw later that night), but here are a few that have uploaded:

Here’s the pic of the missing swingset (it should be located on the patch of woodchips on the distant lawn):

And here is Jim and the kids setting it back up, with the help of the tractor.  How he carried it back up the hill with only that little tractor is beyond me!

Here is Susie proudly displaying the pile of brush that she helped to collect on our church grounds:

Here is Tazie helping Jim to move the generator.  Boy were we thankful for that thing!

Looks like Susie found a different reading buddy this afternoon – this one is a little less wiggly! 😉

Danny may not be thrilled that he has to practice reading at home every afternoon, but at least getting to read to his sister makes it a little more palatable!  And Susie is a very helpful and encouraging reading buddy!

I looked out the window this afternoon and glimpsed a rope on the driveway.  I went out the front door and saw this:

(The wheeled black thing behind Jimmy is his new mini-Segway he got for his birthday.  I’ll post on that soon!)

Anyway, I was a little perplexed why the boys were sitting on the driveway, holding a rope over scattered pieces of popcorn, so I asked them what they were doing.  The answer?

Jim: “We’re waiting for an animal to trip it.”

Ahh.  The popcorn was bait.  Makes perfect sense.  Later this afternoon, after I explained that animals tend not to approach bait when there are people around, the boys spent time trying to rig up a box propped up with a stick to fall on a pile of peanuts to catch a squirrel.   Life’s never boring around here!!

After we left the museum with very happy tummies, we went to see GiGi with very happy hearts!  It was SO good to see her again!

Three generations:

My Gramma is such an awesome lady – I’m so glad we got to spend a little time with her!

After leaving GiGi’s house, we went back to my parents’ house and started a birthday celebration with my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Maureen.  However, the festivities were cut short when Becky took a tumble off the couch and landed on her shoulder.  The poor thing was in immediate, excruciating pain.  I had never seen her so uncomfortable.  When I looked at her shoulder and saw a bump where one shouldn’t be (and I was so glad I had my mom, a nurse, there to help me with decision-making), we said a quick goodbye to my aunt and uncle (I so wish we could have chatted more with them!), and headed to Urgent Care.  They did an X-ray, confirmed that Becky had fractured her clavicle, and then sent us on to the ER.  We didn’t know what to expect when we got there, but a really kind doctor (originally from Connecticut!), said that while surgery was a possibility, nothing would be done for a few days anyway while the swelling went down, so we were safe to travel back to Connecticut as planned.  I was really impressed with both the efficiency and the quality of the care we received in both places.  It was my first ER trip as a mom, and while I was just about as shaky as poor Becky (I don’t like medical stuff!!), we made it through.  Becky had been very sober and scared during most of the evening, until the Lord provided a FaceTime call from her beloved cousins, who got her to smile and relax and the rest of the night went much better.  Praise God for wonderful family, near and far.  I’m so thankful my mom was there to help us through the appointments, and to get the other kids settled and in bed, and for my sweet husband, who offered to hop on the next flight to come out and support us.  Thankfully, Becky’s pain level was significantly decreased by the next day, and every day thereafter.  I keep telling everyone over and over, she’s such a trooper!!  I never thought that this little girl, who used to bawl and limp for hours with a barely-skinned knee as a toddler, would have grown up into such a brave and wise young lady.  I’m so proud of her!

Here’s a picture of where the bone was poking up:

*****somewhat yucky picture below!*****

And here’s my girl feeling relieved the worst was over!