Last week started off as normal as possible. We all went to work, but all people were talking about was the upcoming winter storm. Grant and I had gone grocery shopping the night before for just the basics. We thought we might be stuck in the house for a couple of days. We were not prepared to be without power for a week.
Tuesday morning we woke up with ice covered roads. The picture of Hayden riding toy below shows the amount of ice we received.
Grant braved the roads and went into work. Not long after Grant had left we lost power. I bundled Hayden up at we enjoyed a cold day at home. We knew the storm was not over and the worst part was still to come. We weren't for sure what we were going to do for heat.
While Grant was still at work on Tuesday I blew up Hayden's new ball pit that he received for his birthday. I had been saving this for a special day. This kept him distracted from the falling temperatures in our house.
While Grant was still at work on Tuesday I blew up Hayden's new ball pit that he received for his birthday. I had been saving this for a special day. This kept him distracted from the falling temperatures in our house.
Grant came home early because the power continued to go off and on at the bank. We quickly decided that we could not stay the night at the house and we packed a bag and headed to Debby and Larry's house (Grant's parents). It was an interesting trip. There were several time that I thought we wouldn't make it there. They live just thirty minutes away and the roads were in decent shape since it had rained a good portion of the day. But there were so many trees and power lines in the roads we struggled to find a clear road to travel. We did make it and they still had power.
Tuesday night Hayden and I slept together. We didn't get much sleep because we could hear all the limbs and trees falling from the weight of the ice. The next day we got outside to see the damage to the house and the yard. The picture below show what limbs hit the house. The limbs are directly above the room Hayden and I were sleeping in.
You can see there are a tremendous abut of limbs down. The pine trees did not fair well. We did lose power in the middle of the night. Since Debby and Larry get their water from a well that meant that the water pump would not work and we would not have any water to use.
Wednesday we slowly made our way home to pick up more clothes. We could see that it would be awhile before we could return home.
Hayden loved being at Dede and Poppy's house. Hayden enjoyed playing the piano with Poppy. That night for supper we heated some left over BBQ in front of the gas logs.
It was hard to get a good picture to show how dark it was because of the flash on the camera so we took a couple of picture without it. Below is the best one that turned out. The glow is from the wonderful fireplace that kept us warm all day long.
We listened to the radio a lot to get information and pass the time. Hayden entertained us by dancing and acting silly.
Dede found some old puzzles. They passed the time by putting them together over and over again.
There were some birds outside this window that Hayden enjoyed watching. He also like to play hide and seek in the curtains.
Thursday morning we went to Granny Orr's house to take a hot shower. She made us a wonderful lunch of hash, green beans, corn, homemade corn bread, and black eyed peas. After lunch Hayden took a much needed nap. When he awoke we traveled to Pairs TN to get some groceries. Tennessee didn't get as much ice as Kentucky did. We waited in line for gas for a little while before making our way to Walmart. It was so crowded because it was the only grocery store open for miles. We did stop by McDonald's on the way home for everyone.
We were so glad to see the linemen working hard to get the electricity back on.
Hayden handled the constant changing very well.
Saturday we planned on going shopping for a generator so that we could return home, but Mom called saying that she had one for us if we wanted it. Of course we did. She brought it down by lunch time. While Larry and Grant went to get the cords for it, I took Mom, Debby, and Hayden to lunch at a restaurant that now had power. By late afternoon the generator was running. We spent our first night back at home. All three of us started out in the same bed for warmth. We didn't want to run the generator at night for safety reasons. Before midnight Grant moved to a different bed because of a squirmy little boy.
Sunday we went shopping in Pairs again for a few more supplies. We stopped at McDonald's again for breakfast. It is amazing how much you rely on your appliances. We decided to let Hayden play in the indoor play area if Grant went too. As you can see he had a blast.
You can see there are a tremendous abut of limbs down. The pine trees did not fair well. We did lose power in the middle of the night. Since Debby and Larry get their water from a well that meant that the water pump would not work and we would not have any water to use.
Wednesday we slowly made our way home to pick up more clothes. We could see that it would be awhile before we could return home.
Hayden loved being at Dede and Poppy's house. Hayden enjoyed playing the piano with Poppy. That night for supper we heated some left over BBQ in front of the gas logs.
It was hard to get a good picture to show how dark it was because of the flash on the camera so we took a couple of picture without it. Below is the best one that turned out. The glow is from the wonderful fireplace that kept us warm all day long.
We listened to the radio a lot to get information and pass the time. Hayden entertained us by dancing and acting silly.
Dede found some old puzzles. They passed the time by putting them together over and over again.
There were some birds outside this window that Hayden enjoyed watching. He also like to play hide and seek in the curtains.
Thursday morning we went to Granny Orr's house to take a hot shower. She made us a wonderful lunch of hash, green beans, corn, homemade corn bread, and black eyed peas. After lunch Hayden took a much needed nap. When he awoke we traveled to Pairs TN to get some groceries. Tennessee didn't get as much ice as Kentucky did. We waited in line for gas for a little while before making our way to Walmart. It was so crowded because it was the only grocery store open for miles. We did stop by McDonald's on the way home for everyone.
Friday we traveled home again to check on our house. Below are some pictures that I took on the way there.
We were so glad to see the linemen working hard to get the electricity back on.
Hayden handled the constant changing very well.
Saturday we planned on going shopping for a generator so that we could return home, but Mom called saying that she had one for us if we wanted it. Of course we did. She brought it down by lunch time. While Larry and Grant went to get the cords for it, I took Mom, Debby, and Hayden to lunch at a restaurant that now had power. By late afternoon the generator was running. We spent our first night back at home. All three of us started out in the same bed for warmth. We didn't want to run the generator at night for safety reasons. Before midnight Grant moved to a different bed because of a squirmy little boy.
Sunday we went shopping in Pairs again for a few more supplies. We stopped at McDonald's again for breakfast. It is amazing how much you rely on your appliances. We decided to let Hayden play in the indoor play area if Grant went too. As you can see he had a blast.
When we got home we noticed our neighbors had power. We flipped our switch and we did as well. We had it for a couple of hours before it went back out. While it was disappointing we knew it wouldn't be long before it would be back on again. Sure enough it was turned back on around 6:30 and so far it hasn't gone back off yet. They may turn it off again to help fix other neighborhoods close by.
We are very thankful for our families and hope that they receive power soon. We are letting some family borrow our generator until they have their power back. Grant did go back to work today but I probably won't have school all week. I think that we have made it through our first federal disaster pretty well.
2 comments:
What an experience. I'm glad everyone's safe. I would say enjoy the week off, but I'm sure you'll have to make it up at some point. Our love to Hayden!
This is been declared a federal disaster area. We are really not sure how much we are going to have to make up. Hopefully we won't have to make up to much.
Post a Comment