retreat...

the women spent the beginning of the week retreating in Mississippi. it was a good time of relaxation, fun, crafts, and getting to know each other better. there was also a lot of good time spent down by the lake...just pondering life and God's beautiful creation.

home...FINALLY

we left florida yesterday at 9am and arrived home a little after 2:30. there wasn't a whole lot of damage. some small trees down...a little bit of siding coming up. but the biggie...no electricity. back in seattle, this would be fine. but down here, it is HOT. no electricity means no air conditioning, which led to one sweaty night. this morning i got up around 8. still no power. so we all ate breakfast out on the stoop. it's different stooping in the morning. not good or bad...just different. :)

after breakfast, clean-up started up again. we got plants and lawn furniture out of the basement, inside furniture off of blocks, etc. when it's hotter inside than out, this is not a pleasant chore. but around noon, the whirring of the air conditioner became music to my ears. the power is back!

later today, we found out that ice and MRE's (meals ready to eat...what the military use when they are in the field and can't cook) were being given out downtown, so we piled in the big white van to load up for the next storm.

closed...

good news. we've heard from our one neighbor that stayed that there was no flooding on our street. that is AMAZING, because even in regular rainstorms, this isn't generally the case. as of right now, the city is still closed so that damage can be assessed, power lines can be fixed, roads can be cleared, etc. that means we are still in florida, hoping and praying to be able to get home soon.