Things we're thankful for

Facing Hurricane Ike really put a lot of things into perspective and helped us to focus on the many things that we have to be thankful for.


*We're thankful that we didn't really have any damages. As we watch the photos of the devastation surrounding us and talk to friends and family in the area who have been faced damages, our hearts go out to them.


*We're thankful for electricity! I never realized how much of a luxury electricity is until we went without it for 24 hours (and even at that, we weren't completely without out it because we had a generator to power our refrigerators, a fan, and a radio). We were fortunate because our area was one of the first where power was restored. There are still close to 3 million people in the greater Houston area without electricity right now.


*We're thankful for running water. Some people I know have been without it for a few days. Even though we have running water, they have been advising everyone to conserve what we have and in some areas, people are being told that they need to boil water before using it.


*We're grateful for the preparations we had made in advance. Emergency preparedness is something that we have been focusing a lot on over the past year and so we were grateful for all of the things that we had done beforehand like buying a generator and stocking up on water and canned goods and having a stash of cash which made this experience more bearable.

*I'm especially grateful for Jason who had to carry all of the load these past few days. On Thursday, I was hit with the worst stomach bug I have ever had and have basically been useless. I am just now starting to feel better today. Jason took care of getting the house ready for the hurricane (inside and out), buying last minute items, and has kept the kids fed and entertained.

*I'm thankful for my kids. Last night I was laying on the couch feeling pretty miserable and Emily came over to sit by me and I told her that I was sorry that I wasn't feeling well and hadn't been able to spend time with her and she said, "That's OK mommy. I understand. You're sick. Everyone gets sick sometimes. Sometimes I get sick, sometimes daddy gets sick. Even princesses get sick." It made me smile. I'm thankful that Jacob who is all boy and a busy one at that still likes to sit and cuddle with his mom every now and then.... and even though our bed sometimes seems too small as it is, I'm thankful that my kids will come and crawl in bed with us in the middle of the night when they're scared because they feel that we can keep them safe.

*We're thankful for our friends and family who have shown their love and support through phone calls and e-mails.

I know that I won't have to go back to work until Thursday at the earliest (I am grateful for the break right now, but I know I won't be when we're making up days in June). Jason is not sure when he will return to work at this point.

The kids are feeling a little stir crazy, I think. Hopefully we can get out and do something tomorrow.