A Wild 2 Weeks...

Hello, friends!

Y'all, it is good to be back in Omaha after a much needed vacation. The past 2 weeks have been absolutely wild, with no sign of slowing down. If I may break it down for you. 

Friday (July 9): A massive storm rips through Omaha. We're talking hurricane force winds and massive power outages across the city, including our house. 

Saturday morning: Ezra has some friends over for his birthday party. Thankfully, the weather was nice and it was meant to be a slip and slide party, so we didn't need power. We'd also already done a bunch of the prep ahead of time, so Ezra had a great time. 

Saturday afternoon: With no power in the house, we spent the afternoon driving around, charging our phones and looking for a place that had power for lunch. This included spending 45 minutes in line at a Jimmy John's. It was a less than "freaky fast" experience. There was also a second storm that came through, soaking all the stuff from the party that we hadn't cleaned up yet. 

Sunday morning: Instead of traditional church service, our church decided to do a neighborhood clean up. We spent the morning taking down a tree that had a tree break near a community garden by our church, which was a lot of fun!

Sunday evening: A couple we met a few weeks ago from church invited us over for dinner. It was a huge blessing to eat dinner in a house that had power with great people. The couple also had kids, so it was a blessing for the kids to be able to run around too. 

Monday: Mondays are our Sabbath, which is always a blessing. Megan took the morning, so I took the kids to the zoo. It was packed. In the afternoon, I was able to bike around a bit and try to spend some time with Jesus.   

Monday evening: Another couple was gracious enough to let us use their washer and dryer. It was another huge blessing to be able to wash our clothes and have another set of eyes on the kids while they played at the park. 

Tuesday: This was supposed to be a day of work before we left for vacation. Not a ton of work got done. We were still without power, so Megan and I decided to leave a day early (since we didn't have power anyway). So, instead of getting a lot of work done, we spent the day putting gas in the car, dropping off the other car at the mechanic, packing in the dark, realizing that our basement flooded a little, so tearing up the carpet pad so the office can dry, and trying to get a few things done before heading out of town. 

Tuesday evening: Pick up the kids from daycare and head out of town. About 45 minutes out of town, we got a message from our neighbors saying the power was finally back. We ended up staying the night in middle Nebraska at a so-so AirBnB. 

Wednesday-Saturday: Welcome to Colorado Springs! Our trip consisted of lots of hiking, more than a few parks, the older kids loving their bunk beds, Jonah getting ANOTHER ear infection, and plenty of family time. (more on this trip later)

Sunday: Driving back to Omaha. For the most part, the kids did great. We made one more stop than I'd wanted, but hey, apparently it's important to eat meals and go to the bathroom. =0). One stop we made was in Grand Island, about 2 hours from Omaha. Our friend Miguel lives there and he graciously treated us to some really good pupusas. We got home around 11pm. 

Monday: Another Sabbath. This was my turn to take the morning off, so I spent my morning cleaning out the car from our trip. It was kind of nasty. In the afternoon, the kids and I hung out at home. I also got a call from the mechanic saying the Prius was dead. 

Tuesday: TODAY was the day to get some work done, right? Well, sort of. I did get a lot done but I also had to meet with the foundation guy so he could give us an estimate about installing a sump pump in the basement, run down to the mechanic to let him know that someone would be coming to scrap the car at some point, and make some phone calls to get someone to come look at our garage door after a cable snapped and it got stuck askew. 

So, that's what's been happening around here. If you're keeping score, that's:

- 4 days without power
- 5 days in Colorado
- 2 flooded rooms in the basement
- 1 dead Prius
- 1 busted garage door
- 1 more ear infection
- Dozens of friends who have offered to help

LORD, help us all. =0). 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam