Something I never thought I'd have to label myself was a refugee from a hurricane, but that's exactly what I became on Tuesday evening! As Hurricane Gustav made his way across Louisiana and moved over Arkansas, he decided that he liked it so much he'd stay awhile. So he got all nice and comfy and just relaxed, generating ferocious winds and endless rainfall. I didn't mind the wind or rain until it escalated to the point of snapping trees. I happen to live near a bunch of really big trees and a bunch of power lines. They don't mix well. In fact, when they do mix, it usually results in a loss of electricity in the general direction of my house. And oddly enough, in this case, JUST my house. Ours was literally the ONLY house on the street to lose power. But unfortunately, not the only people in the city. I heard that some 20,000 people also lost power, resulting in a delay of the electric service.

This cessation of electricity was kind enough to wait until just after I pulled my last batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. So at least while I waited to see if the power would come back on, I could munch on some freshly baked cookies!

God is good to us. As the rain poured around us and Kyle and I packed our bags to find another place to stay, a couple of things occurred to me. 1) Gustav lowered the temperature to a balmy 73 degrees, lower than my ac normally runs, so we were not forced to endure scorching temperatures while we gathered our supplies and figured out where to go.... 2) my brother Zach and his wife, Anna, just moved down the street from us and have a lovely guest bedroom which they made available to us! 3) I was given a marvelous suggestion by a neighbor to run an extension cord from my deep freezer to a neighbor's house - thus salvaging the contents of my freezer and fridge. 4) as I lay in Anna's spacious queen sized guest bed Tuesday night, snuggling up in some of the softest sheets I've ever felt, with August asleep in my arms, Brooklyn pressed securely up against my side and Kyle's arms around all three of us, I knew that all the things that mattered the most to me were safe and secure and all together. You can't ask for more than that.

Plus, I had the pleasure of spending bonus time with Zach and Anna. We were so grateful to them for their hospitality, especially considering it was like their second week in their new house. Thank you, Zach and Anna! We love you so much!

And now, after a couple of days of displacement, the electric company has restored our power and we are back in our house. Grateful to be home and to have safely weathered the storm.