Last night we had a doozie of a storm come through. The rain started coming down pretty hard and I talked to Nicholas about what to expect and explained that the electricity might go off. He was such a big boy about it and went around collecting the flashlights for us. Stuart got home from work and dinner was almost ready when the electricity went out. Suddenly the winds started getting crazy and we knew there were 80 mph winds coming. Stuart and I are from south Louisiana where they get pelted with several hurricanes each year so storms and winds used to not bother me. However, in North Texas those winds can quickly turn into tornadoes and those scare me. I cleared out some things from the closet under the stairs which is probably our safest hideout area in the center of the house.
I think between the house getting dark, constant looking out the windows, cleaning out our safe shelter, and talk of wind damage, it was just too much for little Nicholas. As much of a big boy as he is, he got scared. He wanted to go into the safe closet and he wanted me in there to snuggle with. So I went in holding Rachel and Nicholas came in right behind me. I sat down and had Rachel on one knee and Nicholas on the other. We just cuddled and talked about some of the silly things around us that had been stashed away in the closet that we had forgotten about. While we were hiding out, Stuart was getting out candles and batteries and, being the photographer that he is, he had to get out his camera too!
The winds finally died down and the rain went away so we came out of hiding and ate some dinner. I had gotten a box of Twinkies the other day. We recently saw them mentioned on a show and I realized Nicholas had never had one. So we had our Twinkies by candlelight. We all tried to talk about other things but there was still a little nervous tension in the air. Nicholas started talking about bedtime and we could tell he was concerned about it. He always goes to sleep with a little bedside lamp on and music playing. We told him he could have a flashlight and glow sticks. That wasn't good enough. He wanted a flashlight that would be just as bright as his bedside table AND stay on all night long. We didn't have such a thing so after dinner, Stuart took Nicholas to Wal Mart to see what they could find. Fortunately, the power outage wasn't widespread so they didn't have any problems finding an open Wal Mart. Stuart is such a sweet Daddy to go to Wal Mart after a storm just for Nicholas, right? Well, he really is a sweet Daddy but he was secretly looking for a little battery operated TV too. He'll tell you it was for informational purposes so he could keep up with the weather conditions but I know my little TV addict better than that :)
While they were gone I opened up most of the windows to let the breeze flow through. Fortunately the night air was cool so I knew we wouldn't have to worry about sweating through the night. But I was bothered by all of the food in the freezer and refrigerator that was getting warm. I got Rachel ready for bed. It's not fun changing a poopy diaper on a squirmy baby while holding a flashlight in your teeth! I usually have a small lamp on while I'm nursing her before bedtime but it was very dark in the room last night. But with the window open there was a little bit of glow from the last bit of dusk. We got close to the window and it was quite nice to hold her and look at her as she nursed in the twilight. It was quiet and peaceful and she looked so sweet and cuddly in the pale blue light. She was up later than usual and went right to sleep in my arms. The boys were soon back with two battery-operated lanterns and no TV. Poor Daddy.
We got Nicholas ready for bed and I read a book to him by the light of a lantern. Nicholas was still a little upset and asked me to stay and snuggle with him which I gladly did. He was out in 2 minutes. As I was lying in bed next to him, I started getting one of my Mommy worries. Nicholas had his window cracked just a bit to let in cool air. His bed is maybe a foot from the window but I worried about him rolling out of bed and somehow falling through the screen and out of the window? So I lowered it to just a few inches before I left his room. Then later I was lying awake during the night listening to the storms and coming up with more Mommy worries. One of them being about Rachel's room. Her room is on the corner of the house next to the Bradford Pear tree. Around here those trees are famous for falling over during storms. What if it falls through the house right where she sleeps in her crib? I decided that I'd like our next house to have all interior bedrooms so none of them are on the outer walls of the house. I used to not be such a worry-wart until I had children. Now I'm first to get everyone into the safe shelter and coming up with crazy things to worry about at 3 o'clock in the morning. It's such an awesome responsibility that God has placed on us to care for these two precious little gifts and I don't mind being a little over protective.
We were supposed to have a swimming play date at our house today. Nicholas is sad about that not happening but he is still a little out of sorts today. While Rachel gets her morning nap, I've been snuggled up with Nicholas on the couch. We're hunkered down with blankets, pillows, and snacks and watching cartoons together. Nicholas is enjoying the cartoons. I'm just enjoying the cuddling and thanking God for keeping us all safe last night.
No comments:
Post a Comment