11 March 2011

Calm before the storm

Maybe things were just too ordinary around here. Up to the same old same old just isn't good enough I guess. According to my iPhone, for the last week or so we were up to our same old tricks:








And after those bedtime pictures were taken I went for a nice run, showered, and cuddled up with a good book just in time to get all the tsunami warning messages, texts, and then hear the sirens blaring. Sometimes, as I am pulling my sleeping kids out of bed and loading them into my van around midnight with all of my pantry and a trash bag full of toilet paper stowed in the back with bedding and a first aid kit, I try and figure out which US state is the least likely to be hit by a natural disaster and then make plans to move there ASAP.

The kids had been running fevers and so we didn't really want to camp out on the hill with the rest of the town in the middle of the rainy night so we planned to head up to Thomas' office in Kaneohe when a friend from Thomas' work invited us to crash at his place in Waipio- aka- the middle of the island and away from the coast. I was so relieved and told him we were on our way.

We pulled up with sirens blaring all over the island, Ambrose soaked in his own puke from the excitement of the car ride over in the middle of the night, and saw that they had glowing star lanterns lit in the room they made up for us with a big, soft bed for me and Thomas, comfy little beds all sheeted up and ready to go for Ambrose and Asher next to us, and a pile of colorful towels all folded in a stack in the bathroom ready for our arrival.... well, it was more than a pleasant contrast to what I was expecting for the night and I wanted to cry. Beautiful home Joe- we love you guys and are so grateful for you!

Today feels weird. Like, we were initially prepared to hole up somewhere if necessary with all of our junk in our van, and now we are just home, tired, grateful, and listening to my neighbor mow his lawn like nothing happened ALL NIGHT LONG. Strange, but good.

11 comments:

lorieloo said...

Praise the Lord for you protection! And Praise Him for hospitable friends.

hugs.

Patria said...

great post! glad you guys had a comfy spot to stay. i have had a post ready in my head for awhile about the ramona series that we've been reading here and how much social commentary and comparisons i'm getting out of these chidrens books written in the 70s/80s. so seeing the beverly cleary book pic made me smile. i love the song playing here too.

Natalie said...

I am so happy you are safe! I also love that you had a welcoming and comfy place to go.

julis said...

well i'm glad that your evacuation could end the next day like nothing had happened. i'm glad about that.

i'm pretty sure the chance of tsunami in logan is ZERO. come live here, thanks bye.

julis said...

ps i'm at my mom's house, whose name is juli s. my name is melissa p. and i can't sign out of her google, apparently.

laurel said...

I am greatful that all you precious souls are safe.

Bluebird & Company said...

I am SO glad you are all safe!
p.s. I love your pictures......and your cute kids. :)

Mariko said...

And that is EXACTLY how it feels. Amen.
Remember what we were going to do in March???
Guess what?! It's MARCH! Details to follow.

Mariko said...

Oh, and you could live in a tsunami-less state, but then you would live in a tsunami-less state.

Matti said...

awe, what a sweet welcome! I'm glad you guys had somewhere nice to go to. I could only imagine if our kids were sick and we were stuck at the church parking lot.

liko said...

oh man, boy that was a rough one. i was like, is this another sign not to go on the trip? first time in the middle of the night, which was more scary for me. glad it wasn't much to worry about in the end. just another warning for us to be prepared. and that welcome in waipio sounds heavenly. poor ambrose. and i think the same thing about moving, but would you rather have tornadoes or earthquakes? wait, we get earthquakes too...oh well.