The Floods

This week has been "flooded" in many ways . . . . typing that makes me smile - you'll see why as the post unfolds.

The beginning of the week began with the "flooding of the Nile". We studied Egypt & the Nile River this week. It was interesting to learn about how Egyptians settled along the Nile & how it flooded the same time every year which provided rich, fertile soil. So, we created our own Nile River & flooded it (which were in the instructions) but I think we created a lake rather than a flood. (Oh well, it was fun!)

Then came the REAL rains on Tuesday - so much rain & it just kept raining - HARD!!! It was neat to hear & look at until we realized that the water was coming down from the sky & causing all the creeks, etc. to rise FAST!!! At 8:30 on Wednesday morning, Kevin had called me because the kids & I were driving to his work to pick up a friend to go to Bible Study with us. He told me I couldn't make it to the store because the water had blocked off the roads - he would have to come get me. YIKES!!! By 9:30 - we had about 15 guys, trucks, & trailers hauling everything out of our store. It was chaos. The water kept rising as it kept raining . . . it crept closer & closer to our front door. We were scrambling to get it all out & fast.

About the 15 guys that showed up . . . a nice lady named Lynn came by the store around 8:15 after dropping her kids off at school. She said she'd been through the last big flood in '07 (a 500 year flood year) & that she'd be happy to help us. When she saw the extent of what we had & how fast the water was rising, she called friends in a neighboring town that have a trenching business. They were all just waiting for it to stop raining, so the piled in their trucks & were over immediately to help us. Not only did they help, but they brought enclosed trailers for us to store our stuff in for as long as we needed them. We couldn't believe how kind & generous they were. They didn't know us at all, but were so willing to help!

(This is the creek behind Kevin's parents house - it's hard to tell from the picture, but it is only about 10 feet from where I am standing. It was up in the property behind their house & over the road as well. I'm hoping to get pictures posted off Kevin's iPhone from the flood at the store, but not sure how complicated that is - so check back. There are some amazing pics!)

Thankfully by noon it stopped raining . . . the water did reach our front door but didn't go inside, so we were very thankful! So Thursday morning, we all showed up early at the store & rearranged, unloaded, & set up shop again. We had everything out . . . phones, merchandise, computers, printers, the cat . . . . We had already scheduled a "Girl's Night Out" event for Thursday evening - so we weren't sure we could pull it off. With alot of work, we were able to do it. We had 8 vendors who also participated in our event. We had a great time, despite being completely exhausted! We were so thankful for a great turnout & as we joked, I guess it was one way to get the store emptied, clean it up & rearrange it the way we wanted to! HAHAHA!

Flooding . . . . the flooding Nile, the flooding creeks & lakes, the flooding eyes full of tears, the floods of people who helped us evacuate, the floods of people who came to our girls night out, the floods of smiles we had as we realized we had actually pulled it off in less than 36 hours. We have so much to be thankful for. . . . I am just trying to let God's love & peace fully flood every part of me.