Today has been a long and hot but prosperous day.
As you know the storm has left lots of cleanup for us all to do. It's amazing how it caused so much damage within a matter of seconds and now it will take months to get it all cleaned up.
When I asked my Father why we weren't going to church today he said "Our ox is in the ditch." Let me explain what he meant by that. Since Dad and now Jesse both have jobs five days a week, sometimes more, we have to use the "man power" when we can. And today we were able to borrow a machine from a friend that we will only have for two days. So it was mandatory that we get a lot of work done over the holiday weekend. But around here, work usually isn't a dull thing. Here are some of the things we got done today........
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| The first thing Gina and I had to do was strip all of the siding off the house and put it in stacks. |
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| This piece was torn in half... :\ |
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Charlene was in the pool while we were doing this, so she called me and said "...are you hot?" After I wiped my brow for about the hundredth time I said I was, so she told me to come to her "Cool off Station."
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| First she took a water balloon.... |
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| ....got it wet.... |
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| .....and then rubbed it on our foreheads. How thoughtful of her. c ; |
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| The finished product. |
While we were doing this, the boys were in the woods sawing away and moving trees with the machine.
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| The chickens like them.......a lot. |
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| Jesse, showing Dad how to work the machine. |
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| Dad, working the machine. |
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| This is the area they've cleared so far. Quite a lot I'd say, for a days work. |
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| We found this siding in the woods.... |
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| ....and this one, that's at least thirty feet up in the tree. I don't guess those are going on the pile. :\ |
Meanwhile, Mom and Steven were working on stacking wood and getting it ready to make a cord wood fence.
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| He's a hard worker. c ; |
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| This was the "Deathly Poisonous Salamander" that Steven found sitting on one of his logs. He was sure it would bite him and he would die...... |
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| Charlie mostly watched....... |
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| Later, mom surprised us with a treat. |
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| Step one : Slice giant marshmallows in half and place on cracker. |
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| Step Two: Add chocolate. |
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| Step Three: Enjoy. c ; |
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| Gina's hair was very pretty today because she left it braided all night long. |
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| Jesse's braided grass bracelet. |
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| When he brought it in and handed it to me, Gina said "Oh so that's what you've been doing out there. I thought you were supposed to be working?" |
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| Dinner was graciously provided by K.F.C. and my Aunt Lily Mae. |
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| Some of the trees we found were at least a hundred years old. One was 125, proving that this kind of storm only happens once in a hundred years, at least. |
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| This is just one stack...I don't think we'll ever run out of firewood. |
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| Later Jesse and I went to check on his bees. |
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| They look good to me......but then, I don't know much about bees. But Jesse said they were good. |
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All in all I'd say it was a good day. I'm glad God has given us the gift of fellowship as well as the privilege of hard work.
As I was listening to the radio today, I heard the number one song on one of the country stations countdowns. It was
I won't let go by Rascal Flatts. It seems relevant enough considering the first few lines of the song.
It's like a storm
That cuts a path
It breaks your will
It feels like that
You think you're lost
But you're not lost on your own,
You're not alone
I will stand by you,
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
and you can't cope
I will dry your eyes,
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
and I won't let go.
Thank you Lord for knowing that You couldn't always be here with us in the flesh, giving us others for times when we feel were at our weakest, and giving us to others in times when we feel our strongest.
