What a Week!

Just when I feel like I am getting into a groove being a little more regular updating the blog life gets a little crazy! Between devastating weather, lots of dance recitals and a laptop that is on the fritz yet again, I have not updated so it's time for another catch up post as it has been a VERY full week and a half.

Last Wednesday morning we awoke early to tornado sirens. About 15 minutes later there were very scary strong winds and heavy rain. We lost power but didn't have any other damage. Sadly, my parent's neighborhood did not fair so well. They live in an older neighborhood with lots of beautiful tall trees. An F-2 tornado ripped right through their neighborhood and uprooted TONS of trees. Many landed on houses, cars, and blocked all the streets in the neighborhood. We are so thankful that my parents and their neighbors were all ok. We know that God was definitely merciful in saving lives when we see the many trees that smashed through houses. My parents lost lots of trees in their yard and had 2 and 1/2 trees on their house mostly above the kitchen. Thankfully they did not smash all the way through, although significant repairs will have to be made to the roof and the house frame.

My parent's house

I didn't get to see my parents house that day as the neighborhood was completely blocked by trees. In addition, things were getting canceled right and left as the weather guys reported even stronger storms and tornadoes headed our way for the afternoon and evening. They were quite serious about these storms and we decided that staying at our second floor apartment was not the best idea so we headed to our good friend's house with a basement and hung out there through the storm. As you have seen on the news these tornadoes were devastating to much of the state. Many lives were lost and the damage is unbelievable. Again, we are so thankful that our family was spared from damage and loss.

Aaron by a huge uprooted tree in my parents yard

Many of Aaron's students and coworkers live within the affected areas so it was a little nerve wracking waiting to hear news on them. In the end, we found out they were all ok. One student's family lost most everything to the storm and then lost even more to looters. With the help of friends and family we have been able to meet some of the needs of this student, but as more needs arise I might pass some of them on here on the blog.

The weekend came and it was time for my marathon of 3 CDF dress rehearsals and recitals. Wow....marathon is definitely the fitting term here! The kids were cute for sure and of course did some funny stuff on the stage. My older classes did beautifully and my little 3 year old classes were especially entertaining. I had 2 little girls discover a sequin on the stage and they were totally distracted by trying to pick it up. So distracted in fact, that the got into a fight over it. I had to intervene and remove the tiny sequin...needless to say, the audience was highly amused.

In all this craziness would you believe that I haven't used coupons at Publix in about 3 and 1/2 weeks?! I have been shopping at Aldi and also we have eaten a lot of the food that was in my parents refrigerator. They ended up being without power for about a week so we rescued their stuff and they ate here at our place some. Thanks Mama and Daddy for the food!

My dance classes are coming to an end next week. This weekend is my last round of recitals for the year! I will then be jumping into a new adventure for the summer. I will only have a few dance classes for the summer, so I will be working as a part time nanny 3 days a week for a family from church. I will be hanging out with a very cute set of 7 month old twins! I am looking forward to the change of pace for the summer. Aaron will finish teaching in the next few weeks and then plans to teach summer school in June.

Sorry for the very long post, but that is a little update on our lives. Hope that you all are well!