So, we had ourselves a little bit of excitement here the other day. It was an unusually warm morning with a strong warm wind (apparently that's a tell-tale sign that it might be tornado weather), but we were carrying on our day as per normal. I (Bradd) went off to seminary, Ashleigh and Sam went off to school (it wasn't a home-school day), Jack was at pre-school and Sonia was at home catching up on some of her own study.
It was 11:30 in the morning, and I was walking into a lecture when the emergency sirens started sounding all around the city. One of them is at the top of one of the seminary buildings, so it was hard to miss. Everyone around me stopped for a moment, shrugged their shoulders and then started heading down to the basement. I figured that this must be regular enough for everyone to not be at all phased by it. However, anyone with a mobile phone also immeadiately started calling spouses/children/schools etc. to make sure their loved ones were taking shelter, so it was obviously significant enough to be taken seriously. I didn't have a mobile phone on me so just wandered down with everyone else to take shelter in the basement. The little child in me desparately wanted to get outside and look around for a big twister forming in the sky. But everyone around me kept saying "better safe than sorry", so I stayed put.
At school and at pre-school, the kids all had to go to the basements of their buildings as well. Sam reckoned it was pretty boring going down there and waiting, practising getting down and covering their heads with a book, and about 30 minutes later we were given the all clear and headed back.
The tornado did touch down along the Ohio river near downtown Louisville, but did little damage other than a few downed power lines and trees.
All in all it was a bit of a fizzer. No huge tornado ripping through the landscape. No cows flying past as they're swept up into the atmosphere (as I assume usually happens with most tornados). No debri smashing windows and crushing cars. I guess that's a good thing, but none the less a little boring compared to what happens in the movies. And I missed 30 minutes of what is always a great lecture.
Oh well, I'm sure there will be another one before we end our time here...
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
James 1:2-4
So I’ve been listening to some good stuff of late …. Disney's Bambi on audio CD!! Yes I know it’s odd, but such is the nature of homeschooling and in it I often hear Thumper saying “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”. So hence, the blog’s been pretty quiet of late!
However I wanted to write and let you know of our struggles as they are likely to continue and sometimes there seems to be no easy answer. Lord willing I pray that the He will make us all healthy once again and pray also that our time here in Louisville will not be detrimental to the kids’ physical wellbeing.
These are our struggles and we would appreciate much prayer.
1. Sam has struggled with severe allergies. Apparently people who don’t suffer from allergies will often get allergies to some degree when living in Louisville. He has lost some weight which would be nice to put back on.
2. Ashleigh and Jack have complained of sore tummies most nights since being here in Louisville. Both also have lost weight.
3. I (Sonia) have had a rash around my mouth and chin that flares up then fades continually, but never actually disappears completely. Ashleigh also has a slight rash around her nose.
4. Bradd also has gotten pretty lean (this is not neccessarily a bad thing so you do not need to pray that he will put it all back on!), but is tired and struggling to get to sleep at night.
5. Finding whole food over here is possible but it is a little more difficult and at least a third more expensive. I believe that food and change of diet has been the major contributor towards the kids feeling unwell and the rashes arising. However the longer we are here the closer I am to getting their diet as close to what they had at home as is possible.
Please pray with us as we sort out the above food and health issues as it would be really nice for all to return to good health.
On the bright side, which there always is…there is another NZ family over here at the mo (Mark & Tania Gordon) who have been amazing to us . They are so thoughtful and kind and seem to know just what we need and when. They have made our time here really enjoyable and we will miss them incredibly as they fly home mid January.
Other highlights:
1. We often think we see rockets in the sky. We are told they are likely to be army planes but they fly straight up for miles (as far as the eye can see)! So we still think they’re rockets :)
2. Bradd and I got to go out for dinner the other night, as Mark Gordon was staying over and he offered to look after the kids (very sweet). Amazing hospitality was shown by the waiters. We could have had free Italian bread and dipping sauce all evening and then after chatting with the waiter for a few minutes he said “dessert was on him!” We were so full that we had to decline (stink aye).
3. It appears we have been getting a reputation for our reasonably casual church attire during the summer, where we were constantly in shorts, t-shirts and jandals. So much so that just today (being the middle of fall/autumn as temperatures are cooling off) a member of our church exclaimed to Bradd “Hey, it’s you Bradd! I didn’t recognise you with your pants on!”. Bradd burst out laughing and the guy quickly realised what he’d said and clarified “ach-hem arr… I mean in something other than shorts!”.
4. We still find the squirrels fun. They’re all over the place and always have nuts in their hands or mouths, and we're always laughing at them.
5. During all the rough patches (above) we've been able to look forward to and count down to Grandma (aka Mum/Lillian) visiting us! That's right, she found a super cheap air fare and is coming over to visit us at the end of October. We're all looking forward to seeing her in person. Skype is great, but it will never be able to replace a real hug.
Signing off for now. Lots of love to you all. We miss you heaps and hope life back in NZ or wherever you are is all good.
However I wanted to write and let you know of our struggles as they are likely to continue and sometimes there seems to be no easy answer. Lord willing I pray that the He will make us all healthy once again and pray also that our time here in Louisville will not be detrimental to the kids’ physical wellbeing.
These are our struggles and we would appreciate much prayer.
1. Sam has struggled with severe allergies. Apparently people who don’t suffer from allergies will often get allergies to some degree when living in Louisville. He has lost some weight which would be nice to put back on.
2. Ashleigh and Jack have complained of sore tummies most nights since being here in Louisville. Both also have lost weight.
3. I (Sonia) have had a rash around my mouth and chin that flares up then fades continually, but never actually disappears completely. Ashleigh also has a slight rash around her nose.
4. Bradd also has gotten pretty lean (this is not neccessarily a bad thing so you do not need to pray that he will put it all back on!), but is tired and struggling to get to sleep at night.
5. Finding whole food over here is possible but it is a little more difficult and at least a third more expensive. I believe that food and change of diet has been the major contributor towards the kids feeling unwell and the rashes arising. However the longer we are here the closer I am to getting their diet as close to what they had at home as is possible.
Please pray with us as we sort out the above food and health issues as it would be really nice for all to return to good health.
On the bright side, which there always is…there is another NZ family over here at the mo (Mark & Tania Gordon) who have been amazing to us . They are so thoughtful and kind and seem to know just what we need and when. They have made our time here really enjoyable and we will miss them incredibly as they fly home mid January.
Other highlights:
1. We often think we see rockets in the sky. We are told they are likely to be army planes but they fly straight up for miles (as far as the eye can see)! So we still think they’re rockets :)
2. Bradd and I got to go out for dinner the other night, as Mark Gordon was staying over and he offered to look after the kids (very sweet). Amazing hospitality was shown by the waiters. We could have had free Italian bread and dipping sauce all evening and then after chatting with the waiter for a few minutes he said “dessert was on him!” We were so full that we had to decline (stink aye).
3. It appears we have been getting a reputation for our reasonably casual church attire during the summer, where we were constantly in shorts, t-shirts and jandals. So much so that just today (being the middle of fall/autumn as temperatures are cooling off) a member of our church exclaimed to Bradd “Hey, it’s you Bradd! I didn’t recognise you with your pants on!”. Bradd burst out laughing and the guy quickly realised what he’d said and clarified “ach-hem arr… I mean in something other than shorts!”.
4. We still find the squirrels fun. They’re all over the place and always have nuts in their hands or mouths, and we're always laughing at them.
5. During all the rough patches (above) we've been able to look forward to and count down to Grandma (aka Mum/Lillian) visiting us! That's right, she found a super cheap air fare and is coming over to visit us at the end of October. We're all looking forward to seeing her in person. Skype is great, but it will never be able to replace a real hug.
Signing off for now. Lots of love to you all. We miss you heaps and hope life back in NZ or wherever you are is all good.
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