Yikes, Ike!

Wow...what a storm! My far-away-family showed up on my doorstep early Thursday morning after driving all night. That's the good that came out of this storm for us! Mom, Dad, Grandma-Ruby, Debbie, Rusty, Drake and Morgan bunked with us all weekend and we had an absolute blast!

We ate. We laughed. We danced. We stayed up late watching the storm and we slept late...well, they did...Brody and I watched a little more of the storm real early.

It really was a great weekend together in spite of the circumstances. Debbie and Rusty only lost their fence and camper trailer, and mom and dad only lost a few shingles from the roof! All things considered, it was an insignificant loss compared to most, and we are grateful. The roughest part of it all is that we hear they could be without electricity for weeks. While that did not stop my sister from heading back 30 minutes after the storm passed, my parents will be sticking around for a little while!

Baylee and Drake played all weekend and had a super time...they even created a "hurricane relief shelter"

I absolutely treasure the time I get with my family and even though these situations are stressful and uncertain, I'm so grateful for the unexpected visit!

Just a few days before the storm hit I found a friend hanging out on the car...waiting for me! This might be the most unique creature God created (well, besides man). Since it's not often we see such an insect, we all enjoyed the short time spent with him...

So, it went like this...Matt held it. It JUMPED on me. I screamed, shivered, nearly dropped Brody, and ran. Meagan felt my pain, screamed for me, and ran with me (even though that meant she ran toward the insect). Baylee just watched and began heading for the door, calmly. Brody laughed and Matt gave me the "special kind of stupid" look. While it wasn't my finest moment, everyone else seemed to enjoy the praying mantis!