The Storm...

Today started out being such a great day.  I got up and had my wonderful coffee, snuggled with Finn, played number hide and seek with Addison, I even decided that today was the day that I was going to start my diet back and only had a bowl of fruit for breakfast and a healthy lunch as well.  I was even happier when I put on some shorts that used to be a bit snug and they were bigger in the waist and legs.

Around 5:30 or so I asked Addie if she wanted to go to the library to exchange some of her books, she happily obliged and hubs agreed to meet us there when he got off of work.  We spent some quality family time at the library and then I found out some of my maternity clothes had sold at the consignment maternity store, so I was happy to go pick up my paycheck.

Finn and I were driving home in my car, hubs and Addie in his when our neighbor Pam called, which isn't unusual because she's always wanting to see the kids or whatever.  I was just pulling up our driveway and she said in a panic voice "Keisha, are you home?"  I said no and then asked her what she needed and at that moment I saw what she was referring to, and mind you I honestly thought that maybe I had forgotten to unplug my hair straightener, but thankfully I did unplug it.  And it appeared that my two beautiful Bradford Pear trees were laying across the road and when I got out of my car I saw our trampoline.....oh, our trampoline.  Our trampoline was laying upside down, on the enclosure in the middle of our driveway, directly in front of our garage.

And then Addison saw her trampoline...her poor little face will be forever etched into my head.  She screamed and screamed over and over again "my trampoline, my trampoline is broken" and I repeated over and over again like any good mother would "it's okay, it's okay we will buy you another one."  I then handed over Finn to Pam and told her that I would get him at some point, Addie followed Pam and Finn over to her house.

Hubs and I then learned that we live in the best neighborhood in the world....the entire neighborhood came out, rolled up their sleeves, put their work gloves on and got to work.  They worked, and worked and worked for 3 hours, carrying brush, caring for our children, sawing up limbs and helping us to flip over our trampoline.  To thank them, we ordered pizza and fed the neighborhood...such a small price to pay for their generosity.

In the end, we ended up with quite a bit of firewood, and our trampoline will need a new enclosure.  It could have been a lot worse, I am so thankful that hubs met us at the library because he could have been coming home when the trees fell. And, we have the best neighbors,  but I will have to start my diet again tomorrow, because at the end of the day I thought that I deserved a bowl of cookie dough ice cream.