Monday, February 16, 2009

Hell FROZE over....


For those of you that do not know, my state was hit by a huge ice storm,Jan. 27(well it started the night of the 26th) and it knocked out power to EVERY ONE. It was awful. There was so much ice, I have never seen anything like it. I JUST GOT INTERNET BACK TODAY!!!! My aunt has been staying w/us-she just got her power back on today. Electric companies worked 24/7 to restore power to over 500,000 ppl in Kentucky.
We woke up Tuesday, the 27th at 7:30am to complete darkness-no electricity,no Internet,no home phone, no cell phones and roads covered in ice-thick thick ice. Imagine hell being froze over-it happened here! We felt like we were cut off from the outside world. So, with us not having electricity, we had no heat. We heat w/propane-hot water and heat for the house. However, it takes electricity to run the air/heat units. The first couple of days,we stayed at a friends house b/c they had a wood burning stove in their basement. We are thankful for that wood burning stove. HOWEVER, being cooped up w/six adults and 5 kids was torture at times lol. We do realize how lucky we were though. There were tons that did not even have what we had. Most people lost all their perishable foods. We moved all of our frozen food to our deep freezer and that saved it-but our friends, the ones we stayed w/they were not so lucky. Their power was out longer than ours. The didn't have power for almost 2wks so they lost everything.
That Thursday, out power came back on late that night. We were so excited, we slept in out own beds that night. THEN Friday at noon, the power went out again. A tree limb fell on a transformer and knocked my subdivision out again. We had to travel an hr from home to get a hotel. All the hotels in our town were completely booked. Most of the out of state electric workers were staying at them. It sounds completely awful, but it was Aiden's first time at a hotel and he did so well. I was so proud of him. It was a learning experience lol, this whole thing has been that! Our neighbor called Saturday morning to let us know that our electricity was back on, once again! WOOOHOOOO. We stopped at the Walmart in Harrisburg to stock up on certain items such as: milk,eggs,lunch meats,yogurt.....all these things, our stores didn't have b/c they ruined. It's pretty darn bad when your Walmart is closed and then when it does open, they only allow 20 ppl at a time and you can only purchase 20 items and YOU HAVE TO PAY WITH CASH-b/c their phone lines were down and they couldn't use credit cards. This was hard for us, b/c we rarely carry cash anymore-if we do, it's only like $50 at the most lol. We made it work though!

Since my electricity was back on, I did others laundry, let ppl stay with us,allowed ppl to come to our home and use our shower, and if they needed food, I fed them. I just remember praying to God to please let our power come back on and I would do what ever I could to help others. I can not tell you how many electric companies from out of state came to help out. It was wonderful to see everyone working together. Sadly, one worker lost his life helping. He was from Michigan, I believe. Another worker was seriously injured but is recovering well. This whole experience has taught me just how much we take for granted. You just don't understand how much we rely on electricity,cell phones,computers and WATER! So many didn't even have running water. Our hospitals (we have two in my city) didn't have electricity and everyone was worried about the patients! I had a friend in one hospital that gave birth to a son on the 26th. She was not released til that Friday b/c she didn't have electricity to take her newborn baby home to! No heat, no water, nothing!

I really want everyone that reads this to thank God for the things you have. Many ppl lost their lives b/c of this terrible storm. After this ice storm, we had strong winds come through and knocked out power again for many. My city looks like a tornado came through it. Trees split in half, knocked over, electric poles down across roads, power lines down.....it's awful. My aunt is still staying w/us b/c the high winds blew her well away! She gets power back just to have NO WATER lol. She's a little frustrated!

OH and since we couldn't seem to get a hold of any of our loved ones for days, I just want to say that you can not know the fear and complete worry we all went through. Wondering if your loved ones were safe, where they were, were they being fed,staying warm,and if their spirit was ok! A lot of us couldn't even get out of our driveways b/c of downed power lines and poles, trees everywhere......I have never seen so many trees everywhere!

I did manage to take a few pics. The news said that the last time our area seen an ice storm like this, was 100 yrs ago! I hope it is a very long time before we see another.....ugh


winter storm 2009


winter storm


winter storm 09

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For those of you, that prayed for us, called me on my cell phone, texted me; just to check on my family, thank you. Susan, you will never know how much that meant to me and my husband. You will forever be in my heart for your thoughtfulness and carrying for a "stranger" the way you have! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

2 comments:

Heidi said...

Oh my goodness! I'm so glad you are okay! I feel like a big doof because I apparently live in a large cave and had no idea of the immense destruction! Those pictures are amazing!

Susan said...

I am so glad to see you back online! Mother nature can cause you to really think of what is truely important! I will never take electricity or water for granted.

Give Aiden a hug from us and know that we are still thinking of you.