Flooded Friday

Last Friday was a crazy day. It has taken three days of distance from it to even want to try to post this here.

It started out so typical ..
Rhett had a "Daddy day" at school and was so excited to be back after missing most of the week with Strep throat. Kolby had Girls Scouts and a lock-in at a friends church. Ella Kate had a little fever and was still teething. I had a newsletter deadline and a list of errands to run from being stuck at home with sick kids or sick me all week. Rob had a morning meeting, a half day of work and a dodge ball tournament at Baylor that night. Oh and the cable guy was coming to upgrade our service some time between 8 am and 12. Typical. Busy. Friday. Oh and it was raining. And grey. And almost chilly.

If I want to finish this post this week I will have to abbreviate the rest of the days events.
Kolby and Rob get off with much Drama. What is it with girls and their hair?
Get Rhett up.
Clothes issues.
Phone rings. Rob's car has died. Won't start. Won't go.
Are you out of gas? (Broken gauge,can't ever tell.,waiting on part.)
No. Just filled up. Come get me. Five miles away.
Get baby up, get Rhett ready to go with Papa.
Pull clothes on .
Rhett leaves. I'm getting baby to go....
Phone rings.
Rob is on way home with cousin Robby who happened to pull up behind him.
Feed baby. Spits up entire bottle. Fussy, FEVERISH and sleepy.
Rob home.
Call garage (that we are all too familiar with) to tow car.
Can Rob make 9AM meeting?
Too late.
Call office.
Cable guy is here.
Practically takes Entertainment center apart.
Glad Rob is here to help him.
Scrap plans to run errands.
Raining + Rob takes van to Daddy Day.
Work on newsletter. Computer freezes. Puts Xs on all graphics! UUUGGGHHH!
BLAH BLAH BLAH
EK very cranky, has some fever. Eats.
Spits most up.
Sits in my lap and falls asleep.
Again..
Rob and Rhett home.
Garage calls. Paid to have car towed. It's just out of gas.
OUT OF GAS!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone syphoned our tank???
EK up. More tylenol. Still fever.
Drop Rob and Rhett to get car and race to get Kolby at school.
REALLY RAINING NOW!
Pick up line takes 30 minutes.
I think EK is asleep again because no noise. ( I can't see her)
Kolby gets in. Is EK asleep?
NO. Eyes glazed and very lethargic.
Get home. Rob and Rhett there.
New cable remote broken.
Take babies temperature.
104. Rectally.
Can't be right.
Shake shake shake.
104.1
Panic.
4:10 PM on a Friday and a baby with 104.1!!!
Call doctor.
We're coming in.
20 minutes till closing.
Send big kids to across street to my parents.
Rob and I hop in van with baby.
I drive...I'm faster.
On cell phone with Mom on why kids are at her house.
Can you take Kolby to Girls Scouts by 4:30?
Three miles from home.
RAINING SO HARD!
Tornado sirens go off.
Yes.
TORNADO. SIRENS. GO. OFF!
Call Mom.
No Girls Scouts.
Kolby crying.
They are going to the closet with radio and flash lights.
Me driving on. People driving crazy in rain and sirens.
Doctor calls cell phone. Says tornado on ground ...Where are we?
Five minutes out.
Drive faster.
Pull into doctor's.
Run in .
All nurses watching TV.
Weather showing tornado on a path to our house.
Doc waiting for us. Takes us right back.
Does rapid strep test, but throat looks good.
Ears clear.
Nose clear.
Nothing looks abnormal.
Fever high.
Eyes red.
Baby screaming.
Looks pathetic.
Negative strep.
Fever virus, with touch of stomach bug.
All this for a virus!!!
We stay at doctors and wait for things to clear up at home so we don't drive into a tornado.
20 minutes later.
All is clear at home. Tornado blows over with out touching down near our house.
Mom mentions flooding but, we head out. Rob drives.
High water. Turn around to find different route.
Raining very hard. Water rising.
What is that smell?
Van completely over heated. Stalls.
Won't budge.
Where are we?
Not a good place to get stuck.
Water rising.
PRAY PRAY PRAY.
Car starts, reverses 100 feet away from water .
Car dies.
Cools off. Starts. Goes 100 feet. No power steering. Battery dieing. Car dies.
Repeat this process numerous times for the thirty minutes it takes to track six blocks back to doctors office parking lot.
Why? Because I feel it is safer than the surrounding neighborhood.
Rob turning red.
Rain stops.
Now what?
Belt about four feet long hanging down from van engine and visible to passers by ...
who stop to tell us...
Thanks.
We know.
Call for the second tow truck of the day.
Sick baby.
Husband frustrated beyond words.
Streets flooded all around.
Wait. wait. wait.
Call Robby to come get us in truck.
Again, second time today.
Rob can't even talk.
How much will this cost?
Pray. pray. pray.
Man walks out of doctors office.
Mechanic.
Worked on car for 35 years.
Care if he takes a look?
NOT AT ALL!
Looks.
Takes a certain tool to reattach belt.
Tries tire iron, steel pipe and everything else we can find.
Robby arrives.
Man decided to try bare hands, even though that has never worked. In 35 years.
Because it takes a special belt-attaching tool.
It works.
Seriously.
Belt in place.
Van starts like nothing ever happened.
But miracles do happen.
Seriously.
Our God sent mechanic will not take anything but
baby wipes to clean his hands and arms
and our deep and unending gratitude.
WOW!
Call off tow truck.
Almost 6:45 PM.
If they hurry
Rob and Robby
Can still make dodge ball tournament at Baylor.
Rob had clothes in Van.
Seriously?
Kolby calls that she is going to be late for lock in.
Hello?
The world does not appreciate our miracle and trauma.
Dazed, I do.
I drive home as Rob leaves with Robby
To take out his aggressions on unsuspecting college kids.
Rob will throw extra hard tonight. Good release.
I get Kolby from Mom's & leave Ella Kate.
Rush home to pack bag and get all her stuff together.
We are twenty minutes late.
Pull out of drive.
Cell phone rings. Lock-in canceled due to weather.
Kolby heart broken. BUT can she spend the night with friend?
THANK YOU! Yes!
Kolby to friend. Go get baby.
Rhett is spending the night with my parents.
Walk home past flood debree laying in the street.
EK's fever breaks.
Sweet baby falls asleep on my shoulder.
I am alone.
At home.
WOW.
SG prays and has a good happy cry.
Angels watching over us today.
So many bullets missed.
So many tragedies avoided.
My heart feels flooded.
10:00PM
Lost in thought when Rob calls.
They won. Second year in a row.
On his way home.
Another day is done.
God is so good.

Here is a picture of a street a mile away from our house. It wasn't that bad here, but we can see where the water came up in the yard.

This picture was taken five blocks away from where our van first stalled at about that same time

Happy that this will be Good Friday! We will stay home from school/ work, dye eggs. make cookies, take pictures in the blue bonnets and be grateful. Happy Monday Everyone!