We are ready...

They are calling for another big wind storm tonight, this time with snow. So we could be waking up to blizzard like conditions tomorrow. Extreme weather is something that is hard for Jacob. He gets very anxious and tends to think in catastrophic terms. So when we were called this morning and told that we would only be having Sacrament Meeting so that we could prepare for the coming storm, he freaked out a little bit. We had a good parenting moment with him, talking through his fears and trying to show him all the ways we are ready for whatever Mother Nature might send our way.

After church Brian and Jake went to the store for a non-electric can opener, as that was one thing I could have really used during the last power outage and had forgotten to get one when I was at the store on Friday.  Brain commented on how neat it was to see all the people out clearing up fallen trees and debris. He said it looked almost like ants swarming the way they would attack an area and have it cleared so quickly, and that every other car he passed was a truck or SUV with a trailer hitched to the back either loaded down with tree branches or heading back for another load.

While they were gone I continued to do laundry, cook food and get the house ready. I came across Jake's stockpile of "necessities" in the living room for just in case the power goes out. It includes two lanterns, one battery powered and one that has a crank on it to generate power and is also a radio, a card game, a board game, his Leapster with fresh batteries, and a pile of about 20 or so books. I was talking to him later about how he was feeling now that he'd had a chance to prepare, and he was feeling much calmer. He said, "I even brought up the 78 hour kit, see?"  Our emergency kit is better than the average 72 hour kit... we get 6 extra hours! Not that I am making fun of his idea of being prepared. I'm off to make sure I've got enough yarn wound to get through any length of blackout, and I might just have to steal one of the lanterns...