Counting Our Rainbows: Life Last Week/Weekend

Well, hello! I used to say "Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms" all the time and I can't think of a more fitting title for this week/weekend recap.

I meant to pop in late last week but Hurricane Matthew made for a somewhat unproductive few days. Once we got word the storm was coming for us, we were pretty preoccupied Wednesday and Thursday making sure we were prepared for the worst. We were supposed to get the worst of the storm early Friday morning and most of the day so on Thursday night we settled in with a movie and some wine as we watched the weather get progressively worse. Thankfully we didn't get hit as badly as expected, but we lost power Friday morning and didn't get it back until late Saturday morning. We were incredibly grateful we were spared from the tremendous damage other areas faced and we actually really enjoyed our day together at home on Friday with our little family. It was nice to have a day at home together without any of the usual distractions like technology and work.

I do have to admit by Saturday morning, I was starting to get a little stir crazy and uncomfortable with no power in the house. I made plans to have a lunch date with my sister and in the meantime, our power came back on and I was able to clean up around the house a bit so we could enjoy the rest of our weekend. Emma and I had a great visit and lunch date with my sister while Jonathan finished working. Saturday night, we dropped Emma off at her grandparents' and went out for dinner and a movie. We saw Girl on the Train and I thought they did a pretty good job of turning the book into a movie!

We woke up Sunday to the most gorgeous, sunny day. So beautiful, it was hard to believe we'd just had a hurricane roll through two days before.

I told Jonathan I really want to take Abby out to a dog park or something. After being cooped up in the house for a few days because of the storm and us not having a fenced in yard for her to really run around in, I felt like she could really use a day out and some serious playtime. Jonathan made us breakfast in bed and we watched church service while we ate and loved on baby Emma.

We packed up our little family and headed to a great park about 40 minutes from us for some outdoor fun and we had the absolute best day together. We called it Abby's Big Day Out but really, it was such a special day for all of us!

I could complain about the storm or our power being out for 24 hours over the weekend. I could comment on this election and all the negativity it's bringing. I could be preoccupied with all the negativity I feel like we hear daily. Instead, I'll just say I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the quality time we got as a family because of Hurricane Matthew. I'm grateful our power was restored and that losing power for 24 hours was the worst of our troubles. I'm grateful that with all the negativity in the world, we get to control how we react to it. We get to choose how it affects us. We get to influence our children in such a positive way that no matter what horrors are going on in the world, they are good and decent individuals who rise above it.

One of our pastors said this on Sunday, "The news is bad, but God is good" and I've just kept repeating that to myself since then. So simple, but such a necessary reminder, I think. The news is seriously so bad, but God is so incredibly good.