Sunday, February 22, 2015

2015 Ice Storm in Georgia

Last year we experienced a winter storm in Georgia that everyone referred to as Snowpocalypse. Georgia (specifically Atlanta and north Georgia where we live) was not prepared to handle the ice on the roads and it ended up being a pretty big deal. Lots of people were stranded in their cars and all over the roads. We did get some beautiful snow though, and although Jase was too young to play in it, we did get to take some fun pictures.

[IMG_0770%255B5%255D.jpg]

I’m sure some of the Northern states think we’re a little crazy with how we react over winter weather, but it really can be pretty dangerous when you’re not prepared for it. Our local leaders have put some plans in place so hopefully that won’t happen again with the roads, but we did have a pretty intense ice storm this year that left tens of thousands without power (and some for several days). This year our winter weather hit on Monday, February 16th. Thankfully the roads were fine as far as driving conditions, but the ice on the trees was crazy! It sent lots of trees & limbs crashing into homes and into roads. We sat in our living room watching a movie after we put Jase to bed and I saw as friend after friend posted on FB that they were losing power. I figured it wouldn’t be long for ours to go out because the lights flickered several times from 6:30 pm on. I kept praying for protection, specifically from trees falling into our house. Our back yard is basically woods and there are TONS of trees. You could hear crackling and limbs breaking everywhere every few minutes. I had just looked up some Scriptures about fear on Sunday, so thankfully those came to my mind and brought me some peace. Jonathan was very reassuring too. Plus, I have prayed over our home many times.

Our power finally went out around 12:30 am, but Jonathan said we would be fine for a while without heat. Thankfully we have natural gas, so we were able to light a fire in the fireplace the next morning and make breakfast on the gas stove. This is what we woke up to outside. (Not sure the pictures do it justice…)

IMG_2849IMG_2851IMG_2853IMG_2854IMG_2856

It started to get pretty chilly in here around 10:30-11 the next morning, so we decided to head to my parents’ so Jase could take a warm nap.

Right before we were getting ready to head out, one of our neighbors (that we don’t really know very well) walked to our house and asked to borrow Jonathan’s phone. He is a younger guy (about 21) & said his phone was broken. After borrowing Jon’s phone to call multiple people and no one answering, he asked Jonathan to take “them” (him and his grandmother, although I didn’t know that at the time) to his uncle’s house (about an hour away). Jon said yes and told them he would be over in a few minutes to pick them up, but just to be totally honest, my initial response was “no.” I didn’t know if the roads were bad, so I didn’t want him on the roads for 2 hours with strangers. (I told him he better pack some heat. I guess I’ve watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds in my day.) Plus, I didn’t know if I’d be able to drive me and Jase to my parents’. The boy didn’t give us that whole story at first and it sounded a little fishy to me that he would ask Jon to do that, but I now know that he was just desperate. I felt much better about the whole thing once Jonathan dug a little deeper to find out the whole story. It turns out he was home alone taking care of his almost 90 year old grandmother while his parents were traveling out of the country. He didn’t have a phone because his died and there was no power to charge it. He doesn’t have a license to drive them anywhere. They had no options to cook/heat the house, so they hadn’t eaten all day and were freezing. Basically, they were stuck in a really bad situation and he didn’t know what to do. Thankfully Jonathan knew exactly how to respond anyway and  I totally trust his discernment. He reassured me, sent me and Jase to my moms, and drove the boy and his grandmother (who doesn’t speak a lick of English & has suffered 3 strokes in that last few years) to their uncle’s home about an hour away. They were so, so thankful and I love that I have such a willing & helpful husband. (Me and Jase prayed for his safety the whole drive to my mom’s anyway.)

IMG_5902IMG_5905

We saw this tree down in our neighborhood when we were driving around. So thankful it wasn’t on anyone’s house and no one was hurt! But you can see that it got that power line that left our street without power.

IMG_5907

Linemen and power crews worked non-stop for days to get things back rolling and we are so thankful for their dedication and hard work. The power was out for us for around 20 hours or so and my other sweet neighbor texted me when it came back on. We were having dinner with my parents & headed home to a warm, cozy house just in time for Jase’s bed time. We did have to throw out a good bit of food from the refrigerator (after reading this article) which was NOT easy for me. Y’all know I’m super cheap and it was painful to throw food away, but I know in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal.

We felt bad about poor Jase being cooped up in the house, so we did make a trip to Target and to the grocery store to restock the frig. He was happy to get out of the house for sure.

IMG_5921IMG_5923

(And his daddy was too!) They were just the cutest things all matchy matchy…

IMG_5926

This Georgia weather is just so crazy! The week before last it was warm enough to play outside without a jacket, and here we are this week freezing our tushies off & iced in.  Our friend Kelly's daughter sent us her Flat Stanley from Michigan, and I’m pretty sure he brought this frigid weather with him, so I’ll be returning him next week with pics of our ice storm. Smile  I am definitely looking forward to Spring!! More than anything though, I am so thankful we are all safe and warm. I know a lot of people around here have BIG messes to clean up, and I am just so thankful nothing too serious happened. We do have some big limbs down around the house, but nothing worth complaining over. Thank you, Lord for your protection and for a sweet hubby who is a true example of a servant leader & a shining light for Christ.

3 comments:

Our Little Family said...

Check with your homeowners insurance and see if they will reimburse you for the food going bad. I've heard of companies doing that.

Nikki said...

I remember last year when you guys got slammed. Crazy! Definitely check with home owners for reimbursement for the food. I know when Sandy hit here they gave me I wanna say $250 or $300.

Fancy at the Farm said...

Oh my heavens! We were without power here 6 days. We had just had a beef slaughtered and I had another deep freeze full of breastmilk. Ice makes me a crazy lady. So glad you all are safe and sound!