Lessons learned from the ice storm

We had some crazy weather here a couple of weeks ago. The first really cold snap here in sunny south-central Texas. In fact, we had temps in the teens and days in a row when it didn't get above 25. Really cold for around here. We even had some frozen pipes! Yipes! They were insulated but since there are parts that are above ground where the pipes flow out of the well, they freeze! Live and learn. We started the morning with running water, though the flow was low. But by lunch time, nada. No water at all. We could hear the water TRYING to come through the pipes, but no go. But thankfully, we had about 15 gallons of bottled water on hand for emergencies. This fit the bill!! For 24 hours we had no water at all! Ever try to go 24 hours without the tap??!! I don't know how many times I turned it on by habit. Kinda like turning on a light switch when there's no electricity. I learned just how many things I do just by habit. In fact this cold snap taught or reinforced in me some really good lessons.

Lesson #1: Boys really will make ANYTHING into a gun! :-) Jeffrey found this icicle on a property nearby and thought he MUST have it, especially with the ski mask...think terrorist with an ice gun! :-)

Lesson #2: Being prepared really matters! I was sooooo thankful for the botttled water we had in store. We used it to wash dishes, drink and even flush the toilets a couple of times.

I was very thankful for these wipes to wash my face when we didn't have running water. I already knew that I really liked them, but now I know I'll never be without them!!

Lesson #3: Being organized and doing things promptly is as much a part of being prepared as having supplies. I was SOOOOO thankful that we (ahem, I mean Michael!) do laundry every day and that I'm getting in the habit (mostly) of cleaning dishes after each meal. Because of that, we had clean clothes and the kitchen was clean before we ran out of water. For us, that just makes the house seem more peaceful. When we ran out of water after lunch, I just had one pan to wash and a few plates to put in the dishwasher. It may seem wierd, but I didn't need the stress of a trashed kitchen and loads of laundry to do when it was already stressful enough to know that there was no water, and not know when it would come back on. Also, I've been getting in the habit of getting up first thing in the morning and exercising and showering and getting dressed. Maybe only homeschool moms can relate, but I must say that there have been many days where I just get up and get going on the day while still in my jammies or sweatshirt without doing those other things. Since I had already had my shower and was dressed and ready for the day, it wasn't such a big deal to not have water in the afternoon. I was already for our evening (which was Pappasitos for Jonathan and Jeremy's birthday) or for anything else I needed to do for that day.

Lesson #4: I'm thankful for indoor plumbing! It would have been REALLY COLD if I had been Ma Ingalls and had to go use the bathroom outside!

Lesson #5: I waste water. To wash some dishes in the late afternoon and early morning the next day, I boiled a gallon of water on the stove and used that to wash the few dishes that we had. I realized that I can get by on A LOT LESS water than I typically use to wash dishes. I've been trying to pay attention to how much I use when washing and cutting down.

Lesson #6 God gives wisdom. We were really asking for wisdom to know how to thaw those pipes!! Michael suggested using plywood to make a "teepee" around the pipes and then put a heater near the pipes to thaw. Only problem: no plywood! So we rummaged around the garage and found a "washers" game and a spare piece of countertop from our house in Bartlett (don't ask me why we still had that!! I guess for this day!). We made a triangle from the three pieces, covered it with blankets, put a shoplight inside to warm it up. About two hours later....success! Running water. Thankfully no broken pipes! Now we know what to do next time. (Which we actually had to do day before yesterday!)

Lesson #7 Chickens aren't crazy about snow! It was a hoot to watch the chickens walk around in the snow. They tended to stand on one foot at a time if they stood in the same place for long.

Lesson #8: Boys DO like snow! Even though we didn't have much, we did have some! And the boys enjoyed playing in it even though it did melt mostly by noon when the sun came out. Here's Jeffrey standing on the goat trough which was completely frozen.

Here's a video of Jeffrey destroying his ice "gun"!

All in all we're really enjoying the colder weather and taking notes of life lessons to learn along the way!