Light Through a Smoky Haze

What a week this has been in our home! Sunday night we were preparing for my first week back teaching after a 2-week fall break and lots of things happening every day. We flipped on the TV to catch up on the fire and were shocked to see an out of control situation, numerous evacuations, and reports of the fire moving southwest overnight towards our area. That was enough for us to pack up diaper bags and food for each of our cars in case something happened during the day and we were unable to get home. We made sure to each have enough things for the baby and then packed a bag for ourselves.

We went to bed late and didn't sleep well. The news we woke up to was not so good. The fire had not come in our direction but was raging across the entire Northern part of our county. It didn't take long for schools to be closed and people to be told to stay indoors.

So due to this horrific event we ended up with a "vacation" of sorts together as a family. Looking back, it's been a wonderful time spent reading, organizing cabinets, doing laundry, and being together. Hadarya is close to walking...she is just scared to do it on her own, but will walk holding on to one hand and is very proud of herself. She blows kisses with sound effects. She says her name: Hada. She has gotten very good at imitating our sounds and words too. She drinks mostly from a sippy cup during the day and we are working on eliminating the extra nighttime bottle.

She made it through her 1 year checkup with 5 shots and no aftereffects! The only thing that is slightly of are her naps, as there are only so many times you can play with the same toys and wear yourself out. We went to the indoor mall a few times and she rode the carousel for the first time (and LOVED it!) and played on the indoor play area until the big (too big, too old, too tall) kids got too rough in the small area and we had to leave before she got squashed. It has been a great family bonding week and time to be together that we don't make enough time for regularly .

But in the beginning, it was terrifying to live moment to moment glued to the TV and wondering how people's lives were being changed. Over 1/2 million people were evacuated and close to 2,000 homes destroyed. It's going to take a long time to recover from this week of mother nature reminding us who is in control.

We continue to pray for the safety and well being of the firefighters and volunteers who are risking their lives to save others. We pray that those who lost their homes will be able to see the light through the smoky haze and know that they are alive and the community is supporting them.