we're back!

this week has been all sorts of crazy.

last monday hurricane sandy hit and with it killed our power. we JUST got it back last night! thankfully mark's parents never lost their power so we spent 5 nights down with them. we were able to stay warm and have lights! charge our phones! watch a movie! we were spoiled.

while we were down there i was able to sub two days at the preschool i used to work. they were understaffed due to the effects of the hurricane. many teachers were either stuck where they evacuated to (gas shortages everywhere!) or were dealing with flooded houses, flooded cars, no power, etc. i was happy to help and it was great seeing everyone. though i'm a little ticked that norah and i are both sick now, likely from the germs i was exposed to at the school. but such is life, right?

saturday mark, norah, and i plus a team of other volunteers went to a house in ocean city that was completely destroyed. with norah in a borrowed ergobaby sling on my back, we sorted through her belongings to see what was salvageable, helped move everything out, ripped up what was left of her dock, and just tried to help in whatever way we could. it was bittersweet, seeing the devastation of her home and all her things was so sad. however, the light on her face and hope in her eyes was unmistakable. this woman lost so much, yet trusts that God is in control of it all. she thanked us profusely and said as soon as things in her own house are taken care of she is going to be out helping others. it was without a doubt a life changing event for her and all of us on the crew.

such a trooper she was

we worked for 6 hours on saturday before calling it a day. norah had had enough by that point, it was freezing cold, and we all needed a break. sunday i went back to the house with supplies, coffee, food and a smile. i was unable to do physical labor a second day in a row (6 hours doing physical work with a baby on your back = extremely sore the next day) but i felt i still needed to do something!

we came back to monmouth county sunday night to a freezing cold house with still no power. we didn't have a choice though, mark was back to work yesterday so we needed to be here. the three of us all slept in our bed under several blankets and a down comforter so it wasn't too bad. monday morning i packed norah and i up and we headed to starbucks for a hot drink and to mooch their wi-fi. i needed to get on facebook - i joined a group called operation #restoreourshore who continually updates their page with volunteer opportunities, ways to help, things to donate, where to donate, etc. i brought markers and paper to starbucks too and norah and i sat making flyers and sipping our hot chocolates (side note: salted carmel hot chocolate anyone?? SO good!). last night while we went trick-or-treating (yep, NJ halloween was nov. 5 from 3-6. boooooo) i passed out the flyers, which listed items i'll be collecting for monmouth county shelters over the next week. then just as we got home the lights came back on! we were and still are so happy. if nothing else, i'm just glad we're warm! it's supposed to snow tomorrow and i can't imagine how cold it would have gotten. and to think that there are still people with no power...

hurricane sandy spared my family but thousands and thousands of others were directly affected. this is my home and seeing all the people around me losing everything is heartbreaking. now that we're back at my parents' house and we have power (!!! still doing a happy dance !!!)  i plan on continuing to help out in whatever ways i can. that being said, my blogging is going to be a little slow in catching up. i know i posted previously on taking a break anyway but now this is a different kind of break. an "i literally have no time to blog" break. 

i have several posts that i wanted to write for last week that i'm still going to write, plus this week's posts and of course the obligatory halloween pictures but i'm not going to stress over getting them done "on time." i promise they will be here and i'm not gone forever ;) i just wanted to check in today and let those who were wondering know that we're OK and we're just going to be very busy getting things back in order. also, thank you all so much for your kind words and concerns on my last post. 

with all that said i will be back later today with my very first review/giveaway!

if you're still reading (hehe) and want to know how you too can help, here are a few good sites to check out:
- one
- two
- three

plus the facebook page i was telling you about:
- operation #restoreourshore