Paul's Coming Home

Cost of replacing the car battery (that died while Paul was gone): R$300
Cost of replacing the kids' bedroom rug (that mildewed in the flood while Paul was gone): R$150
Cost of running the fan (to dry the mattress that was soaked while Paul was gone): R$86
Cost of paying the babysitter (for 2 hours of sanity while Paul was gone): R$20
Cost of internet groceries (to avoid the store with two kiddos while Paul was gone): R$250

Paul coming home tomorrow: PRICELESS

So...um, the update from Friday was really optimistic. Things WERE going well. Then Saturday came. During a bad rainstorm (that came on suddenly) the kids and I ended up getting stuck in not one, but two elevators when the power went out. It wasn't for long, but scary nonetheless. When we made it home we found the kids room was flooded with water-Noah's mattress was soaked, his quilt, the floor, even Sophie's clothes in her closet-which had been left open when I came home to fetch bathing suits (see, the rain really did come on suddenly!)-were drenched. Oh, it was a mess! I spent most of the afternoon drying water off the floor and rearranging furniture to let everything dry out. Bedtime couldn't come soon enough!

This morning, our first day back to school with students, I found the car battery dead. I managed to get a ride with friends and make it to school just in time to greet my new students and kiss the sea of parents outside my door. We knew the car was acting funny, but we thought it would make it until Paul returned. Almost...

Anyway, despite the chaos of the last few days we survived. But we're definitely ready for Paul to come home! He'll be home late tomorrow night and we'll all be waiting!

**On a side note, after all of my whining, please pray for my good friend Diane's husband Mark. He is works for the Fairfax County Police Department and they are working in Haiti right now. Last weekend Mark fell onto a pipe sticking out of a wall and broke his rib. He's been on the USS Comfort so they can run tests and rule out any internal injuries. So far, it looks like he'll be able to stay with his team and continue working in Haiti. You can see an great video on the work they are doing here.