The Shroyer Family: Come on Mother Nature...Enough!!!

What in the world is up with this weather these days??? Holy cow, this is craziness!!! Rain, more rain, thunderstorms, and tornado's can all be done for a very long time!!! We got to, yet again, experience a power outage for 28 hours and even though it truly wasn't a big deal, it still is just a fricken nightmare having to pack up your food, kids, make arrangements for dinner, etc. I kid you not, we've had something every year, since Colin's birth in 2009! By far, the week outage after the tornado passed through that following year, was the worst we've experienced to date and you'd think we would've been prepared for each and every time after that....NOPE! Well, when it happens again, we will....Our new house, the guy who redid it, actually wired the garage to be capable of running a generator to keep the house running in times like this...SO, we will be getting one =) Brenton is finally on board, after a first reaction of sticker shock, but like I told him.....we don't complain when we pay our insurance payment each month, b/c we know in times of need, it's there and you know what, our new generator will be treated like another "insurance" need. =) Not trying to be a diva, but seriously, when you have kids involved it's a responsible thing to be able to take care of them even in power outages! I realize the intrusion it feels when you have to ask to use the stove, or washer, keep our food, or charge our phones.....even though, NOBODY made us feel nothing but welcome, I just want to be prepared next time. So, we are shopping for a generator..LOL!! For the past 2 days, we've been enjoying my sister's house w/ her family chit chatting, watching the kids play, enjoying a few beers on her porch, and eating good food! My sister, Amanda, got the cooking gene....she always has a meal cooked for her family, HOMEMADE meal mind you, and the table set for them to sit. I've always admired that about her and something I'm trying to bring into our home. Now, I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a great cook! I try and I'm not afraid to try a recipe, but I'm not 100% comfortable in the kitchen, YET!!! My husband, loves to cook, so he has taken over the kitchen and honestly, I don't mind. I'm the sous chef and he's the Chef....for us, it works! =) I'm happy to say though, since we've moved to Gnaden, we have not eaten out at a fast food restaurant in some time.....in Phila, it was convenient, so we did eat out ALOT!!! Not happy about that, but it's the truth....so, now, we are really getting into having things at home and that makes this mama very happy!!! The past few days has had Ethan out of whack....he has created songs about "hating the rain", "where's the sun", and not having electric really put him out!! He cried and just didn't quite understand why when the light switch went up, the light didn't come on. Our conversations over the past couple of days have been pretty interesting, to say the least! Colin on the other hand, has loved it! The one you'd think would be going nuts, didn't one bit....he went right along w/ everything and we've come to the conclusion that one day, he's going to be a storm chaser! That kid absolutely loves to sit on the front porch to watch the storms, listen to the rain, and watch the trees blow back and forth! He has really been amazing these days!!! The one that I keep hearing should love routine, doesn't! The one that should be having tantrums b/c his daily schedule is messed up, isn't! Now, does he like to watch things, figure them out, and watch how they work....YEP! Very, very curious that one and I'm enjoying watching the "should be's" not pertain to him!!! Typical, maybe not, but truly who is? That box everyone keeps trying to put him in, he breaks out of it, and that I love! Good for you Colin....Daddy and Mommy will continue to push your differences, Ethan will be right there with you supporting you or trying to get you to stop (LOL), but press on my baby boy....the world is your oyster!!! Ok, Ok I got off on a tangent...sorry!! Long story short, after 28 hours of no power....it finally came on last night about 9:30ish! It was really nice to sleep in a nice, cool house....not everyone down there has power, including my sister 1 street over, but I must say Gnaden knows how to roll with the punches....our little community, in the sticks, sure did surprise me these past 2 days and I'm so thankful we are now apart of it!!!