I record this simply to document what happened. We here in Robertson County have NOTHING to complain about compared to Floridians who have endured Charles and Francis and Alabamans who weathered Ivan. However, we did experience a bit of Ivan as it went by this week. By the time it got to Tennessee it was a tropical depression, and we were only grazed by the western edge of it on Thursday. What was really sad to me was that it came a bit sooner than predicted. Several high schools had moved their football games to Thursday evening to be ahead of the rain, one of these games was even the homecoming. Friday evening turned out to be perfect weather. I am touching on the less serious effects of the storm. Several school systems along the Alabama border closed due to flash flooding.
IT'S MAGIC! One of the allergy medications Jenna takes is in pill form (and not the chewable kind). The other night Jenna got Ben to watch her take the pill. When she swallowed it she opened her mouth for him which had him totally amazed.
TOO MUCH WYLE E. COYOTE. One of my yard chores last week was to prune the tree branches that have been slapping us in the face as we mow. Ben came out on the porch while I was at work and asked if he could come out and talk to me. When I said he could he replied that he had to go back in the house to get something. Next thing I know his Bob the Builder umbrella is right underneath me. He had that up to protect himself from all the falling leaves.
I'll have to sing Ben's praises here. When it came time to haul the limbs to the brush pile he was right in there helping me. It didn't matter to him how big the branch was, he tugged on it until he got it where it needed to go.
A GOOD SUPPER. We had a fund raiser for the Cross Plains Heritage Commission Saturday evening in the form of a barbecue supper complete with gospel music. Our goal was to feed at least 300 people. Fortunately we had enough food for the 500 people who showed up! We don't have all the figures in but we estimate we cleared $3000.
A PRAYER REQUEST. For those of you who don't know the Freelands they have been neighbors and good friends all my life. Brian, Steve, Brent and I did a whole lot together as we grew up. Brian and his wife Debbie are due to leave for China in a few days to adopt a little girl (maybe two). Please keep them in your prayers as they travel and navigate a foreign language and bureaucracy.
While you are praying for Brian and Debbie you might want mention Brent and his wife Sabrina. She is pregnant with twins. They already have a girl and a boy. Last I heard things were going okay but Sabrina's activity has been restricted to the couch and the bed. The babies aren't due until February.
Joe
FOOTNOTE ON IVAN: As all storms of this type do, Ivan lost energy over land. By the time it to got to Virginia it was simply a huge low pressure system but it continued to dump very heavy rain on everyone in its path until it went back out to sea at the New Jersey coast. In the Atlantic it turned south and traveled down the US coast until it got to Florida where it turned west again and crossed Florida. In the Gulf of Mexico it regained strength to become a tropical depression again and hammered the Texas coast.
