Surprise Power Outage

In the midst of watching the Colts/Chargers wild card NFL game, the power surprisingly went out. It's the first time we've noticed the entire neighborhood was black (some of them are on a different grid than us... it's a strange/confusing street). So immediately Tim called ComEd, they were already aware of the outage and it would be repaired within 2 hours.

Tim set to work getting a fired started in our wood-burning stove in the family room in the basement since it was already getting chilly in the house just a few minutes after the power was out. I'm so thankful for that stove/fireplace especially when something like this happens! Since I'm still so sick, it became a necessity to help keep my coughing under control.

While Tim got the firewood from outside, I grabbed my sweatshirt, blankets, a flashlight, my Bible, my Zune player (like an ipod but the Microsoft version and it can hold more), a lighter for the candles, a full glass of water, kleenex, a few cough drops, my slippers, and my scarf. He had his cell phone and another flashlight with him.

Once downstairs I got pillow cushions, blankets, and pillows spread out somewhat near the fire while Tim lit the fire. I got all cozied up under the blankets, the fire took a while to light, we lit some candles, Tim got some speakers that didn't require plugging in so we could both listen to the Zune, we started listening to one of our pastor's old but great sermons "Choose an Attitude of Gratitude", we snuggled, finally got the fire going, and enjoyed some romantic time together just relaxing and trying to soak in the moment instead of being bummed about it.

It really wasn't bad... and even after the power came back on (only a little over an hour later), we decided to remain just the way we were for a while because it was so nice!!

What a great reminder to us of God's goodness... that we are blessed so fully with items to keep us warm when others are not so blessed; that we can find ways to be thankful even in the surprises; and that there are hard workers nearby who repaired the problem quickly. Praise the Lord - you are so good!!

Here are some humorous pictures from tonight (taken after the power was back on, but we didn't have any lights on, I'm surprised at how well the flash did since it was soo dark down there)...

You can only sort of see me in this one, buried beneath the blankets...

Here you can see just how buried I was... thick sweatshirt on, two thick blankets, laying on couch cushions on the floor so we could be closer to the fire, with my scarf around my head to keep my head warm... and all of the essentials nearby...