the 3 P's: Pics, Praise, and Product of the Scrap variety!!

Hey Y'all!!

I'm back in the comforts of air conditioning and thanking GOD that he allowed the DTE energy guys to get us power back. My house is now blissfully cool again and luckily, we didn't have to toss out any food.

Here are the pictures from yesterday:
Down the street from my home had trees ripped out of the ground. (second one was taken by another person)

This is my daycare... and the neighborhood it is in...

People are starting to recover from the storm damage and getting back with their lives... My BFF and daycare are still without power but hopefully that will be resolved soon. DTE is saying that there are still 170,000 in the Metro Detroit area without power but that today and tomorrow are the magic days when everyone should have it back.

I was really impressed yesterday when I was driving through my daycare's neighborhood. Stacks and stacks of cut up trees lined the street, ready for disposal to the county yard site. As I drove through, I saw a big group of people moving from house to house to help clean up the downed trees and branches. Even some "older" gentlemen were out there with chain saws. It made me so proud that this neighborhood was taking care of each other - especially since there are a lot of older people in it. My neighborhood isn't quite as cool but our little group of 6 homes did communicate/hang out together/help after the power went out. Plus, I got to meet my new neighbor (backdoor) who is moving into the home behind me which has been empty for almost 3 years. Him, his wife, and their 3 kids have diligently been working to get the home and yard back into good order to move in at the end of the month. I am SOOO thankful for that. They seem like really good people!

Watching the news (did I say that I love my generator???!?!?) last night was scary. Every storm scene seemed to be an area that is close by my house. There was a family in White Lake (right down the road from us) that had their brand new 3 car garage get picked up and slammed into their home. They had just bought the home and they had 2 kids with them inside. The hubby had just closed the garage door and walked into the house before it was picked up. I know that God was watching out for him and his young family.

In the end, our area is very fortunate. We don't have the massive flooding like Illinois and Wisconsin are experiencing. It's still raining but I think the fact that the lakes were really low last year is helping out big time! I hope that everyone in the midwest continues to stay as safe as possible and if they want you to evacuate - you do so... Your life is worth more than your possessions. :)

So on to the fun stuff...

Freckle Friends did a charity auction & crop for Autism this weekend. While I didn't participate in the crop, I did bid on Stephanie's Summer Memories album and I won!! 100% of the profits go to the charity so I feel like I got a double bonus - getting this great mini album AND donating to a great cause. Now, I just have to decide what I want to put in it!

Then, I won a copy of Stephanie's Magazine (Home & Heart) off her blog... She's so inspirational for me and I totally love her magazine. Check out her site by using the Homegrown Hospitality link to the right.

Stayed tuned until tomorrow - I'll be posting my DT stuff for the Zone. I really like how it came out, even if the kit wasn't really me...