Could you move out of your house in 2 hours?

Today, after schoolwork and regular Thursday cleaning (which my sweet husband helped with!), my hubby knew, in my current nesting-state, I was itching to do some packing.   We'll be moving in the next few months and making a MAJOR downsize as we move into 550 sq ft of living space.   Our laundry and some storage space will be in the barn which is about 15-20 feet from our cozy cabin.   Anyway, he found me some boxes and we went through some things and found 5 boxes worth of some "non-essentials" that we could pack away and probably not see for 2 years or so.   Part of me is wondering if I can live without using something for 2 years, why do I have it to begin with but, pondering over that will have to be another post...

We've recently had some bad weather, especially for the south.  While the ice storm didn't adversely affect us, it has adversely affected many others and I'm reminded of another ice storm...a big one...exactly 11 years ago.

11 years ago, only 2 weeks into our marriage, there was an ice storm in Kentucky that rocked my world.   

Ahhhh, newlyweds traveling home to KY from a wonderful wedding shower given us in AL...Valentines weekend...almost sounds romantic.  We came home to nothing but ice.  Everywhere!  Covering all trees, power lines, and roads.  It was bad!   The power was out at our home and at my in-law's home.  The power was also out at my Aunt and Uncle's home and they didn't have enough firewood.  I will never forget traveling on icy roads with my husband to take them firewood in the middle of the night!

We went to our house with no power and only a kerosene heater (after all, we were newlyweds and just wanted to be in our home).   With little sleep, we were awakened by a sheriff department employee announcing to people on our street that the river that was literally across the street from us would be flooding soon because of a dam up-river that needed to be opened.

Huh??  What?!!??

My husband said that we should probably pack a few things in case we needed to move out.

Huh??  What?!!?   What in the world does that mean??  Pack what??  Go where??  Huh?!?

After seeing the level of the river before the dam was opened, we decided that we should get everything out of the house that could be ruined by water.   Oh, did I mention that we only had a couple of hours before the dam was opened?

We called Bruce's parents who were at home due to the storm and a couple of friends to help.  We frantically packed and moved out of our house and into my in-law's home a few miles up the road.  And, somehow, we did it all in 2 hours!!!    

I didn't know where anything was!!   When I realized that I had left my purse at our house, my father-in-law was going to drive me down there to get it (all in icy conditions) and we came upon my husband riding the 4-wheeler we had and there...there on the front of the 4-wheeler, was my purse.  One of those images etched into my mind. 

What an adventure.  Newlyweds.  Ice storm.  Flooding.  Moving in 2 hours.  Moving in with in-laws.

I don't think I could even come close to moving out of a house in 2 hours at this point in our lives...while we do have more people now but, I wonder if we have too much stuff.    While my first ice storm adventure sure makes for a good story and memory now, I don't think I'd want to attempt that again!

We spent the next week without electricity.  But thanks to a generator, a coleman stove, a wood stove, and some handy men, we survived just fine.   That week after the ice storm was a whirlwind and my new husband spent most of it working.  Being an electrician meant there were many, many people to help and I'm thankful he was helping.  I, on the other hand, felt pretty useless since I couldn't drive on the roads or get to work but, hey, I did perfect my coleman stove cooking skills!


 Good grief, I love the adventurous, crazy, heart-breaking, and heart-warming stories that I have with my hubby and our children...and I look forward to many more to come!