The Blizzard that Wasn't

Earlier this month I signed up to get weather alerts text messaged to me on my cell phone. Since it was the beginning of Tornado season, I thought it was a good idea. So, Thursday afternoon at about 4:00 I 'm driving to a small town east of Wichita when the alert notification sounds on my cell phone. It said: "A Blizzard Warning has been issued for Wichita, KS". What? Well, I must admit, the weather reports had been talking about a significant amount of snow coming to our area on Friday and Saturday, but I didn't really believe it. I mean, after all, it was 75 on Sunday and the signs of spring are apparent everywhere! A blizzard! Let's get real! But the weather forcasters were insistant! I even recieved 6 more text message alerts over the next 36 hours. The weather was supposed to begin Friday morning with some wintry mix, changing over to blowing, heavy snow (otherwise known as a blizzard) by Friday evening and continuing well into the day on Saturday. I had an appointment on Friday morning and by the time I got home it was indeed beginning to sleet, and by late morning we were convinced we were experiencing the beginnings of a big, bad spring blizzard. There was even some talk of "thunder snow" (that would be a new experience!) The weather forecasters were predicting anywhere from 9-16 inches of the white stuff and the early quick accumulation of sleet had us pretty well convinced that the meteorologists may even be underestimating this thing! But then it slowed to almost a stop, and then it began to rain. By the time we went to bed last night, the total accumulation was little more than it had been at 1:00 in the afternoon! The rain was freezing so there was a fairly thick coating of ice accumulating on the branches and surfaces, but we had been anticipating the white stuff! And although we were concerned about what a blizzard could mean, anticipating a larger accumulation of snow then this family had witnessed in over 10 years was kind of exciting. An ice storm was definitely a dissappointment! When we woke up this morning, there was just more ice. It had obviously rained a good bit overnight - our pool cover was quite full. We were all shaking our heads at how wrong the weather forcast had been for us (there were parts of Kansas west of Wichita that did get almost 2 feet of snow). Then at about 8:00 this morning, it finally began to snow! And it snowed pretty hard until a little after noon (not a blizzard, but a decent amount of snow). There was enough wind to cause some drifting, but still not even close to blizzard conditions. So, Steve's mom is getting to spend a couple of extra days here - she was supposed to go home this morning, but the ice and snow was enough to cancel flights out of town. And we are having some fun playing in the snow today. It won't last long, spring will be back in a day or two. And we'll be back into Tornado season again. Hey, I wonder if there is such a thing as a snownado?

Tornado Season

Tornado season has arrived in Kansas. Yesterday we prepared our "safe" room (the room in our basement that is 3 sides concrete) with the necessities of spending time there when necessary: water, granola bars and mandarin oranges (in easy open plastic packages), a mattress and some sleeping bags, shoes (thanks Cindy!), flashlights, batteries, radio. The first potential for severe weather was forcast to arrive yesterday evening, and sure enough, the tornado sirens did go off at about 8:15 last evening. One thing we have noticed about severe weather forcasts here in Kansas - they know exactly what they are looking for and they keep the public well informed. So, while the tornado sirens were alarming and we could hear them well, we went to our basement but not the safe room. Why would we not go in the safe room if the tornado sirens were sounding? We were informed by the television weather broadcasters that the sirens are activated on a county wide basis, and the storm trackers (both in the weather station and out in the weather) keep you well informed of exactly where the trouble spot is. And, thanks to our wonderful flat terrain and straight road grid system, not only can a funnel cloud be easily spotted, you can tell exactly how far you are away from it just by counting the grid blocks that the roads create! So, it was quite easy for the weather forecasters to pinpoint exactly where the trouble spot was and using the storm direction and speed, tell you exactly how long you had to seek shelter. They were able to tell us and show us that although the western edge of our county was in the path of the storm, we were about 20 miles away and the storm was tracking to the north and west of our little grid point. So, we hung out in the basement for about an hour, switching channels on the TV back and forth between a silly movie and the storm trackers, until it was apparent that the storm was loosing intensity and the warning was lifted - thankful that we have a safe room, but even more thankful that we didn't need it - this time. We do wish they made a weather radio available that would alert you only of tornado warnings ( not all severe thunderstorm warnings and flash flood warnings, etc.) and only in our area of the county instead of county wide - the alarm on those things can lift you right off the bed when you are in the midst of a sound sleep! (We learned that a little later last night, but gratefully went right back to sleep when we learned it was "only" a severe thunderstorm warning in a different area of the county.) So, hopefully the rest of the season will be as uneventful as last night was. Oh, by the way - the shoes are in case when you open the door of the safe room you are greeted by broken glass or other hazards. Like I said, hopefully the rest of the season will be as uneventful as last night!

An Update

Well, i guess a few more people read this thing than I thought; I've had a few comments and emails about my lack of updates, so here goes!

I have been kind of busy lately - added a half day at work and have had projects to get done that have kept me busy in the evening. My brain has been very busy - I took and passed my 3 certification tests (wound, ostomy, and continence) a few weeks ago - so I'm good for another 5 years!! I've also been putting together some teaching modules for work. And, I've been contemplating my faith, a lot (in a really good, wrestle with the truth kind of way).

We started doing "The Truth Project" in a small group from church in early January - if you have the opportunity I highly recommend this journey! It has really, really been good to look at the foundations of my faith and to begin to understand the lies of the world and how I have been affected by them. It has been really, really good to look closely at God and His Truth and to solidify my trust in Him and His Word. It has been amazing to understand, perhaps for the 1st time, God's purpose for my life: to know Him fully. To understand that my relationships, my gifts and talents, my passions, have all been carefully designed by God so that I might know Him better. I thought my purpose was my calling to be a nurse and to be a wife and mother, but I am beginning to understand that He has gifted me and given me these passions and these relationships so that I might know Him. And the amazing thing is that He gets firey jealous of anything that keeps me from knowing Him - imagine that, the Creator of the Universe jealous of anything that keeps little ole me from Him! Looking at my life from this angle has had some interesting consequences - like this morning when my first patient was talking on her cell phone and complaining about how long this was taking the whole time I was trying to draw her blood - I think normally that would have put a bad enough twist on the start of my day that I would have grumbled and stewed for a while - but this morning I was really able to look at the situation and say "OK Lord, I know you are trying to teach me something - let me be open to whatever it is." I didn't get any instant revelations, but I had a really calm, peaceful day despite the fact that it was pretty hectic in the clinic this morning.

And God is being so faithful in showing us His Hand and His Presence as we continue to find our place here in Wichita. In the small group that we are in at church, we have connected with one person whose mother grew up in the same small town area of South Jersey as my father did, and also another who I made an amazing connection with when I discovered that I was her brother's wound care nurse in Atlanta. It was a special revelation to both of us of God's loving care.

And Kim is excitedly preparing to enter Colorado Christian University in the fall - this is a dream come true for her! In fact, when she was trying to decide where to go to college when she was still in high school, she fell in love with Colorado Christian but in the end decided it was just too far away. She joked with us, knowing that Koch is headquartered in Wichita - that "maybe Dad should get transferred to Wichita so I can be closer to Colorado Christian." So here we are! And there she goes!!

So, I can't really say that Wichita feels like home yet - but we are certain that God's hand is on us and He is using this journey to grow us in knowledge of Him. So we continue to trust Him and continue to be excited about where He is leading us.

Apparently lots of people needed to find their snow legs.

This little clip from the local paper shows that I wasn't the only one having a little trouble with the weather on Tuesday. There must be some happy medium between the hype and needless closings we frequently saw in Atlanta and this:

A little snow causes 650-plus traffic accidents in Wichita area
Source: Kansas.com: Local12-11-2008 6:32 PM
The first winter storm to hit Wichita this season delivered less than 2 inches of snow to the area -- but more than 650 accidents.
Authorities didn't hide their frustration Wednesday.
"It was a tougher storm than we thought it was going to be," Kansas Department of Transportation spokesman Tom Hein admitted. "Twelve inches of snow is probably easier to deal with than that was."
While Tuesday's snowfall total was meager, north winds gusting above 40 miles an hour reduced visibility and kept reglazing streets and highways that had just been treated.
Many motorists seemed to pay no attention to the weather at all, Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Roger Baughman said.

Trying to Find my Snow legs!

Yesterday was kind of exciting. Monday the high here was around 60, but the forcast for Monday night was a cold front moving in and the arrival of some snow. Sure enough, shortly before I left for work on Tuesday morning, the temperature had dropped to about 28 degrees and the snow was beginning. I was a little nervous because it's been a while since I've really driven in this stuff. Once the snow started, it came pretty steadily and accompanied by a strong and steady wind, with gusts up to about 30mph - that part I'm definitely not used to! Anyway, I usually only work 1/2 day on Tuesday, so when I got to work I asked if it would be ok to email the files I was going to work on to myself and work at home - permission granted with a little snicker at how concerned I was about the weather. I left work at about 10:30, thinking to myself "I used to drive in this stuff all the time, I should be fine". Well, 12 years of living in a city that shuts down at the thought of snow had made me a little rusty. Trying unsuccessfully to stop for a traffic light that was turning yellow and literally sliding through the intersection and the turn as the light turned red got my attention, quickly. I gripped the wheel and SLOWED DOWN. I drove about 25 mph the rest of the way home, paying close attention to the traffic lights ahead and making sure I had little or no momentum when it was time to stop or turn. Thankfully I made it home without anything else to raise my blood pressure again! Later, I had to take Kim to her class. The roads were quite icy, and the news was reporting about 300 accidents (mostly very minor fender benders) around town - but only a little cancellation of events or activities. Driving Kim to class felt like living in a world moving in slow motion - the roads weren't too crowded (but not empty either) and EVERYONE was driving about 20-25 mph and leaving PLENTY of space between travelers. I guess with a city this size, no hills, no blind curves, life can go on in this weather - just in slow motion! Atlanta most definitely would have been completely shut down! We only ended up with about 2 inches of snow. I'm not sure I completely understand how the roads got so bad (in my opinion, anyway) so quickly - must have something to do with that wind. Anyway, with temperatures getting down to about 14 degress over night, the roads are still pretty icy this morning and since schools are not cancelled, neither is my bible study - so I guess I'll leave plenty early and crawl along with everybody else to my morning destination. Fortunately it's only about 2 1/2 miles away, and it's supposed to be sunny and warmer today, so the roads should be better by the time I come home. I used to laugh at the way Atlanta shut down so easily, but I'm scratching my head a little wondering how a city that supposedly gets a lot of this kind of weather this time a year doesn't do more to take care of the roads and yet seems to carry on with life despite conditions that allow 300 accidents! I guess I need to carefully work on getting my Snow legs back!

My 30 Favorite Things About Kansas

OK, so it took me almost 5 months instead of 30 days, but I have finally compiled my 30 favorite things about my new Kansas home. It has been a great exercise at a needed time – this time of being past the newness and busyness of moving, but not really feeling a part of this community yet can be a difficult and lonely time. So, focusing on the positive – here is my list!

1. My double rainbow – seen out of the apartment the day the moving truck was scheduled to arrive, it’s memory is my constant reminder that we are where God desires us to be and that He has a purpose for us here. You can check out this post to see the whole story: http://gettingtotheheartland.blogspot.com/2008/07/kindling.html.
2. The flowers in my new yard. When we arrived in July, my backyard was in full bloom, it was fun!
3. Sitting on my patio on summer mornings and not getting eaten by mosquitos.
4.Crisp, clear air – less pollution and less smog along with less humidity make for noticeably clearer air.
5. Evenings on my patio with almost no mosquito bites – I had a couple by the end of the season, but I could still sit with my family and enjoy a meal and a relaxing conversation without being driven inside by mosquitos – something I have NEVER really experienced before.
6. Traffic – or the lack thereof. A Wichita traffic jam is at most not getting through a traffic light in 2 cycles – I have never sat through more that 2 cycles of a traffic light here, and even that is very rare.
7. My herb garden. Frost has destroyed it now, but I had a nice little square in my inherited garden where chives, oregano, rosemary, and a large basil plant grew – right outside my back door!
8. The Summer wind – I thought I would really hate it, but it was a welcome thing in the heat of the summer. Now Winter wind – that’s a different story!
9. Cultural opportunities that we actually take advantage of because they are fairly inexpensive and easy to get to. We have been to a musical, a symphony concert with and Irish ladies band, the art museum, the science museum, the botanical gardens, and even a chili cook off in downtown Wichita!
10. Chocolate pie – one of my new neighbors brought a chocolate pie to our door to welcome us to the neighborhood – YUM!
11. Getting around Wichita – the flat landscape allows for straight roads – set up in a very logical grid system makes navigation very easy!
12. Being able to see a long way. I have really come to enjoy the vista that a flat, relatively sparsely treed landscape provides.
13. The Flint Hills – these rolling hills are the closest thing Kansas has to mountains, and they have their own, special kind of beauty. Because of the geography they are pretty much treeless, but from the top of one of the higher areas you can see rolling green (in summer) beauty layed out before you – I have never seen anything quite like it, and I really find it quite beautiful.
14. Wind Farms. These fields of rows upon rows of windmills set on the rolling hills are really quite fascinating.
15. The stars at night. The clear air mentioned in #4 along with a little less light pollution (in some areas anyway) than Atlanta, makes for some pretty good stargazing. And I love gazing at a starry sky.
16. Being 2 ½ - 3 hours from IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Kansas City. I’ve only taken advantage of it once, but I like knowing it’s there, and I will be back!
17. Taking walks on the golf course – we have to do this during non-golfing hours in the early morning or in the evening – and those are really quite pleasant times!
18. The Great Plains Nature Center – literally about 3-4 miles from my door, a great place to enjoy the great outdoors in the unique nature of this area, and to take some great photos.
19. Average folk. It seems that there is less focus on “keeping up with the Joneses” here than in some places I have lived. I like that.
20. Meeting some of my neighbors while standing in line to vote at 5:45a.m.
21. The bike trails around town. Again, our flat terrain makes for easy bike riding, and there are several paved trails around town. I have always enjoyed bike-riding.
22. Watching the seasons change out of my own kitchen window. I “inherited” a pretty well planted/gardened yard, and I am grateful to the previous owner for doing such a great job of picking plants and trees with such great seasonal interest!
23. My Maiden Grass. One of my favorite plants I have been watching out my window is my Maiden Grass. It started out in July as a relatively non descript but not un-attractive clump of green grass, then in late August it developed these beautiful purplish plumes which now have become beautiful silvery feathery crests that dance gracefully in the wind – beautiful!
24. My 10-15 minute drive to work. I know I have already listed the traffic and the ease of traveling in Wichita – but my 10-15 minute drive time to work means extra time for quiet time (or for sleep). My commute time for the 7 ½ miles to work in Marietta was at least 30 minutes, usually more!
25. Knowing that if I needed to, I could walk to the drugstore, the tea shop, the grocery store, a wine shop, the dry cleaners, church – they are all a mile to a mile and a half away from my door. Haven’t taken advantage of this yet, but I like knowing I can.
26. The opportunity to serve the less fortunate. Yes, I know the opportunity to volunteer and to serve were available to me in Marietta, but for some reason I have taken advantage of the opportunity here and I didn’t in Marietta.
27. Christmas Lights. Haven’t seen this in full bloom yet, but apparently one of the things Wichita is known for at this time of year are it’s light displays. I’m excited and interested to see what that means – in fact our office Christmas celebration this year includes riding a party bus around town to see the displays. I’ll keep you posted.
28. My Veterinarian. Nick has had some special needs since we have been here, including losing a toe to a cancerous tumor. But he is healthy now, and I really like his Vet. (I’ve also found a loving, caring groomer – Yay! – But I still miss Holly).
29. My Patio. Well into the fall we were able to take advantage of our outdoor living area, which is nice and large, partially covered with the ability to block most of the direct sunlight, and graced by the sounds of our fountain. It’s really one of the main things that sold us on the house, and we have enjoyed it.
30. And last, but certainly not least – and maybe actually my most favorite – We are in driving (yes, it is an 8 hour drive – but still a drive) distance to the Colorado Rocky Mountains – we have done it twice already!

So that’s my list!!!! Like I said, sitting down and doing this has been good for me. What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving! So, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you – we miss you but we are grateful that we have so much to be thankful for!

My Favorite Thing about living in Kansas .....

Back in July when we first moved to Kansas, I started a list of favorite things about my new home. I never really finished it, and no, that's not what this post is about. However, i have decided what my number one favorite thing about my new home is: being in driving distance of the beautiful Colorado Rockies. I think I aluded to that fact last month when Kim and I went to check out Colorado Christian for the first time. Well, we went back for a long weekend this week so she could spend the night on campus and so Steve could see the school. And now it is official, my favorite thing about living in Kansas is Colorado!

Maybe I will finally finish that list and post it soon. There really are things I like about Kansas, too.