The Flood - Part 2

The Susquehanna River is supposed to crest later this afternoon, so hopefully the flood gates here in Danville are going to hold up under all the water pressure.  The sights have been amazing!  Water has such power!!  Thank the Lord that we have all been safe. 

 Our power went out for about 8 hours, but was restored.  Other than that, we have had no flooding up here on Bald Top.  There has been no school for the past 3 days due to flooding and road closures. The hospital even closed their doors to anything that isn't emergent. The state has declared us to be in an official "State of Emergency". 

The kids have had plenty of fun running around in the small streams around the neighborhood.  It's easy to stay safe here in our own little world of our nieghborhood up here on Bald Top, but when we venture down to town, so many lives have been effected by this storm, so we continue to pray for those who have lost so much.

Here are some of the pictures we've seen:


The flood gates go up Thursday, people are sandbagging.  You can see the creek is almost reaching the bridge.

 

Samuel is standing in front of the flood gates and sandbags at Rt. 11 and 54



Thursday night the water has come over the bridge. 



This shot shows the train bridge as well as Rt. 11are under water (Thurs. Night)



Friday morning the water made its way more than a quarter of a mile up Rt. 11.  Can you see the flood gates out in the distance?



Another look at Rt. 11 heading into Danville.  Scotts is there on the left.  The middle school that is not seen in this picture has several feet of water in it.



Might not be the best time to visit!!

 

Rt. 11 at Bald Top Rd. heading towards Northumberland



The Danville Riverside Bridge on Friday at 10:30.  It amazes me that this bridge is still open!



I wish you could see the speed of the water!  The power that water has is unbelievable!!



You can see that the water has reached the bottom of the bridge. Debris is getting caught along the pillars.

Erin Bechtold is staying with us because her house in Bloomsburg has a few feet of water inside.  Here the water is about an inch away from coming up over onto the sidewalk where we are standing.

People around here talk about Hurricane Agnes that flooded Danville in 1972.  Now they're going to be talking about the Flood of 2011 for years to come!

The Flood of 2011



We have had 4 straight days of rain and quite a bit of flooding.  Since we live up on a hill, we haven't had any water in the house, but were without power and water for most of the day today.  That is nothing compared to those who have had their whole house under water.   My heart goes out to those who lost so much in this flood. 

The link below is a video and song written by Van Wagner who grew up here on Bald Top Mountain where we live now.  Take a look.

Back to School

Another summer is gone, but as it leaves, the excitement of school arrives! 

The night before, they all laid out their clothes, Emily had me put all sorts of braids in her hair so it would be kinky the next morning, and no one could sleep. 

Upon waking Samuel said, "That was a long night!  I kept waking up from my dreams, but it was still dark outside."  He was just so excited!!

I dropped them off...Jack to 4th grade, Emily to second, and Sam to kindergarten.

Going back to school was a let down for me.  I'm sad to see them go.

Vacation

In past summers our group of friends from our days in Pittsburgh have gotten together for a weekend in the Poconos. This year we changed up the plans and decided to attend a family Bible camp called Black Rock Retreat located in Lancaster County, PA.  This was the first year they have put on a family camp on and it was quite cheap, so we weren't sure what to expect.  It ended up being a huge hit!! 

Each night the staff put together field games and activities for everyone, so here the kids are lined up and listening to the instructions.  This particular game was a safari hunt...it held the kids attention quite easily!!

We were all introduced to the game of Gaga, an Isreali form of dodgeball where you have to roll the ball instead of throw it.  If the ball hits a person from the knees down, that person is out. Its a great game for all ages.  It was so popular that one of the families we went with made their own Gaga court just a few days after they got home!! Below is a short video of how the game works:

Pocketball was another big hit!





 Emily and Madison hanging out at the pool

 

We saw all sorts of dives!

Some more graceful than others!!



Max wanted to be part of the "Off the Grid" Gang, so while they did the research he wasn't going to waste any time in taking advantage of the sun's rays.  Just google "off the grid" so see what Bob and Jer are up to these days!!



They also had a lake that had this "blob" out in the middle with a trampoline on it.  Caleb is about ready to be launched by Emily!

   Bob is taking a trip down the 130 foot waterslide.  I think Bob may have missed his calling of watersports.   With those flippers that God gave him for feet he may have done well as a swimmer!!

Sam and Joshua trying to figure out how to play tether ball.



The Whole Group!!

And one of the best parts of the whole retreat that I don't have a picture of was the cafeteria.  I didn't have to make or clean up any meals or snacks for 5 days...now that's a vacation!!!

A Rewind of Summer

I guess I didn't do a very good job of posting over the summer, so here are a few of the highlights:

Smores with our cousins

The neighborhood block party that started with a bike parade

Emily donated her hair to Locks Of Love

Abby began rice cereal and loved it!

Jack, Emily, and Samuel all started piano lessons this summer. Abby listened in to much of Emily's practice time!!