XJourney
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Lynden, WA
This last week has been the experience of a lifetime. It all started Friday(11/24) morning with the birth of our first child which was a total surprise since my wife wasn't due till Dec 11th. I hope everyone gets to experience a birth in their lifetime. It was everything that they say it is and even more. Her name is Makayla Rae Huisman. She came into the world @ 7:41 am weighing 6 lbs 15 ozs. and 19 1/2" long. I think she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, sorry honey.
Now this is where our story become different then most baby stories. We wake up Sunday morning in the hospital to a few inches of snow with more coming. The time has come for us to be discharged, so we hurry out into the impending snow storm.
Lock the truck in four wheel drive and off we go. Nothing will make a new father more nervous then taking his daughter home in incremental weather. It took an hour to go the 15 miles home. Here is a pic of close to whiteout conditions. I am not sure of the wind speed, but I did everything I could to keep our Dodge Ram away from oncoming traffic.
FINALLY we are home SAFE. Or so we thought.
The very next day we sit down for lunch as a new family when all of a sudden the power goes out. No big deal I am sure it will come back on by evening. So we huddle down and wait and wait. 6pm comes around and now despite all of our efforts the house has dropped to 58* inside. Here is were we had to make a serious decision. Fight or Flight. After a thought out discussion it seems the only answer is to head out into the storm and go to the in-laws who only live 10 miles way. We load up into the Jeep and now we lock the Jeep into four wheel drive. The snow is drifting hard which makes the going slow, by this time I am rethinking the decision to venture out. And wishing I had some of my
brethren with me to help bust drifts. But with time/luck/determination we make it, just in time to watch the 4th quarter of MNF.
The next day I have to head back to my house alone. In our rush to get out the night before we forgot to turn on the faucets to keep the pipes from freezing up. On the way I earn my "One ton utility truck recovery team" sticker. Which is one step above a "H3 recovery" but just below an "H2 recovery" sticker. When I get there still no power and the house is 40* inside. Good thing we left there is no way a newborn could survive in here. The house is in tacked minus a few tropical fish.
With time the power comes on and we are back into our house in 30 hours later. The next day we wake up and start enjoying the beauty of the new life we have started as a family. And now looking back on this week I can smile knowing my daughter has spent more time four wheeling then most people, and loving every minute of it. She is a natural I think.
Now this is where our story become different then most baby stories. We wake up Sunday morning in the hospital to a few inches of snow with more coming. The time has come for us to be discharged, so we hurry out into the impending snow storm.
Lock the truck in four wheel drive and off we go. Nothing will make a new father more nervous then taking his daughter home in incremental weather. It took an hour to go the 15 miles home. Here is a pic of close to whiteout conditions. I am not sure of the wind speed, but I did everything I could to keep our Dodge Ram away from oncoming traffic.
FINALLY we are home SAFE. Or so we thought.
The very next day we sit down for lunch as a new family when all of a sudden the power goes out. No big deal I am sure it will come back on by evening. So we huddle down and wait and wait. 6pm comes around and now despite all of our efforts the house has dropped to 58* inside. Here is were we had to make a serious decision. Fight or Flight. After a thought out discussion it seems the only answer is to head out into the storm and go to the in-laws who only live 10 miles way. We load up into the Jeep and now we lock the Jeep into four wheel drive. The snow is drifting hard which makes the going slow, by this time I am rethinking the decision to venture out. And wishing I had some of my
brethren with me to help bust drifts. But with time/luck/determination we make it, just in time to watch the 4th quarter of MNF.The next day I have to head back to my house alone. In our rush to get out the night before we forgot to turn on the faucets to keep the pipes from freezing up. On the way I earn my "One ton utility truck recovery team" sticker. Which is one step above a "H3 recovery" but just below an "H2 recovery" sticker. When I get there still no power and the house is 40* inside. Good thing we left there is no way a newborn could survive in here. The house is in tacked minus a few tropical fish.
With time the power comes on and we are back into our house in 30 hours later. The next day we wake up and start enjoying the beauty of the new life we have started as a family. And now looking back on this week I can smile knowing my daughter has spent more time four wheeling then most people, and loving every minute of it. She is a natural I think.
