Good news!!

When we got home from church last night - POWER HAD BEEN RESTORED!!   Will and Olivia got home first and called to tell me the good news.  I heard Olivia in the background saying (in a not-so-soft voice):  Don't tell her we have power, let it be a surprise!  So, the cat was out of the bag, and I'll admit that I got a little teary.  Will was busy unplugging extension cords and getting our house back in order by the time I got home.  

Street lights are still out all over town so it takes longer than normal to get anywhere.  Both of our grocery stores are still powered by generators so they don't have any frozen/refrigerated foods.  Both Olivia and McIver's schools are still without power.  Kolter (O's school) will have a few hours of class tomorrow.  Since there's no power, they will have classes outside for those who are able to get there (and who are able to even know that it is an option).  McIver's school, from what I understand, suffered a bit of water damage and might not be able to open for a little while even after electricity is restored.  

All in all, we can't complain about our circumstances.  There are a lot of silver linings to our Hurricane Ike experience.  Olivia was able to celebrate her birthday with family, we had some extra time with Nanoo, Pop and Cacoo in Macon and Mamoo and Ginny in Columbia.  We also had lots of time to drive around Columbia checking out neighborhoods, visiting schools and friends.  I have some pictures from our time with the Isemans and McKains that I will post once internet access is available at home.