Rhode Island Great Flood of 2010

The rain came down.  And came down.  And came down.

That's the best description I can give you of March 2010 in Rhode Island.  Think I'm kidding?

The National Weather Service said its rain gauge in Warwick recorded 16.34 inches, nearly double the old March record of 8.84 inches set in 1983.

The average for the month had been 4.43 inches.

And just like the kid's song "the rains came down and the floods came up."

I won't forget Easter week 2010 for a long time.  Sewer services in several cities failed as a treatment plant and pumps were flooded.  Oh yeah.  That was pleasant.  For several days we were told NOT to shower, wash laundry or flush.  To do so was to risk sewage filling your house.

Ewww!!

We were fortunate.  We had some water in our basement but it was kept under control with a wet/dry vacuum.  Joel estimates he emptied over 100 gallons from the vacuum.  I believe it!!  And we aren't even close to the flooded rivers/streams!!  The ground was just so saturated that the water seeped into basements.  Our neighbors continued to pump water from their basements for a week after we stopped.

Joel is vacuuming up the water in this picture.  This was probably our worst section.  When he discovered the water the floor was covered about 1/4 of an inch here.  As soon as he sucked the water up you'd see it coming in again.

We didn't lose anything of value - in large part because I store our stuff in plastic tubs.  This is just part of our collection!  Most of these are kids clothes.

I can rightfully say "I survived the RI Great Flood of 2010" but it's not an experience I care to repeat.  And we got off easy.  Our neighbors are gutting their basements.  Other people in our state lost their homes and their businesses.  We are fortunate.

Have you ever survived a flood or natural disaster? 

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues by Donald J. Sobol.  Random House, 1966.

Encyclopedia Brown is the reason Idaville hasn't had any unsolved crimes in over a year.  When he isn't helping his dad with police business, he helps his friends solve their own mysteries, charging only $0.25 a case.

Part of the charm of Encyclopedia Brown books is that after reading the case, or chapter, you flip to the back of the book to see if you solved it the same way Encyclopedia did.

Like Nancy Drew and Nate the Great, I read Encyclopedia Brown as a kid.  It's funny to read him now and see how simple most of the cases are - though they had me stumped 25 years ago.  And if I'm honest, some of them stumped me now.

I suggested to my 6 year old that he read Encyclopedia Brown.  He was not interested.  He didn't even want me to check it out from the library!  That is until he ran out of Boxcar Children books.  Then he couldn't wait to pick it up. 

To round this out as a family affair, my husband has even been testing his detective skills against E.B.  I think this series will soon become a family favorite!

Have you ever tested your wits and trivia knowledge against that of Encyclopedia Brown?

This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony DeStefano

This Little Prayer of Mine by Anthony DeStafano.  Illustrated by Mark Elliott.  Waterbrook Press, 2010.

My daughter, Ellie (age 3) has one prayer she uses for every situation.  "Dear Jesus please help us to eat breakfast.  Amen." 

She recently began swapping "breakfast" for "lunch" or "supper" but that's her basic prayer for every situation - even when no food is involved.  Obviously, we have some work to do in teaching her to pray.

The brother and sister in This Little Prayer of Mine don't need as much work as Ellie does.  Their prayer includes confession, thanksgiving and supplication, all in cute rhyming verse.

This book provides a good introduction to the topic of prayer for small children.  It's simple and covers a variety of issues, such as making hard choices and being thankful for ice cream.  Though not a "how-to" book, it gives children a basic understanding that you can pray about anything and everything and God will listen to you.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.