It's Raining like Hail Out There!

*We love the rain!*

*OOOO! Hail!

*Our street/river*

*The flooded wash behind our house.*

The monsoon season is here. It rains almost every afternoon, now. I have written about this and all of the lovely creatures it has brought us. Yesterday, however, it absolutely poured. After about 30 minutes of straight down pouring I heard the tink tinkling of sleet on the windows. Mae and I went outside on our back patio to explore. It was amazing to see the little sleet balls bouncing off our rock yard. A few pieces even bounced onto the patio where we were standing. I told her it was hail. She was fascinated by it. We then looked out front and saw a small river rolling down our street. John Russel then joined in the fun. We all opened the front door, but we couldn't go far because of the sheets of water pouring off of our roof. We did see the little sleet/hail balls on the front mat that hadn't melted yet. We were all so very excited by such a sight. We then went upstairs to look out the back windows at the wash behind our house. You see, Arizona has washes where all the rainwater goes. We were told they fill up during the monsoons, but I just couldn't believe it due to the size of the washes. But, of course, the wash was filled to the brim with water. We couldn't believe it. These washes can be very dangerous and the streets flood due to the heavy rains. People get washed away in them all the time. On the news you will see people getting rescued daily. It's so very scary, so we don't venture out in the rain or in the afternoon for fear of getting caught.

Our neighbor came over in the middle of all the excitement. When she came in Mae informed her, "It's raining like hail out there!" Oh well, she was right on all accounts!

Here Comes The Rain! (Maybe)

*The boys examine the lizard and the dead cockroaches like only a boy would.


* Fly humaburd, fly!

Today we woke up to the most amazing sight. It was something that we hadn't seen in quite some time. We looked at it with the excited wonderment just as one might a fresh fallen snow. What could this miraculous sight be that would hold us so transfixed with awe? Well, it was a sky filled with gray clouds! You see we haven't seen this since we've been here. Even though it has sprinkled a few times, we haven't seen skies like this since we left the South. Much to our disappointment it didn't rain this morning. The blue skies broke through the clouds as the sun seemed to melt them away. But, we do hold out hope. There is a twenty percent chance this afternoon and evening! The weather is changing ever so slightly. You can feel the humidity in the air. Now, it's nothing compared to back home, but it's higher than it's ever been since I've been here. I think it is like twenty-nine percent. You almost can smell it.





I guess the wildlife can feel a change as well because we have been experiencing some strange and interesting things. Last night I looked out on our back patio and saw something on the wall. I thought, "What is that? A leaf." Then I noticed another a little ways down. OH NO! It was the biggest, hugest, ugliest cock roach I've ever seen. I don't know where he came from, but I thought I was going to Die!!!!!! Rusty went out and threw his flip flop at them and killed them instantly. EWWWW! This morning Mae came in my room and whispered loudly in my face that a lizard was stuck in our sliding glass door. As I stumbled over to the door putting my glasses on, I realized that the little sucker had somehow gotten between the screen door and the glass door. (Thank goodness Rusty hadn't left for work yet or we would have had a dead lizard between our doors.) The children were so excited about the big bugs, the lizard, and the clouds in the sky, you would have thought Santa Clause had made an early visit. Then Will started saying "HUMABURD, HUMABURD!!!!" I looked out to where he was pointing to our little feeder and saw three hummingbirds buzzing around it and drinking the nectar. We just stopped and watched them. As soon as they would fly away another would come. It was so fun to watch.





I guess the animals are as excited as we are about the upcoming Monsoons. I know they are able to feel it if I can. This excitement about something so simple is another way God has blessed our lives here. He has made us realize how precious, and yes, exciting something like a little rain can be.

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

Last night Rusty and I stepped out on our back patio. As soon as I crossed the threshold of the door I could smell it. Rain! You know, that dusty smell that happens right after the rain begins. As we continued to make our way out we could see that the rocks in the yard were damp. How exciting! We just sat under the cover of our upper balcony watching it sprinkle. It was a wonderful night.

I know you must be thinking how crazy this sounds, but it's true. You see, this is only the third time it has rained since we've been here, and the other two times it sprinkled for about 5 minutes total. The locals tell us that monsoon season will come soon and then it will rain almost every evening. They say it's amazing to see. I guess they don't realize the amount of rain I'm used to back home. I guess I'll have to see for myself.

I never thought I would miss the rain, nor did I realize how much I relied on it. Rain washes away the popsicle drips from the patio and the chalk drawings from the driveway. It cleans the dust and pollen from the air and cools things off. This is just another small difference that we've had to get used to. (Watch how your holding that popsicle, Will , and don't go too crazy with the sidewalk chalk, Mae. I know John Russel the dust is killing my eyes, too)

So, as Rusty and I sat watching our rocks glisten with the new fallen rain we also got to listen to the wonderful symphony the drops were performing on our balcony above us. It was mesmerizing. I'm so glad we had this moment to share. I'm also grateful for this opportunity to be so thankful for something so little that I've always taken for granted.