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All is well! The local response was, indeed, the correct response. It wasn’t “nothing,” but it equally wasn’t “something.” Jasper became slower and more unpredictable as the days of waiting dragged on. Just before making landfall, it intensified and took a sharp turn north away from us. The eye ended up hitting the coast 90 miles from Cairns.

We had a Pooh sort of blustery day, flooding and all. But unlike Pooh and Piglet, we didn’t float down our street on a chair or in a honey pot! We did witness some pretty wild flash flooding at the park in our neighborhood… down the hill from us. We did learn in all of this that our house is well located. It’s above the flood zone, but tucked down into the base of a mountain protecting it from destructive winds arriving from the Coral Sea. Praise God again for the provision of this exact house!!

We never lost power though thousands in Cairns did. I’m still not sure how we skated through on that, but the neighborhood was fairly smug about it in the WhatsApp chat group! In the end, these rainy days didn’t stop us from having a brilliant time with my cousin, Addie. We soaked up the colder winds Jasper brought with wassail, homemade bread, our annual Swedish Tea Ring, movies, and games. Thank you so much for praying!! I feel far better prepared for how to absorb news when the next one swings our way.

Oh! And after days of silence whilst the downpours sent their deluge, Gary the Peacock is now back to his normal level of activity! I think the rains are finally passing!

Ray gathering in gardening supplies and light chairs at our friends’ house. They were out of town so we buttoned some things up for them!

Willa was less of a practical help tucking things away, but she provided the entertainment!

Making the Swedish Tea Ring

The ceiling started bubbling with all the rain so up Brian got to check for leaks. Dry as a whistle!

Christmas drawing contest with Addie. In a surprise twist to absolutely no one, she won!

We lost one little tree in our front yard. Besides loads of palm leaves strewn everywhere, this is the most damage we can find on our street.

Another nearby park completely under. This is normally a parking lot and big open field.

The rains haven’t stopped yet, but they are subsiding; we consider our adventure mostly ended. Last night we enjoyed a cozy start to our annual reading of “A Christmas Carol” and look forward to this final week of Advent… free of weather drama (we hope).