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Hey, everyone, welcome back to Where Are the Hands Ends.
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I am so glad you're here with me today. If
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you're new, I'm maya mom of many, wife, peacemaker, chaos coordinator,
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and the voice behind the podcast where we talk about
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the wild, beautiful, sometimes loud, and always love filled life of.
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Raising a big family.
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Today's episode is all about what happens in our house
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when bad weather rolls in.
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I mean the real deal. Tornado warnings, ice.
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Storms, power outages, thunder that shakes the windows, and when
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that makes the trees bend like they're doing yoga. We
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live in Missouri, and if you're from here or anywhere
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in the Midwest, you know that weather has a personality
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of its own, and that personality unpredictable. I'm talking today
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about this because yesterday we had a really bad storm
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rolled through and needless to say, I wanted to give
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you guys a little insight about what we do when
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we have bad weather. Let's talk about how we handle
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it in a house full of kids and.
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A whole lot of love.
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Usually it starts with a weather alert on our phones.
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That buzz that says severe weather warning instantly gets our attention.
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After living here for so long, I've developed that what
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I call Mama radar. I can tell by the color
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of the sky and the stillness in the air, or
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the way the bird suddenly vanished that something's coming. When
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I was outside, it was very weird out. It was silence,
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there was nothing, no noise, no movement. We had a
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big wall cloud that was rolling right towards the house
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and it was black. And once I know we're looking
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at rough weather, it's all hands on deck. The older
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kids know what they got to do. We always check
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for batteries, flashlights, and I always have my phone on
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the scanner because when I have a scanner on, the
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National Weather Service is always doing their check ins with
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the police departments, so they know and they have a
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heads up on what's going on. The little ones, they
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gather blankets, teddy bears, really comfort items, maybe some books,
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coloring crans and markers. You know, if it's a tornado warning,
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we clear out our designated area and I always send
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the kids to the bathroom. Me and my husband always
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stay behind to watch to make sure things aren't coming
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at the house. You know, we have to make sure
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to keep our kids safe. Now, if the power goes out,
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like it did. We were without power from nine thirty
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am until six pm, so it was a long day
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with no power. Thank god, it was light outside. We
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did have flashlights so the kids could go to the
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bathroom and do what they have to do.
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We have.
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Our phones going and we're listening, we're checking radars, and
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the kids are just constantly asking questions and we are
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trying to stay home to make sure that they don't
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freak out and think something bad's going to happen if
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it's dark. You know, we like candles, We get the
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lanterns out, We have our flashlights, and I usually make
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the kids something like hot Coco or whatever. If the
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powers out. Were kind of out of luck, so we
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went and had to go find someplace that was open
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after the storm to get food because we had no power.
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It did come back on at six so we were
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able to eat dinner, but we were all hungry.
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We did pull out some board.
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Games, you know, coloring books, and if it's too scary,
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you know the kid's stories. I mean the good kind
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funny things the kids have done, like the time one
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of the boys thought a raccoon was a bear and
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tried to scare it away. By barking. The power being
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out can actually be kind of magical. It's quiet, We're
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all together in one room and without distractions. We talk,
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We cut all under blankets, We snack on chips, you know,
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stuff that we have in the pantry, and we just
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make memories. The kids actually look forward to it a
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lot of times until the phones die or tablets. Then
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it's mom, what do we do now? I heard that
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a lot, but still it brings us closer.
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We've got a few who struggle with storms.
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Loud thunder can send them into tears or full on panic.
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One of our littles used to hide under the couch
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cushions when it's stormed, and honestly, I don't blame them.
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Storms can be very scary, even for us adults, so
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I focus on normalizing it. We talk about how storms
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bring rain to help flowers grow, how the thunder is
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just the clouds playing tag, and how we're always safe
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because we're together and us as parents will not let
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nothing bad happen to them. I let them hold on
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to me or their siblings, or wrap up in my hoodie,
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get under a blanket together, whatever helps them feel anchored.
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We also pray every storm. It's a routine now, a
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quick family prayer asking God to keep us safe and
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watch over us and those out there in the elements.
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It grounds us, it centers us, and it reminds the
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kids that there's peace even in the chaos. Now, let's
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not forget that bad weather doesn't stop meals from needing
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to be made. During storms, we simplify everything. We made
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chili dogs for dinner because by the time the power
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came back on it was already getting late. So we
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have an electric stove, so we were out of luck,
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so we were actually thinking about cooking them on the
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grill if needed. Thank god it came back on. Launch
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tree usually gets paused, of course, but one of the
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best tips I can give other big families always have
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storm snacks and water jugs set aside. We keep emergency
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like granola bars and crackers and apple sauce pouches and
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gallons of water. It saved us more than once. And
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the bathroom situation, let's just say, you haven't lived until
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you've tried to explain to your littles why they need
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to hold it during a tornado drill. That is peak parenting.
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Once the storm has passed, we always take time to
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check in. I always check in on the older kids
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to make sure if they need help, check the yard
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to make sure they have anything that they need help
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with that we can help them, and assess any damage.
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We often pick up branches is you know, rearranged, knocked
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over toys, and sweep off the porches from the debris.
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But we also take time to be thankful. I always
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call and check in on friends and family. I check
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Facebook to check in on friends and family because you
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just never know. And we have friends that live an
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hour from us, and when I see the storm after
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it hits us and it's heading for them, I want
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to make sure that they're safe too, it sets us
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at peace. I also search and see where all the damages.
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Our daughter's house got hit and a tree fell on it,
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so they had some damage to the backside of their house.
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They're still without power. It's supposed to be on sometime today,
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but they have two babies that they have to deal with.
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They had to take.
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All their food to her mother in law's house so
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that they didn't lose everything. It is nice when you
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have a generator, as we do, and we were just
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getting ready to hook it up because we were told
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we probably wouldn't have power until the weekend because there
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was fifty thousand people without power here. That's a lot
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of people. I seen images today of one whole strip
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of our town. All the power poles were uprooted and
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the lines were on the ground. My daughter goes to
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college at Missouri State University, and while she was at school,
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lightning struck and hit the library and caused a fire.
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There are people out there that have lost everything. My
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neighbor's tree fell. We gathered the kids up and went
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out and helped clean up after the storm, because that's
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what people do.
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We have enough kids here.
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That it didn't take us long at all to get
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that tree cut up and cleaned up. And we've offered
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to help anybody in need of help cleaning up to
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go and help. And I'm sure we will do more
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clean up for others to help, because I know that
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if the damage was on us, people would be offering
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help to us as well. So we always offer a
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hand in helping, and my kids are all for that.
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There's times in need, and when you see devastation in
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a storm that destroys everything and it's so destructive, you
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want to get out there and do whatever you can
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to help people that lost their home, and we're that family.
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We are that family that will go around and help
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wherever needed. Whether it be cutting trees up or moving
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branches or whatever it could be, we will do it.
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We had several people contact us to make sure we
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were okay because it was on the news that we
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had gotten hit. Needless to say, there was several injuries
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here from the storm yesterday.
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I have not heard of.
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Any fatalities, which is a blessing. It is so nice
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to hear that nobody was found deceased, and I pray
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that everybody is safe, got to a safe place to
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lay their head and sleep, because I know when I
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went to bed that there was others out there that
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couldn't stay in their own home. They had to leave
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because the damage for each other, for the roof still
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over our heads. I'll never take that for granted, especially
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with so many little hearts looking to me for comfort
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and strength. So we take the time to be thankful.
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Sometimes we'll end the day with a movie marathon if
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the power returns, or a big family breakfast the next
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morning if it was a long night. These are the
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moments that stitch our family closer together. I always check
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back in on all the older kids and family and friends.
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Bad weather can be chaotic and unpredictable, but for our family,
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it's also a reminder of what matters when the power's out,
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when the wind is howling, and when fear creeps in.
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Our answer is always the same, Come close, stick together,
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lean into love.
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I hope this.
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Episode encourages you, whether you've got one kid or thirteen,
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to find comfort in a small moment and to remember
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that no storm lasts forever. Thanks for spending time with
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me today. Don't forget to get over to our YouTube
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and subscribe. You can also send us an email at
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we Arethehansen's Show at gmail dot com, or send us
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a Facebook message on our We Are the Hansen's Facebook
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page if you're enjoying the podcast, and share this episode
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with someone who might need a little warmth on a
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stormy day. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and
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as always, keep loving loud.