May 1, 2025

When Bad Weather Hits: Stormy Shenanigans and Cozy Chaos

When Bad Weather Hits: Stormy Shenanigans and Cozy Chaos

In this stormy episode of We Are The Hansons, the power's out, the thunder’s rolling, and the family is huddled up for an unforgettable night of laughter, lanterns, and last-minute indoor fun. We share our go-to weather routines, how we keep the kids calm (and entertained) during storms, and the beautiful chaos of making memories when nature goes wild. From flashlight games to storm snacks and survival tips—this episode captures what it’s really like when a big family rides out a big storm together.

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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.