Being Prepared?

Our church is having an emergency preparedness drill this Saturday in our neighborhood. They have one every six months (spring and fall). It's a good excuse and reminder to make sure we have everything in order. I have spent the day revamping our 72 hour emergency preparedness kits. I don't know how they got away from me, but apparently I haven't up-dated them for about two years. It was a little like opening a time capsule. B-man couldn't get his shirt over his head and the pants he had put in his pack were nearly to his knees. It actually was kind of funny to see how much the kids had grown! Many of the food items we had packed were expired. I didn't have anything put together for Lucie. I should have done it when we first brought her home. In a way, I'm glad that I waited. It was a little easier to do now that she is eating real food---her pack didn't have to be quite so specialized (just a few diapers and such). So, I took an inventory of everything we needed and headed to the store. I've been gathering clothes, food, water, and supplies. We keep our kits in backpacks that are easy to sling over your shoulder and carry. There's one for each of us. Dad will have to carry his and Lucie's. Mom will have to carry hers and the baby. Thankfully the other two kids are big enough to carry their own. There are still a few things I am working on. I want to compile all of our important documents into a binder as well as emergency contacts and phone numbers. I'm also working on a first-aid kit that is a little more complete. I am going to try harder to update our kits every six months, so it's not such a big ordeal. I just have a few more odds and ends to put in. Then we can all rest easy and hope that we never have to use them.