As Rolf mentioned earlier, the winds shifted late yesterday afternoon and the firestorm raging in Santa Barbara started heading our direction. As a result, we woke this morning to a thin blanket of ash on everything. Our kids have never experienced the joy of a snow day before but they came close today when they bounded through the door just minutes after we sent them off to school on their bikes announcing “Mom, Mom School’s closed!”. As we watched the ash fall from the sky it felt like a snow day. ..okay, not really, but it provided some excitement at the start of our day nonetheless.
As you can imagine, today was kind of disorienting. I spent the day getting Rudy settled back into the home routine again all the while making mental notes and contemplating how we would evacuate this little guy and all his equipment if we had to. Right now the evacuation WARNING (not yet mandatory) boundary ends just east of us at Fairview Ave. – about a mile away. At this point, fire isn’t a threat to us…what would prompt me to evacuate is the air quality. So, we’re keeping an eye on the news coverage, keeping a close eye on Rudy and will come up with a plan of action should we get the reverse 911 call that alerts us to any evacuation warnings issued in our neighborhood.
Rudy slept almost the entire day…like the rest of us, he is hot and sweaty and we are doing our best to keep him cool but it’s difficult because Rudy is somewhat housebound and we’re kind of living in a furnace with the doors and windows closed up tight. Rolf was able to take the older kids down to the beach south of Santa Barbara this afternoon and the kids enjoyed a break from the less than favorable conditions here in Goleta. Although wildfires are not uncommon in our community, the current situation is the worst long-time Santa Barbara residents have seen. For us it’s just disorienting and uncomfortable but our hearts are burdened for the thousands this firestorm has displaced and for our friends who are and will be legitimately threatened before this thing is under control. Currently the major hot spots are in unpopulated areas high above Santa Barbara…we are praying for cooler temps this evening and for the sundowner winds to be silenced. Sundowners pick up in the evening and are hard, dry winds that push off the mountain ridge toward the ocean…these winds have fueled the fire the last couple of days pushing it toward the populated areas of Santa Barbara that lie between the mountains and the coast. We’ll keep you posted as things develop…
Rudy’s discharge yesterday was, once again, met with lots of well wishes from our dear friends in the PICU/CTICU as we made our way down the hall. As always, we are so grateful for the TLC Rudy receives at UCLA and we pray these next several weeks before his Glenn will be spent at home getting bigger and stronger.
Rudy's Beat 
I keep praying for all of you and for your friends and neighbors. I keep watching the news and wondering where you are in all of this. Finally I found a map and it eased my mind a bit, but your blog post makes me nervous because of the air quality. Just know that my prayers are with you this evening.
We are so glad that Rudy is home!
I was thinking about your family today knowing how awful it can be when you are shut up tight inside due to smoke, ash and bad air quality. (We have been there and done that way too often here in San Diego) I was praying that some one would hook you up with an A/C unit somehow to give you all some relief. All things are possible.
Prayers for all your needs as awlays.
Welcome home Rudy!
Praying for all of you in the SB area.
Must say that Rudy looks so nice in your arms like that!
Prayers going out to you as you have so much on your plate!
Prayers that this latest family reunion won’t be interrupted by fire. Stay safe!
It was great to see Rudy again yesterday and all of the kids and you as well. He’s such a cutie and I love his hair. Hey, tell Rolf that I just saw where Costco has a good looking portable air conditioner on sale. Good old Costco! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!! Love, KElly