Everyone is on edge here. There have been hundreds of seismic events in the past four days. Having graduated from a college in southern California, I am not fearful of most earthquakes. The ’94 Northridge quake woke me from a sound sleep, with bookshelves, lamps, and other items crashing down all around me. I seriously thought it was the. end. of. the. world. Not even kidding there. Power was out. It was dark. I was alone in my apartment and it was my first earthquake (a doozy of a first, don’t you think?!). Daylight brought evidence of apartment buildings, homes, bridges, and overpasses collapsed. This was before the age of smart phones with Earthquake apps that tell you the exact location, depth, and strength of the quake within minutes. I had no access to news or other updates and was scared.

Today is a whole different story. I’m 20 years older and wiser. We have news and updates at our fingertips (well, at least when the signal is working). I am surrounded by family and friends. (We currently have two adopting families staying with us. Plus it’s spring break so my oldest has two friends sleeping over, so we have a full house.)

I am not scared.

And yet… after four days of the ground shaking there is a certain amount of tension that seems pervasive, like magma bubbling beneath the surface. We’re not getting a ton of sleep (due to the late night tremors that rock you out of bed), which means the mornings can be kinda rough. No matter what natural (or unnatural) disasters threaten you right now, I’m guessing you can relate to those times in your life when you just need a little extra encouragement.

So we go about our daily business as best as we can, throwing in some sweet treats wherever possible to boost spirits, calm nerves, and support one other.

Maybe it’s a few rounds of our favorite games when the power is out:

Maybe it’s a Bible verse:

Maybe it’s a funny photo:

Or maybe it’s a loaf of the most delicious, most amazing banana bread ever, thanks to the four huge jars of Nutella a visiting family just surprised you with:

Seriously. That bread is sooooo good. Follow the link and hop on over to Sally’s Baking Addiction to download and print the recipe for yourself. Cause you just never know when you might find yourself waking up on a Nutella kinda morning.