We Survived!!
It's amazing to me how we can switch our minds and bodies into survival mode. We knew the hurricane was coming and we prepared the best way we could.
The first slideshow is before the storm and the neighborhood coming together to wish each other good luck. You can see the clouds coming in and the wind starting to blow the trees around. We finally had to go in because their was debris flying around.
That night the wind blew hard. The power turned off and the boys and Bella fell asleep in the closet. I could not sleep at all. The storm was loud and I was uncomfortable in the closet. I could here all kinds of big sounds out side. I was scared. I decided right then that now would be a good time to repent for all of my sins.(ha ha?)
The next day it rained and rained. We all emerged from our homes to survey the damage. Trees everywhere, fences torn down, flooding in the streets. We were so blessed to only have our tree fall over and barely miss our home. We also had flooding in the front room so Travis took care of that with a generator, extension cord, and a wet vac. The next slide show is of the damage around our neighborhood and the kids having a little fun in the rain.
Like I said our tree fell over, so we had to put it back up. We hope it will make it. My friend Christina thought that going in the middle of the street was the best way to get around the debris that was on the side walks without getting all muddy. Kim and I thought otherwise. I captured a picture of her holding up traffic while walking in the middle of the street holding Teia, Kim's little girl. We laughed pretty hard.
For the next almost two weeks we had no power. It was a camping trip that you couldn't leave. My boys loved it. Flashlights, fire pit, smores, staying up late because of no school, dirty clothes, playing non stop, it was a boys dream come true. The kids had the best vacation. Of course they had no idea the worry that was going on behind the scenes. Ah, to be a little kid again and not have to worry about food, laundry, or when our power was going to turn back on. Speaking of laundry, I had the great opportunity to test my inner domestic skills. To say that I was a little annoyed could be an understatement. Chandler so kindly captured one of my great hurricane moments, "doing the laundry".
I have to add this picture because, well, I have no pride. I am willing to show all of you exactly how I look on day three with no power, and at that time, no water. We had to wait a little bit before we used the water just to be sure the water was not contaminated. It turned out it was not. I just have to say that you are seeing me right when I woke up. This is my "just woke up after tossing and turning no shower for three days humidity drivin tousled hurricane hair". Few! (and no, those are not "G's") Please do not be scared. My friend Mandy came to my rescue as soon as she could. She saved my hair! It is back to normal now.
Here is the last slide show with pictures of our family and friends getting together to eat all our meat before it goes bad. We probably gained a pound or two eating steak, chicken, pork, ribs, hot dogs, and so on, every night. You will also see pictures of our cooler that we used as our "refrigerator" and also some of the clean up that was being done. There are still piles and piles of debris along the sides of the rode ready to be picked up. Also some pictures of the kids playing, the clothes line that Travis put up for me so I could hang our clothes up in the back yard, and more. I have to add that now that the power is back on, It was not that bad with no power. The last two days we were able to borrow a generator from a family(thank you Rascon's!) and I was able to run a fan (it was getting really hot), vacuum, do a load or two of laundry. It was great. We also watched a movie and I made popcorn from our gas stove. (I love gas stoves. we were able to use our stove because we could just light it with a match and it turned on. Amazing how that works.) I could go on and on about the many things that happened and the things Travis and I learned from the whole experience. If their is one thing that I can take from this experience it is that I love my family and I am so blessed to be a part of it. We really grew closer together and we took care of each other.
One more thing, I have to give credit to Travis who worked very hard to help around our community. Last hurricane he bought a chain saw and so he was so excited to use it again. He got it out and told me that he needed to help a neighbor with a tree on his house or a neighbor with a tree in his yard, and so on. He was coming and going with that thing. I could tell that it made feel good to be using such a powerful piece of equipment. Way to be a man, Travis!!
