Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike (Category 2 almost 3) hit last Friday night, Sept. 12th. I spent all day Thursday preparing (doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, bringing things in from outside, going grocery shopping, filling jugs with water to freeze, taking my last shower with lights and a blowdryer, etc.). We wore the kids out that night taking them to the park and letting them run around. We knew they needed to sleep good since Ike was going to hit during the night. They slept great in their own beds and did not make a sound. The winds and the rain came with force around 3 am and knotted down trees, power lines, damaged houses and cars and flooded the streets. We were fortunate to only lose our power, but not our water. Greg and I lost sleep that night because of all the sounds of trees popping and winds howling. Greg and I prayed for God's protection and peace as our souls became worried. God was faithful and I believe He answered our prayers by keeping our house in tact and without damage. We could not be more blessed. Our neighbors had two trees land on their house, but it did not hurt it. Some other neighbors had a tree land right behind their car barely missing it. I know God sent out His angels to strategically place those trees carefully where they landed. There have been signs of tornado damage as well seeing the trees twisted around our area. God is so good to protect us! I know some have not been as fortunate and to those our hearts go out to you.
Our family went outside after the storm for a little craziness, but came back in after feeling the wind gusts. Here are some pictures of our fallen wreckage (just a few branches down).

Greg got out soon after the storm to clean up our driveway as well as all our neighbors. I have never seen so many people helping people. It's truly been a blessing in disguise. We have developed life long friendships with our neighbors because of this storm. We've eaten together, shared stories with each other, helped clean up each others yards, borrowed equipment from one another, charged cell phones with generators, and made memories that will last. I am a little sad to see it end. This is the way to do life- together.

On a side note- Our gas grill came in handy for this storm. We used it for every meal. It has a burner on it which we had never used before. It was great for boiling water for Zachary's bottles (yes, he still drinks bottles with warm milk). We made chicken nuggets and waffles on the grill, fried bacon and eggs and steamed veggies on the burner. It was great! I think I might cook outside more often.

As you can see our damage is minimal. We drove around later that evening to see the aftermath and could not believe all the fallen trees. There was at least one on every street. It was a disaster. This will take some time to clean up.

We stayed at our house Saturday, Sunday and Monday and then decided that it would be best for our family to relocate to Greg's parents house because they had POWER. They live right by a water tower, which is perfect spot for them because they are one of the first to get power. As much as I wanted to stay and endure this time with our neighbors I had to do what was best for our family. It was getting a little difficult taking care of our kids without AC, lights, a washing machine, a fridge and TV. God only knew that we needed some much needed time with our family as well. We took all our food from our freezer and refrigerator to their house so we could salvage it. Greg helped his dad clean off their roof and lawn. They even came back to our house to do some more work as well. Randle (my mother-in-love) and I went shopping to Cosco and Wal-mart and enjoyed every minute of our time out. We felt a little guilty buying milk and ice cream while others were loading generators onto their carts as well as ice and water. We spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with them and cooked all their food that was about to go bad. We made chocolate chip cookies and sweet potato pancakes (this was a new recipe from the cookbook Randle got for me). Zachary and Carlee got some new toys and enjoyed being around their grandparents. It was a special time.

We are glad everyone is safe and well. God has been good through this storm and we have seen Him at work amongst us. I realized some things about life through this storm. It's all about the simple things: family, friends, food and fellowship. Life is about giving a helping hand, serving those in need, caring, smiling, loving. I know these things, but I now understand them so much better. Lord help me to live fully, love deeply and give generously everyday.