Without giving any details at this time, I'd ask that you all please fervently pray for my twin sister Kim as she is having some health problems.
Count your many blessings!
We returned home nearly 2 weeks ago & were pleasantly surprised to find very minimal damage to our property. We had 1/2 of our fence knocked down, 1 gutter knocked off the side of the house & both of our trees were uprooted. Brian worked so hard & was able to get everything repaired with the exception of the gutter, which is not urgent.
We were without power until Tuesday which we didn't mind at all. It is so nice to have access to electricity, but we enjoyed doing new things without power. I helped Brian in the yard; Brian helped me in the kitchen; Carson enjoyed playing outside ALL day long; we enjoyed family time on the couch at night listening to the radio with flashlights; & we met many of our neighbors we had not met before. We have a gas stove & were able to cook some decent meals. We did not get our cable or internet back until a week later which was okay too. We bought Carson a Barney DVD to give him atleast one show to watch since we couldn't get any cartoons. He absolutely LOVES Barney!!! However, a few days after we got power, a transformer blew up outside of our neighborhood & it fried our DVD player. We lost power again & were not allowed into our neighborhood for awhile. When we returned home, we had power & we were able to buy a new DVD player the next day! Even after power was back on & grocery stores opened back up it was still very difficult to find many things we take for granted. Meat, milk, eggs, bread & ice were very difficult to come by. We were able to make our own ice, but we had to boil all of our water for about a week. Gas was very hard to come by for a few days as well, but we had enough to get us where we needed to go so we didn't have to wait in any long lines. Things are slowly starting to return to normal.
Brian is still out of work & is hearing that it could be up to 60 days. It has really worked to our advantage though because he is getting paid disaster pay & I am able to pick up some extra shifts, so we are actually making more $ than usual!
Thanks to everyone for your prayers & concern for us. Sorry it has taken me awhile to update, but we have not slowed down since we returned home. I'm so thankful to hear that most everyone else suffered only minimal damage as well! We have so much to be thankful for! Please forgive me for not having time to respond to all of your comments/questions, emails or calls. I have kept up to date with you all & look forward to getting back in touch with everyone!
Below is a slideshow of our stay at my sister & her family's home in Katy. We took the kids to the park the day of the storm so they could get out all of their energy before they were locked up for the next few days. There are some fascinating pictures of the sunset & the rain bands the night that the storm rolled in. The kids had a great time together, but it definitely got hectic with so many people under one roof. Finally, there is a picture of Carson helping Brian replant the tree. He is such a sweet boy & always wants to "help" us do whatever we are doing! I wonder how long that will last? :)
I am so happy you are all okay. I am sorry you have all have been going through so much. My sister-in-law just finally got cable and internet access last night. Thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures and sharing how you guys are doing. Like I have told Kat and her family, if you guys need anything at all just let us. Love you and glad things are returning to somewhat normal. *hugs*
Hi Melissa! We are so glad that your house wasn't damaged too badly...even happier that your family is safe. What beautiful pictures of the sunset and clouds...makes me think of how awesome God is in His power. Carson is getting so handsome!! Love to you all...
beautiful sky pics. i especially love the pic of your mom reading to all the kids. Inconvenient I am sure, but I bet yall have lots of good memories from all being together :)
Yeah I have heard some stories of people loosing everything. You guys have a great attitude about all this and I can tell by the way you write. If you know of anyone who might need help please let us know. Thinking of you all. Good to hear from you. :)
So good to hear your update and know that your place had minimal damage. Is Brian still enjoying time at off at home? That's so great about having disaster pay. The clouds in your slideshow look crazy! So glad you guys were safe. Also...I don't know how you got dropped from my friends' list. I was wondering why I hadn't seen your name lit up with an update. I can't believe it took until now for me to realize your name was gone. :)
I love you! I'm sure you'll be be busy with the kids, but I know you are happy to be able to do that. lots of prayers have gone up tonight and many more to come.
Wow! It is kind of neat to see what its like to do w/o everyday things, like electricity. It's kind of like going camping. :) Glad y'all were able to make the best of it. Y'all are welcome to come visit while Brian has some time off! :)
We are about to leave my sister & her family's house in Katy to go home and assess the damages in our area. We experienced 70-80 mph winds & rain here & lost electricity. They suffered some minor damage to the shed in their backyard & part of their fence, but no major damgage. We were able to go to worship services with them this morning. There was no electricity or working bathrooms there, but they still had quite a crowd. We had a short, but very encouraging service. Everyone had their flash lights out & participated...gave me chill bumps!
We really don't know what to expect when we return home other than we will not have electricity. We hear that it could be up to 4 weeks before they are able to restore power. Brian will be out of work for an undetermined amount of time being that he works on Galveston island & his work flooded. I'm not sure about either of my jobs being that both of the areas I work in were flooded pretty badly as well.
My sister here just received power & my other sister & grandparents each have a generator, so we may be traveling back & forth as long as we are able to find gas. It may be awhile before I am able to update you all again, but please keep us in your prayers. We will face some challenges, but realize that we are extremely blessed!
I hope you have the conveniences many of us take for granted soon. Our power and water came back on about 2:30 this afternoon. It feels so good to be home!
despite the circumstances, i'm sure your worship this morning will be one you won't soon forget. just reading about it made me forget the reason you guys were in that situation to begin with.
Keep thinking of you all. If you guys need anything let me know. If you need a friend to talk to, you know I am there for you. *hugs* Thinking of you and your family at this time.
Hi Melissa, You don't know me but I attend the same congregation as Janet Gibson. I just love her, such a great lady. She told me to look you up and say hi. I am so glad y'all are safe. Hope clean up goes fast... My real name is Teresa
I have been worshiping with them for 4 years this Oct. WOW! time flies. I hope to meet you too in person one of these days. Janet is the greatest. So giving and caring about others. Don't tell her I said that, I try not to be too nice to her. :) j/k Hope everything has turned out OK after IKE came through..
Denny & Joyce rented a cabin in Marble Falls for all of us to meet up at Fri. thru Sun. We had so much fun, although it didn't last long enough! Our first morning there, Denny & Joyce prepared a feast for breakfast. We had sandwiches for lunch & hot dogs & hamburgers for dinner. We did not go hungry in the woods, that's for sure! Carson & Alyssa loved playing outside all day long gathering sticks for the bonfire that we found out we couldn't have due to a burn ban. We were still able to make s'mores & roast hot dogs on the grill & they were just as yummy! They also played in the creek for awhile (Alyssa swam while Carson threw rocks in the water most of the time!). Brian taught Carson how to fish & I helped him make his first catch. Alyssa did great all by herself, catching 3 fish! Brian caught 3 fish himself. The last one he caught was HUGE! We didn't bring an electric knife, so poor Derek & Brian had to fillet the fish using some cheap steak knives! Derek's biggest catch was a water moccasin! We didn't escape the weekend without injuries. Carson fell off the bed & bumped his head & got a pretty big knot. The next day, Alyssa walked into the stair rail & scratched up her face. They didn't allow their injuries to slow them down for too long though! It was so relaxing & nice to get away for a weekend with family! I hope you all had a safe & enjoyable weekend as well!
We definitely enjoyed the weekend. Wish that we could have witnessed the burgers being flamed (they were still great tasting). Brian definitely had much more success with fishing in the crik. That was definitely a nice one he caught. Wish the trip could have been longer.
nothing yet. they normally just get in the car and drive until they get a hotel, but this time i think my aunt in bacliff and uncle in dickinson city both evaced. normally only my aunts family goes. and, my cousin who lives down 646 is 9 months pregnant, so i don't know how far away they wanted to go if she decides to bust soon. hopefully i'll hear something soon. how did you guys make out?
How are you doing guys holding up now that the Storm/monster past by? We are still here if you need anything. Love you. Was going to call you but I don't have your cell.
My parents just got back from vacation in Hawaii & bought all of the kids Hawaiian outfits to have their pictures taken in. Leave it to MY son to be the one that was the most uncooperative for pictures. He has always been so good at taking pictures, but he was in a bad mood that morning. The photographers did a great job at managing to get a few good shots, considering there were 5 children all 2 & under!
Gran & Pawpaw, Katie, Carson, Kiley, Blake & Abby
Gran & Pawpaw, Katie, Carson, Abby, Blake & Kiley
I'm about to head out to my sisters house in Katy. Brian has been called in to work on Galveston island & must stay there until the storm has passed. We aren't expecting too much damage...maybe some street flooding, wind damage & power outages, but I'd rather not stay home by myself. I do hope & pray that the damage is minimal & no one is injured. I hate that Brian has to be at work, especially on the island, but he assures me that they will take measures to get them out if need be.
UPDATE: Brian made it home safely from work tonight & Carson & I returned safely from my sisters. The streets are dry & the grass is hardly even wet. We were very fortunate again this time around!
I see the new baby. We missed seeing the whole family at Vandon's graduation. I was glad the storm was so mild. We were wishing for a little rain. Tell everyone hello for us. Love you.
thanks! we've had some fun times here recently. Your pictures are SO cute! Did your parents have a good time in Hawaii? I've always wanted to visit there.
aw. Love and miss both of you! I missed a call from Lisa a few weeks back. Tell her I saw her at Kleinwood singing if you think about it. Wish I'd been able to get to her and hug her neck. Hug each other for me! I'm doing ok. Just playing the waiting game until I can retest for NCLEX.
They got married Aug. 5th in NC...they decided to go ahead before he left. Erica is living with Mark and Kathy while Blake is away so we are glad she will be able to come to church with us:)
Yes, I'm glad we're getting to squeeze in a little extra family time. I can't believe how cute those HAWAIIAN pictures turned out and how much all the grandkids actually look like each other - I think it's the eyes! Very cute pictures!!
The picture was sent to me by Joyce's former coworker who retired with her husband, and they now work part-time at Yellowstone. The scenery in that area is awesome.
