Hurricane Harvey

We had a trip planned to Lake Tahoe from August 24-28th, 2017.   The Alders and then the Garcias both were invited and then were unable to make it so we ended up going with just our little family.  As we were preparing to leave there was a tropical storm brewing in the gulf.  We honestly didn't think too much of it as we were leaving.  I had Joe put the water table and some other things in our garage that were out on the back patio, and we parked our car on the second floor of the parking garage just in case there happened to be any flooding while we were gone(because there had been flooding in Houston during previous bad rain storms) and that's about all the prep we did.  We left Thursday morning and while we were flying the storm turned into a hurricane and was expected to hit Texas.  The weather forecasters were guessing it would hit around the Corpus Christy area.  The storm was moving very very slowly though and was expected to hit land and then to move up the coast to Houston and just sit for days and drop tons of rain.  Well, that's exactly what it did.  Joe and I felt very thankful that our family was safe and that we weren't having to worry about the uncertainties that come with hurricanes, but we were worried for our family and friends and our home back in Texas. We didn't have flood insurance so if our home flooded we would have to replace everything on our own.   To say we were stressing would be an understatement.  Joe was looking at the flood plains and talking to people from work constantly, and we were texting an our neighbors to stay in the loop about what was happening.  Our good friends Jason and Jillian Edginton kept us in the loop about the weather,  and their home backs up to the retention pond for our neighborhood so they would send us pictures of how high it was.  Jason had been so sweet and had gone over to our house and cleared our back patio of things that could have blown in strong winds, and he even tied our trampoline to our orange tree in the back so it didn't go flying into our house or our neighbors' homes. Saturday night was really scary with tons of tornado warnings, and heavy heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning they said.  The bayous filled up and things were starting to get bad as the flooding began in Houston.  We watched the news glued to the images of so many people needing to be rescued from cars and then in the following days there were so many rescues that were taking place from people's homes.  The flooding was devastating and people were losing every material possession they owned.  Surrounding neighborhoods were starting to have standing water in the streets and we would watch as friends and family would post pictures of it creeping up towards their homes.  It rained for days.  I can only imagine the cabin fever that people must have been experiencing.  Thankfully the power didn't ever go out for most, and tv and internet stayed up for the most part.  We had sweet home teachers and friends check on our home for us since we weren't there.  Thankfully we had a garage door entry and our friends all know each other and got the keys from one another to go check on our home at different times.  Brian Crosby has a Raptor truck so was able to get out in the water filled streets between his neighborhood and ours, and went over and walked through our home.  He even moved all my shoes out of my closet to our bed in case our home flooded.  We felt so helpless, being across the US and not having any way to even protect our own belongings and home.   We didn't have flood insurance so we would lose everything if our home flooded, so I figured might as well try to save some shoes in case my closet flooded.  ha ha!  He moved other things upstairs for us and walked through our home to see if we had any leaking from all the hard rains and thankfully we just had a few places where there were wet spots on the ceilings, but nothing too bad that we couldn't just paint over when we got home and they dried.

We were so full of emotion on Sunday morning as we went to church.  The topic that day was all about being able to find joy amidst our trials, and one of the hymns we sang was "Where Can I Turn For Peace?"  and as we sang I couldn't hold back the tears as the lyrics touched my heart.  There truly was just one place to turn because we had zero control over anything happening back at home.  We felt grateful that we had the most important things to us in this world, and that was each other and our children.  As this sweet brother ended the meeting with prayer, Joe and I both got choked up as he said a very heartfelt prayer and specifically mentioned those in the gulf that were being affected by the Hurricane.  To know that others cared and were praying for our home state, clear across the country, was very touching and brought us a great feeling of peace.

We were supposed to fly home on Monday but the airports were closed due to flooded runways and it being unsafe for employees to travel to and from the airport.  So, we ended up flying to Dallas and Julie and Anthony let us stay with them until Saturday when the airports opened and we were able to get home.  While we were in Dallas they had a shortage of gasoline.  We didn't realize it until one day when we went to fill up Anthony's truck he had let us use, and we tried about 4 gas stations and they all had signs saying "out of gas" posted on the pumps.  Finally we were able to find one, and called to let Julie know she should fill up her tank.

Every night we would watch the devastation on the news and it was just heartbreaking and devastating to see all of the damage.  At the same time though there were so many wonderful stories coming to light of people serving others, most were strangers.  There were men with boats coming from Louisiana and other surrounding cities and states coming on their own to help with the rescue efforts.  It was so touching to see people using their own time and resources to come help others.  There was so much flooding and people needing to be rescued from their roofs, or elderly people in waist high water at nursing homes, even semi drivers were stranded on highways with water almost engulfing their entire truck.  Thankfully, the Silverlake Community where we live stayed dry.  We almost felt guilty because so many were experiencing such devastation, and our home was just fine.  There was a little bit of standing water that went about to the height of our curb, and that's it!  We were SO lucky!! At one point when we were stressing out when we were at Lake Tahoe, Joe said to me "If Heavenly Father blesses our home not to flood, I will break my back helping others".

By Saturday we were really ready and anxious to just get home.  Thankfully our flight stayed on time and wasn't cancelled like some had been that day.  At the parking garage, the man working the pickup bus mentioned that he had been trapped at the parking garage with another employee for 2 or 3 days.  We asked him how he had survived without food and water and he said they had just eaten out of the vending machine and they had water bottles stashed that they use for the valet customers.  He said that water had never come into the parking garage so no cars were flooded or ruined.  It had just come up to the walls outside. The streets and everything were pretty well drained by Saturday and in some spots as we were driving we could tell from where long grass was pushed down on the side of the roads, to brick walls of trailer parks being knocked down, and other things, just how high the water had been.  Thankfully everything was draining really well.

We were anxious to get out and help others.  Our ward and stake had organized groups that day to go out and help, but since we got in so late that evening we were unable to help.  Joe was planning on going out the next day, Sunday, to help muck homes with members of our ward.  I wanted to badly to be able to get out there and help but knew with being pregnant and having 2 young kids that it wasn't really an option for me.  This is my facebook post that day.

Joe and a lot of men, and some women from our church were able to go out and muck out houses Sunday, and Monday after we got home from Dallas. I wanted to get out there and help SO badly but with being pregnant and having young kids it just wasn't realistic for me. 

So on our plane ride home from Dallas Saturday, when we could finally come home, I concocted a plan of how I could get my kids out there to help others, and see what happened to homes and families in our area, and do our best to serve, and Joe was totally supportive. 

Between what was left at Costco and Sams when we stopped on our way home from the airport, and with the help of some wonderful friends and their children on Sunday evening and Monday afternoon we were able to get 250(110 Sunday, 140 Monday)hot dog meals with chips, homemade cookies/brownies, apples, granola bars, cold water and Gatorade put together in coolers and loaded up in the back of my van.(Sunday evening Joe and another friends' husband were able to meet us when they were done cleaning out homes and Joe drove the truck loaded with the drinks, and then Monday my friend drove her car around with the drinks) Both days we went to neighborhoods in our area that were affected by the storm and found people who were out working tirelessly to clean their houses out, and the older kids and moms were able to walk down the streets and ask people if they were hungry and thirsty and load grocery bags with whatever they wanted and give it to them. SO many people were full of gratitude, and it was such a wonderful experience. Even those who didn't need anything to eat or drink just repeatedly kept saying thank you. These people had been working all day in the heat, doing such hard work, and you could just tell they were so drained physically and emotionally. I think food was the last thing on people's minds when they went in to the day, and they were tired and hungry and thirsty by the end of it. When we pulled up to the areas affected, it was completely devastating and made me feel heartbroken and sick to my stomach to see all the damage that was done. I couldn't even fathom having to go through that. Seeing it all first hand, and not just on tv was completely heartbreaking and surreal and I felt a feeling of guilt because our home didn't flood, but it also made me feel incredibly grateful that I wasn't having to go through what these people were experiencing! These sweet people were so full of gratitude and thanked us over and over, and several people hugged me yesterday to express their gratitude. We just wanted them to feel Heavenly Father's love for them and to know they weren't forgotten and that people care. We saw several others out passing out pizzas and sodas and just trying to help in whatever way they could. There were other church groups out helping clean out homes yesterday and it was so good for these kids and youth, and us moms, to get out there and see first hand what the storm did to people's homes, and to realize just how blessed we are and to see the community coming together to help in whatever ways they could!

Yesterday after the girls and I got home after passing out food for 4 hours and prepping for 2 hours, all I could feel was gratitude as I tiredly swept my floors and cleaned my house. I just felt thankful my home was intact and I had floors to sweep, and running water, and air conditioning. All things I had completely taken for granted before. This storm was completely devastating but to see how it has brought people together has been something that will always be imprinted on my heart. I'm so grateful we were able to do something small to bless the lives of others and I'm hoping we have a lot more opportunities to serve in the days and months ahead. ❤️