Tales from Hurricane IKE

We made it! The worst part of Hurricane Ike moved into our area about 2am on Saturday morning and left us about noon later that day. Mia and dad slept on an air mattress in my closet (the safest and quietest room in the house) and Lily and I rode out the storm in my bed as I watched and listened to the howling storm outside (ready to run to the closet if needed). About 7am we realized we had lots of water coming into the house...only to have our neighbor call and say he could see our roof was down to the wood in several places. In no time we had water pouring into the office, living room and Lily's bedroom and coming in under the front door and windows. We got lots of towels and buckets in place and were able to move the furniture - thanks to our brave neighbor, Dan, that come over during the storm to help Jason. We also lost a tree in the backyard, that crashed through our fence. And our pool looks like a swamp. The storm hit with strong winds from the North and that side of our house took a major hit.

Our neighborhood as a whole is a sad sight with trees and fences down everywhere, but the good news is -- everyone is alright! We lost power about 10pm on Friday night and we were one of the lucky few that have gotten it back as of Monday night. We have been ripping out wet carpets, cleaning and trying to get back to some kind of normal - more grateful than ever for electricity, clean water and working phones.

Mia and Lily were troopers; however, they never had to completely "rough" it. We have a generator so they still had the comforts of tv, a fridge/freezer full of cold food, a toaster, fan and lamp. Our family had it better than most!! Classic Mia - on Sunday I was making lunch (PBJ sandwiches) and she told me she'd prefer a quesadilla with chicken and cheese...how quickly a 4 yr old forgets that a major hurricane had just hit us and making quesadillas was not high on my priority list. Lily spent the first few days in front of the portable tv watching Strawberry Shortcake and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos over and over. She even took the tv with her to our neightbors for dinner one night. (Did we mention she was a tv junkie?) She has really been out of sorts - when it is time for bed she goes up the stairs to her room and stares at the empty room with the saddest look. It will be months before her room is ready to live in again, and that just breaks my heart.

We have been so blessed to have a cool front move through, and the weather has been perfect. Our great friends/neighbors in our cul-de-sac have pulled together to help out cutting trees and cleaning yards. We have been having BBQ dinners and even cooked s'mores by the fire pit. The kids have no school and think this is one big party! One of the greatest blessings is getting through this tragedy with such great people around us. Our neighbors have become the family we don't have here in Texas. They are friends we will cherish forever.

Mia's constant questions - When can I go swimming? When do I go back to school? When can we go run errands? She has no concept that life, for so many, has completely changed. She has no idea how lucky she is that her life will continue as she knows it.

Although I get sad looking at the damage to our home, I have to remember how fortunate the Ray family is - there are so many that have lost so much more. Eventually the sounds of generators and chain saws running will be gone, kids will go back to school, grocery stores will open and our daily routine will start again. Hurricane Ike will be a major part of our life here in Texas, and will be a constant reminder to give thanks for the many simple daily blessings that go overlooked in the midst of our routine.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern on our behalf!

I have lots of pictures that I will post as soon as I can.