We watched the movie Twister with my family the day before the flooding began. I don't recommend watching this movie during an actual natural disaster because it's pretty terrifying haha. Wind was whipping trees around just as hard as they were in the movie so there was a fine line between what was real and what was fiction. We prepared ourselves for power outages and some mild flash flooding; gathering water bottles, flashlights, ice chests, and toiletries. I dare to say it was actually fun spending this close intimate time with my family. Mild survival mode, when you "know" nothing bad will actually happen, gives me this adrenaline rush that I crave; no electricity and just "roughing it" with loved ones. To keep Abigail from paying too much attention to the storm coming, we had a tea party with all the girls in the house, colored, made forts, and watched plenty movies.
My sister and the kids had gone to bed for the night. It was by the grace of God that they were already upstairs because they slept peacefully till morning. Me, Jeremy, and my parents all stayed up to stake out the storm and at 1:00am we saw that the water was rising from the lake, almost to the yard. We expected this though so we weren't terribly alarmed. The worst case we imagined was the water getting an inch or two into the house. We kept a careful eye on the water and once it entered the pool, we began moving our belongings on the ground upstairs. Then around 2:00am, the water entered the house.
Time was so valuable at this point. Our first priority was locating the most important items and moving them up like lock boxes, tax papers, health information, and wedding memorabilia. Second priority, move everything up that would get destroyed in 1 foot of water. Difficult decisions were made at this point. My parents had JUST gifted us our old family piano days before this storm and we couldn't raise it to save it. Jeremy built a very nice computer desk and tv stand but we decided not to attempt to move them due to them being lower on the priority list. My parents had so much in the office, gameroom, and garage that was about to perish. The water continued to rise into the garage and we were dumbfounded, but there was no time to fully absorb what was happening. We had to keep going. My dad ran outside to his car and backed into their small brick border wall in the driveway so the water would be directed away from the garage for a little while; saving us more time. Soon enough though, it reached the front door. We couldn't find any sandbags to help absorb, so it welcomed itself right in.
An an hour or so later, my dad waded through the water to grab headlamps out of his car. Then we heard a loud, powerful electrical noise coming from the street. I looked out the kitchen window and saw the transformer arcing; orange and blue electric volts shooting out. I ran down the stairs to the edge of the water to call for my dad to see if he was okay. No answer. Over and over I called without an answer. My mom and Jeremy came to the stairs and asked where he was or what was going on (I can't remember). I tried to form a sentence but all I could say was, "I don't know I've been calling him he's in the water he won't answer." I was hysterical. My mom was scared too. Jeremy entered the water, calling his name without response. He made it to the car and my dad had been sitting inside in case the water was electrocuted. I don't remember what happened after that. My memory is completely blank.
The remaining wee-hours of the morning were a blur of trips up and down the stairs and messy, desperate prayers. No one got much more than an hour or two of sleep...except my precious kids and sister. When we woke up, the water measured 22 inches in the house and to my surprise, Abigail wasn't worried about the water at all. She thought it was quite amusing! We were without power for a while but my dad had the generator hooked up to the fridge, deep freezer, and a few more things. So glad my parents had a gas stove! We waded through the water with the kids on our shoulders to my grandparents house on the 27th, but ended up staying there till the water receded the next day. Then we walked back and fourth with suitcases carrying diapers, clothes, and other belongings so we could stay longer. We lived there for 10 months until we bought our first home in June of this year. My parents still live in their devastated home due to HOA restrictions and setbacks but hope to be tearing down in the coming months. The flood and wind damage was far too great to be worth repairing.
Many items were lost, but PRAISE THE LORD we were all safe. I feel as if we gained more than we lost with this storm and I couldn't say it then, but I am grateful for my experiences. The day after, I wrote this "When I was walking through the water, frantically grabbing everything I could, I felt a little abandoned by God. Watching the lake consume the backyard and enter the house was utterly and completely overwhelming. The transformer's orange and blue electric volts, creating a deadly firework display, turned this bad dream into a nightmare. I wish I had read Isaiah 43:2 last night because I was blind to the blessings I was receiving through all of this. When the LORD revealed himself to me, He reminded me of his forever sovereignty. Fix your eyes on Jesus Christ and he will bless you abundantly all the days of your life."
And to end on a silly note, I will leave you with a photo of my dad & sister kayaking to return their Redbox DVD on time. See you for the next story! Did Hurricane Harvey teach you anything?
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." Isaiah 43:2
Seems like such a horrifying thing to go through! I’m so glad you guys are okay. Wish you would come back on youtube, but this will do just fine (:
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