Turns out Ike knew exactly what he was doing....

just took us a bit to figure it all out. First let me say thank you for all the emails and phone calls to check on us. I am trying to get all my calls returned (Kelley if you read this tonight I will call you tomorrow)! We survived and even better, we survived with no major damage as did our family and friends. I will say that I will be more than happy to NOT go through another major hurricane in my lifetime! Poor Chase is only 3 1/2 and this is his 2ND, so what is UP with that? We really thought we were going to be OK and miss the worst of it. Never can predict Texas weather... or apparently hurricanes for that matter.

As for the storm itself, it has certainly left it's mark on Texas. We decided to stay downstairs Friday night and spent an evening of listening to winds that sounded like they were going to rip the house down around us and looking out the window only to see darkness. I'll be completely honest though, I think it was better that Ike rolled in during the night because what remained the next morning was not a pretty site. We were so very lucky. I will never forget laying there in the dark and listening to the sound of that wind. It was so strong and sounded so angry. The rain just beat against the house and sounded like it was trying to get in with all its might. It was a haunting sound that made your imagination run wild. We kept the TV on and constantly checked the track of the storm as long as we could. It was headed right over us, so I expected it to be rough. But I never expected it to be like it was. It was such a scary thing. I can't imagine how it would have been to be where it made landfall.

My mom got a tree on our townhouse, but other than scraping some paint and a leaky window it looks like it's all OK. We lost part of a tree at our rent house, but it missed everything. Our Bighorn house (the one we live in) was fine, just debris in the yard. Jeff's parents lost a lot of limbs, but no damage. It turns out it was a good thing we didn't go over there during the storm because a huge cedar branch fell right where we would have parked. Someone guided us in the right direction when it came to making the choice of staying home. We did lose our power at about 4:45 am and still do not have it. That sucks, but it could be worse. We went to Jeff's parents on Saturday afternoon because they had a generator and a window unit. However, we got a cold front and the weather is cool for Texas in September. My brother drove to MS and brought back three generators. That was awesome of him because I know it was a long, tough trip. He is Chase's hero right now since the bringing of the generator meant the TV was back on. Chase sure missed his Disney shows! We also got running water back today, so that was pretty exciting. It may be cold but we can shower and flush the toilet so rock on baby! Plus we got our phones back today, so I was able to finally get online with dial-up, guess I really shouldn't knock how slow it is since it's all I have right now! School is out for the week due the power, who knows what next week will bring. I'm certainly ready to go back and get life back to normal! We've heard it could anywhere from days to weeks before the power is back. I'm hoping that they just say weeks so that when they get it back on quick they will look really good!

This last month has been such an up and down one. With miscarrying the twins that we so desperately wanted to being spared any major damage with Ike, it has been a whirlwind. So many times lately I have asked myself, "Does God even hear our prayers?" I thought for sure he must not. How could he if he took my babies? I prayed for them. I prayed for a healthy pregnancy, I prayed that everything would be OK. Surely he must not have heard me. However, as I laid there with my most precious possession in the world just a few feet away from me, peacefully sleeping while the rain and winds raged outside my house in the dark hours of Saturday morning, I prayed even more. I prayed that my family would be safe, that my friends would be safe. I prayed that God would hear me, that he would answer these prayers, that everything would be OK... and God did hear me. I know he did, because those prayers were answered. I don't know why some are and some aren't, but I do know that he does hear them. And I also know that I'll keep praying now.

Since we finally got to turn on the TV for the first time yesterday I have seen so many sad pictures. Places that I have been so many times on the coast are now completely gone, it's as if they never even existed. I think of the people that lost so much, lost everything. I can't even imagine. I pray that they know God hears their prayers, sees every tear that falls and knows their every thought. It may not seem like it now, but he does. He has not abandoned them, even if it feels like he has.

I don't even know how to end this post. It is so scattered, so unorganized. I had so much to say, but no clue how to say it. It seems so sad when I go back to read it, yet it's not meant to be. I guess I'll end it with the funniest thing that has happened during all of this. In the wee hours of the morning, as Ike barrelled through our small town, Chase sat up without ever opening his eyes. He started screaming hysterically and this is what he said, "I'm getting rained on!!! Daddy at ALL of my cookies.... and he drank my milk! It is not OK, it is not OK! Daddy ate all of my cookies and drank my milk!" Then after some coaxing and convincing that no, Daddy had not eaten them, he laid right back down. Geez Daddy, I think you need to quit eating his cookies, you're "freaking" him out! (hahaha, those that know us everyday, will TOTALLY get that)

***I am grateful for
1) Ike is gone and we are all OK
2) someday we will get power again!
3) William and the generator
4) dial-up
5) God does hear prayers