So on Monday afternoon Tyler got a call from Poppy. He and Gigi had been at the stake center (which was being used as a shelter) and had talked to a family friend who had a big enough vehicle to come and get us. Would we be interested? Tyler wasn't sure right away but I said YES. We knew there was more rain coming and we had done everything we could to protect our house. I never felt like our lives were in danger, the thing that concerned me at that point was the kids and how all this might affect them. We had our air mattress ready to go as a raft and our sweet neighbors with a second story offered to let us stay there if the water got inside. I was so thankful for that. I just didn't want the kids to remember having to float or swim to our neighbor's house to be rescued! Sounded pretty traumatizing! So if there was an opportunity to get out before it came to that, I was all for it.
Steven and Christian and Poppy made it to our house not too long later! We'd packed a few more things while we were waiting and were ready to go when they got there. Millie started to cry when we were loading up, which just broke my heart again. She was nervous to go out "in the storm" she said. I'm so glad she felt safe at home. Anyway, we got everyone in and were off! Here are our very own rescue heroes (as Max called them)!
It was a pretty sobering drive over to Gigi and Poppy's house. So many flooded neighborhoods and stranded cars. But we also saw so many people in big trucks and boats out helping others. That was inspiring.
The kids were so excited to have another sleepover! We hadn't had any tornado warnings in a while so we decided it was safe for everyone to sleep upstairs in beds.
The next couple of days were spent playing and waiting for it all to be over. I spent lots of time on my phone, checking in with everyone. It was pretty amazing how our ward was so in touch and making sure everyone was okay. We were also keeping our families updated and watching the news lots.
But of course the kids weren't up for that boring stuff all the time! Gigi and Poppy's house has a great long hallway upstairs that the kids loved to run (or crawl) up and down.
Harvey also loved having new cupboards to explore and empty.
Lots of games. We pulled out pretty much everything at one point or another!
And FINALLY, on Wednesday (I think? Honestly it was hard to know what day it was during all this craziness) we saw a glimpse of blue sky and sunshine. It may or may not have made me cry.
We walked over to the park and it was packed! So many people so happy to be out of their houses and safe, just like we were. Also, almost everyone was wearing rain boots.
Sunshine!
We decided to stay one more night to give the roads time to clear all the way, since many were still underwater. Tyler and I snuck away and got to play tennis for a little while. Might seem like a strange thing to do right after a hurricane, but it felt so good to move our bodies and let off some steam that way.
Tyler and Poppy tested out the drive again for us and picked up our van the next morning. We went home shortly after. We spent the day putting our house back together and being so thankful that we were safe and dry. I joined some other neighborhood ladies in making food for the people in the neighborhood who had flooded homes and for the people helping them clean up.
Millie's interpretation of our semi-dramatic rescue.
Tyler's office was closed for the whole week and right after that he began his paternity leave, so he was able to help with cleanup for several days. It's pretty humbling to drive around and see sites like this and know that it could have so easily been us.
This was a pretty funny meme, but that is an actual building in our stake! Yikes! It'll be out of commission for about 2 months.
Kenny and Lindsay's previous home in Beaumont also got flooded, so Tyler went with my mom, Tim, and Sarah to clean it out one day.
I laughed when I saw this e-mail below. Tyler and Kenny saw each other cleaning up after a flood in Louisiana one year ago on the same day! Not a tradition we'd like to keep up.
And that is the story of how Hurricane Harvey was for us. We learned a lot and were so inspired by the goodness we saw in so many. The whole country has really seemed to come together to help the people here who have lost so much. I've seen so many people doing fundraisers across the country, so many giving food and other donations, so many giving of their time and bodies to do manual labor, and so many giving money. I've felt a little frustrated at times that I can't give as much to this relief effort as I'd like to. I can't be out there helping people muck out homes when I've got little kids at home! But I'm finding my own ways to help, even though they're small. I'm trying to let that be enough for me and keep plugging away. And the people who have lost their homes are also so inspiring to me. Such positive attitudes and still wanting to help other people. That's what I want to remember from this whole thing. People are so good.
