I Used to Like "Ike"

I did. I used to love the name Isaac and wanted to name one of my boys this and call him "Ike". I'm not sure I could do it now. All the memories this name has brought for us and will continue to are things I probably don't want to think about on a daily basis. On top of that, I'm not sure I want to wish a life of destruction on any of my children.

Last post, when I was wishing to be with family, I had no idea I would get my wish come true. I had no idea it would be under these circumstances or be such a long trip. It's been good to be in Utah, but not good to have feeling of helplessness, feelings of wanting to stay in touch with our life, feelings of why we were so blessed.

Ike came pounding into millions of lives on September 12th--so interesting that it happened to land on the day after 9/11. I had feared this day since Houston became a possibility of where our home might be. We had actually partly decided on the home we did due to no flood zone, no huge trees, and far away from the coast. Now we are grateful. Our home escaped any damage. The only concern with our home at all was the rain actually flying through our back door doorknob and onto the kitchen floor. Having a house full of wet towels that won't dry due to high humity is nothing. . . nothing compared to those with out a home, those with no roof, those with a tree sitting in their living room.

I will forever have memories of a loud, dark night. Our children were sound asleep on the pantry floor, Justin and I sar in our family room with flash lights and radio for almost twelve hours wondering how our home was going to come out of all the pounding wind swirling around us.

I'll never forget the night after the Hurricane when lightning was sitting right over our house for hours. When suddenly I was awakened with a sudden urge to "get Spencer!" I stood in Spencer's bedroom with my little boy in my arms when all at once lightning, thunder, and the loudest beep of energy put powe back into something in our home (our power had been out for 24 hours). I won't forget being so nervous that a tornado is going to hit that we all slept on the family room floor--too scared to get blankets or pillows for comfort. I won't forget the feelings I had as we drove around our neighborhood and ward boundaries to see tree after tree fallen, power lines down, signs on the other side of the freeway, flood water up to back yard gates. Justin and I feel blessed, blessed that as soon as power is back into our home our four walls will be the same as pre-Ike.

I wonder why so many stayed, especially on the coast. I wonder why we stayed. I wonder what we will do next time, and then I realize that we try our best to learn from past experience. I keep trying to remember the peace we felt about staying before the storm and feeling grateful we were prepared. Oh how I love food storage and 72 hour kits! I will forever be prepared!

I love that through this I'm reminded what is truely important. It's family. . . it's that we have eachother. It's surviving with food, water, and shelter. It's helping and serving those around us. It's that God is in charge, that he has a plan.

I'll have to post pictures when we finally can return home again. In the meantime we'll keep trying to communicate through cell phone--to those that actually get reception and to those that have a way to charge their cell phone batteries.