God is so Good.

Thank you all for your prayers. One of our church family was able to walk to our house today and inspect the grounds. We are missing a few shingles and our fence (no shock there) and our lemon tree uprooted. She couldn't see inside because I have all the blinds drawn, but she didn't seem to think it flooded at all. Praise God! Hopefully no rain came in from the lost shingles, but we'll see when we get home.

That may be a bit though, we aren't prepared to go home until the power is back on. Baytown is still 'unsafe' according to the city's website and they are heavily encouraging people to remain evacuated for the time being. The water isn't potable and the gas stations either aren't open or are out of gas. A friend of mine traveled to LA to get gas today. Also, Walmart was totaled and none of the other grocery stores are open yet. The cell service is touch and go because the network is overun, phone lines are down. Sounds like a terrible mess. And as much as I want to get home and survey the damage, I'm just not ready to deal with that and two kids. We don't have a generator and certainly aren't in a position to buy one! Rob was really concerned that there wouldn't be anything to eat! :)

So we have really enjoyed our time here with my Aunt and Uncle, but now we will be moving east to Rob's mom's house in Springdale, AR. We were very reluctant to go there first because the storm was headed that way and we didn't know when we'd be driving back home. I don't think either of us ever thought we'd be away this long. In fact, I only packed 3 days worth of clothing for each of us.

I am so thankful that our home is ok. I'm more thankful that if it hadn't been, my God would be enough for me and He's big enough to provide for my every need.

I also, now understand firsthand the urgency of an Emergency Fund with 3-6 months living expenses in it. As soon as we've recovered from this (insurance deductibles and extra gas and whatnot) I am extremely motivated to get saving!! Dave Ramsey, here we come!!

Also, being here and spending time with my Aunt has been such a blessing. She's such an amazing woman of God, I've learned a lot from her. She's been so good with my children, so patient and involved. I've watched her take her time to incorporate them into everything she did, rather than just move about on her own agenda like I so often do. I realized that there are a lot of opportunities for me to work with them that I am not taking. For example, Sarah and I made the fruit salad for supper last night and we've set the table several times now. We've picked up Uno as a family game. Sarah beat us all twice this evening and all her cards were on the table! We went for walks and just sat around and talked. It was really lovely. I know I need to be more mindful of the gift that my kids are, rather than just dragging them along on my 'to-do' lists.

At one point she said to me that raising children was a noble task and it's ok if it's time consuming, it's the important work of life. She also talked about a person we both know who pursued career goals but in Aunt Char's words "would have made a lovely housewife or PTA mom or a fantastic committee chair person". She said all of those things with respect like you or I would have for a president or nobleman and I realized that she truly sees mothering as a high calling. I really need to refocus on that. wow. I think God used our time here in an awesome way and I am so thankful to my Aunt and Uncle for their hospitality. I hope to return the favor one day.