I'm back and Thank God We are all OK! (Hurricane Ike)
 

I just wanted to post a little update for those of you who have been wondering. Hubby and the babies and I are all ok! Our town WAS on the map for quite a while and there was going to be a mandatory evacuation here where we live, however...at the last minute, Ike decided to turn and go the other way. So, we had a "recommended voluntary evacuation". We had a hotel booked, but we decided to cancel. This town was like a ghost town though. 99% of the stores were closed, schools were let out (Thursday and Friday) and no one was at work....ALOT of people had already left town/evacuated. We went and bought tons of bottled water, gallons of water, ice, canned goods, batteries, filled our cars to the brim with gas, etc., etc. and had our entire house boarded up - we were all packed and ready to go and at the last minute, Ike made a turn for Galveston/Houston. I am SO glad/greatful that we didn't get hit with such an AWFUL and DESTRUCTIVE storm (I have been in the middle of a hurricane before and they ARE NOT fun) - but I feel SO incredibly bad for those in Houston, Galveston and the surrounding areas.

I was born in Houston and I am there ALOT. I have family there as well as in Conroe and Clear Lake - all were hit. All (family) are without power and some family did leave - other members of my family were too late and stayed and they are ALL without power. Luckily, some have generators. We have a ton of people down here from Houston, Galveston, etc....all the hotels here are packed and all you see everywhere is people letting their dogs out on a leash to go to potty. There are evacuee buses everywhere. The grocery stores here are sold out of SO MUCH stuff because they get alot of their deliveries from Houston and no one can get down here to make those deliveries. And, for over a month now we have had plans to go to Houston on the first weekend in October (the 4th) and now we are unsure if we will be able to go. :(

We do have some damage here though. One side of our fence fell down as we did get some of Ike's winds. My mom also lost a big part of one of her trees in her front yard. The lines here for plywood were just insane. Thankfully, my hubby got some ahead of time, but my aunt and I stood in line, literally, for over 2 hours waiting to pay for her plywood, then another hour in the pickup line outside waiting for the guys to load it in the back of the truck. The stores were selling bottled water left and right - there wasn't one person you passed that DIDN'T have water in their baskets. Shelves were almost totally cleared of all canned goods. People were really terrified of this horrible storm, and with good reason.

I ask that you all take a moment and pray for everyone who was hit by this incredible hurricane. It is going to take quite some time for people to recover. Some people lost everything....everything they had to their name - gone.

We are truly blessed here that we didn't get hit by this storm...however I feel so terrible for the ones that did. We aren't far AT ALL from Houston....and we were SO close to getting hit....for a few days they said that we were going to get a DIRECT hit....that thing was headed straight for us....and then it turned....how lucky are we....but then again, how UNLUCKY are the ones that took the blow :cry: It just breaks my heart..this was so so scary...

These are just a few of the pictures that I snapped with my cell phone below. The long lines show the wait that you had for plywood...just insane. The other pics are of stores here that were boarded up and the part of my moms tree that she lost (trust me, it's much bigger than it looks in the picture). :(

Everyone please pray for those that lost everything....and for all of us here in Texas that were affected by Hurricane Ike :cry:

P.S. - for those that tried to PM me, I am sorry but my Inbox was full. I will read all PM's ASAP and respond ASAP....for those that didn't get through to me, try again either tonight or tomorrow, hopefully I will have my inbox cleared out by then. Thanks :love:

A few more pics...

Last one

Glad you hear your family made out okay with minor damage. Yeah, it's hard when your good fortune means someone else didn't fair as lucky.

Thank you...I know...that's what alot of people are saying here - we almost feel guilty :cry:

Im glad you are ok and the storm didnt hit you.

After Isabel came through here....afterward it wasn't only the damage that was scarey...the way people acted in stores and at gas stations was too.

Thank goodness that you guys are okay. Things are replaceable. I agree, it is terrible for those affected.

:hug: I'm so glad you are all okay and none of your family have suffered major damaged. I'm glad Ike changed direction at the last minute and you all stayed safe, I'm sorry for the ones that were hit though. :(

I was thinking about you guys. I knew you lived somewhere in the vicinity. I'm glad you are all okay!!

I am so glad you are ok! That is so scary.but glad you are back and all are safe:)

Brooke...you're so funny taking those pics! Lowes and Discount Tires...the beautiful town of Victoria! :D:D:D

Anyway...glad that you guys were okay...sorry to hear about the fence. :( I was so worried about our oak trees...but we had them cleaned up earlier this year and it was just fine.

Next one...I'll organize a hurricane party for the fur butts...oh, and adults can come, too! :D

LOL!! Oh girl, I whipped out the cell phone in disbelief....do you know that we waited in that LONG LINE outside Lowes to pick up the plywood and I had to pee SO dang bad??? LOL. You might know! :rolleyes: We were in line for an hour or more....finally I said FORGET THIS, got out and walked to Hobby Lobby to go to the bathroom, LOL!! :laugh: Ok, yes I know - TOO MUCH INFO :p

Yeah, the fence is totally messed up but hubby said that he is going to work on it this weekend...get the thing at least standing again :rolleyes: Lord knows we have plenty of 2x4's! LOL. And OMG....we were sooo worried about the HUGE oak tree in our front yard too...I was scared to death that the thing might fall because if it did, it would fall RIGHT on our house as it is just to close and is huge! Thankfully, it was ok :thumbup:

Hey....if another one is out there and you guys have a party, you better let me know! The babies and I will be there will bells on :D

I"m so glad you're ok. Yet I feel so horrible for those who took a direct blow from the storm.

We got a horrible effect from Ike, too.. and we're soo far away.

Soo many of our streets got flooded, OUR main street was unpassable.
The worst part is, our community has only one entrance/exit, into River Road (along the Des Plaines River)... so they had to open up all the warehouses and we had to take some roads I never knew existed.

Finally yesterday one way down the main street was slowly passable, while the other half was waaay too deep for cars and small trucks to pass.

I didn't take any pics, but my brother-in-law did, so I will ask him for the pics and post them later on.

I'm glad to hear you, dh and furkids are safe. It's heartbreaking to see the devastation Ike brought. My sister lives in Corpus Christi, but her and her dh were here for my daughter's wedding. They planned a 2 week trip so he boarded up their home before leaving. We also were closely monitoring the path. My prayers are with your family and others in the gulf coast region.

I am glad your okay and had just a little damage

glad to know you are all safe Brooke . . the devastation is surreal . . . :( . . .to lose everything, I mean EVERYTHING in just a few minutes is very traumatic . . .:( . . .

Thank God Brooktini that you are ok, thankyou for letting me know, I was so worry, I was going to start a thread about you today:(, I have been praying for all of you and for those on in the storm, thankyou for the pictures, it kind of remind me the second coming of Jesus:eek: when we are gone and those behind all alone:(, well hon glad you are back:p:hug:

TG you are all safe........thanks for letting us know! Is that normal for them to put orange cones in the loading area of the lumber dept......or was that because of all the chaos? (((HUGS!)))

I happy you're safe and made it through the storm. I hope Stedman and Tatum weren't too scared throughout it. Glad to hear from you!

Thank Goodness you were fortunate that the storm didn't hit your area!
Prayers to all the families that were hit!

Believe it or not here in Ohio as of today we still have over 200,000 homes without power since Sunday! We got a windstorm afertmath of Ike on Sunday and initially 90% (like 900,000) homes were without power. It's so bizarre how far a storm can travel!

:(:(:( Oh wow and Ohio is hardly getting any media coverage :thumbdown

You all sound like what it's like here in Houston - as of today... 1.3 million are still without power - (everyone I know has NO power)

We only have 30% of gas stations open - street lights off everywhere - debris everywhere you look - and so many suffering without food and water .....it's just mind blowing what people are dealing with :(

Brooke - I'm so glad you all made it thru. Our country had six storms in a row hit us - 5 in the gulf this year. That's scary in itself

So happy to hear that you were spared by this horrific storm. My heart goes out to all those that were not so lucky. :(

Brooke...I am so glad to hear that you and your family and furkids are all okay. Can't tell you how much I thought of you all. Son and DIL kept us informed on the conditions down there as they prepared to hunker down for the storm. They couldn't leave because of their jobs in Victoria.

Thoughts and prayers are with those in Houston/Galveston area.

Hugs to Kenzi for me!

Glad to hear all is ok with you and your family.

My heart goes out to all those affected by this horrible storm. Us, here in Bryan/College Station were lucky, we did get rain and wind, however we did not loose any power, although all cities surrounding us did. Navasota finally got their power back last night.

I will continue to hold all those still going through this difficult time in my thoughts and prayers.

Girl...I did that line during the Rita scare. Lowes didn't have plywood left...they only had the wood that was almost $30 a sheet! I stocked up then and we used the same ones this time.

I can see you standing in line...doing the pee pee dance! LOLOLOL

Oh, did you find any good sales at Hobby Lobby? I LOVE that store...I have to resist temptation everytime I go by! LOL

Glad you are ok.

I am glad to hear you are ok!

Hi Brooke! I'm so glad you and yours are okay! What a scarey deal! I feel so bad for those who have lost their homes. So glad you were spared! *HUG*

I'm so glad you're okay, i was beginning to worry. I saw all the videos of damage on tv:eek: