Then Came Harvey . . . The Finale

On Friday, September 1, 2017, we were planning to do work at the new house when we learned that we could access the flooded house. Thankfully, the water receded rather quickly. In other parts of the city it did not.

Within a few hours of our arrival at the house, there were more people there than I could count. Our church community and our homeschool community were amazing! Talk about people not afraid to get dirty. Those people - men, women, boys, girls - were sloshing through several inches of sludge inside the house as well as out! There wasn't even a place to sit down without getting muddy.

I was in a state of shock and somewhat paralyzed. It was so difficult to think and then actually follow through with getting something done. I was so overwhelmed. Thankfully, a fellow homeschooler and church member was able to basically take over. She could see a need and send someone to take care of that need. I thank God for sending her to help when we desperately needed help.

There is nothing quite like having every single possession you own being sifted through by someone you don't know and then moved out onto your front lawn. Like I previously said, we were able to move most cherished items upstairs, but there were still drawers and cabinets that were full, one being my nightstand. It contained the Bible that my daddy gave me. There was no saving it. My mother recently asked about a picture that Puppy drew in kindergarten. I don't know if it went down in the flood or not. I don't want to think about it. As long as I don't know for certain, there is still hope.

Any furniture that was not 100% wood was already falling apart. No one even considered trying to save fabric or leather furniture. It all went to the curb. In some ways it was easier having other people gutting the house. It moved me a step further away from the reality of what was happening.

There is no way I can adequately express our gratitude to those who helped during one of the most difficult times of our lives. In my mind, I can still see faces of people whose names I do not know. Those in our community who were not helping to muck out houses were making meals and doing laundry. Their sacrificial giving . . . I cherish it all in my heart.

My mother and brother arrived on Saturday. My mother brought her little pickup to us so that we would have transportation and could return the Cs' car to them. It was nice having my family here for a few days. On Monday, my mother, Puppy and I drove to Dallas to meet up with The Professor's mother. She also had a vehicle she let us borrow.

We were very blessed that our house got mucked out so quickly. It is all because of our church and homeschool communities. Once everything was out of the house, everything remaining had to be sprayed with special chemicals and left to dry. Because we are still hopeful that we will sell our house, we hired a remediation company to get the house dried out and to confirm that it is mold free. We wanted to have certification that we can show a future buyer.

Most in our area did not have flood insurance because we were not in a flood zone. We received a small amount from FEMA and our insurance company let us claim a very small amount for a sewer backup rider. We definitely had plenty of sewer backed up! Insurance on our vehicles was great. We were able to replace them without any difficulties.

We and our neighbors moved all of our good stuff over to our new house. Our neighbors who became our "Roommates" moved into three of the bedrooms and used the unfinished game room as their storage room. With the help of girlfriends, I worked on getting bedrooms set up for my kids. This had been very hard on both of them. I was hopeful that by getting their rooms together that they could start settling in. Puppy was taking online classes that had started and were continuing without her. She really needed to get settled so that she could get back to class. (Allow me to have a mom brag moment here. Even with starting out two weeks behind, Puppy played catchup and came out with excellent grades both AP English and AP Chemistry. That little girl worked very very hard under extreme circumstances for those grades!)

Unfortunately, not everything went as smoothly at the new house as we had hoped. To start off with, we had a clogged sewer. Urgh! We just went through a flood and now a clogged sewer at the house that didn't flood. Not fun! After going a couple of weeks without being able to use the sewer and going through three different plumbing companies, we finally called the former homeowner, figured out where the outside sewer pipe is located, and got it all replaced. During this time period, we spent some time at the home of one of  The Professor's coworkers. Such sweet people. They had previously experienced a flood so they could relate with what we were going through. The coworker had also helped move things to our new house. On the days we stayed at the new house, I learned to bathe standing in a plastic crate. LOL. I would stand in the crate in the shower, let the crate catch the water, then The Professor would carry the crate outside and dump it. I am so glad that memory makes me laugh. At the time, it was not very funny! The Professor was bathing at the flood house without hot water.

We also learned when the brand new clothes dryer wasn't drying our clothes that the dryer vent pipe going through the ceiling was completely clogged. The Professor and I discovered this about midnight one night. Yes, we were up in the attic above the second floor banging around trying to unclog the vent pipe. Oh my! If only I had a video camera going. I know that was a sight to see!

Our Roommates were the smart ones during all these mishaps and stayed with friends. I have to say they were great Roommates. They experienced us at our worst and still speak to us! At this point, we are more like family. We have shared way too much together. We often joked, "What happens in the Buckles' house stays in the Buckles' house." We really thought we should have our own reality show.

Our Roommates were with us until mid January 2018. No, their house is still not finished. They moved into their upstairs with the downstairs still under construction. They are hopeful that it will one day be finished.

We are still working on both of our houses. The Professor's primary focus has been the flooded house and mine the new house. However, we have each done work at both houses. Our former church, FBC Humble, blessed us greatly by providing for the flooded house all of the insulation and sheetrock. They went a step further and lined up a work crew from New Jersey to install the insulation and sheetrock. The Professor has acted as our general contractor. He has spent many hours cleaning and doing what jobs he can do himself. The rest he has hired various workers to do. I have spent my time making our new house our home. I have been to a lot of antique/junk stores. I thoroughly enjoy finding a great bargain! We still have a ways to go on both houses, but we are getting closer every day. Our prayer is that we can get the flood house back on the market sooner than later and that it will sell!

There are several things that stand out in my mind for which I will forever be grateful.

• The friends who stocked our frig and pantry at the new house.
• The friends who washed all of my muddy dishes.
• Those who brought us meals for weeks after the flood.
• Those whom I do not know that sent gift cards in the mail.
• The friend in Oklahoma who took up a collection and had gift cards delivered to her friends who flooded.
• The friend who did my laundry when my new washer and dryer weren't working properly.
• The friends who took Little Man home with them to get him away.
• The friend who let me spend the day at her house doing laundry.
• The friend who went out of her way to bring me chocolate!
• The friend who gave me furniture and left bags of chocolate for me.
• The way our community came together. No one cared about skin color, one's line of work, or  in which neighborhood one lived. We were all flood victims. Love was in abundance. I pray as we move further and further away from the flood that we can keep that love flowing.

You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

LORD my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalm 30:11-12

There is JOY in praising God in all circumstances.

Tami

Then Came Harvey . . . Part 2

We were dropped onto dry land at the community center without any form of transportation, very little battery life in our phones and bad cell service. As we made our way through the center, we encountered people who were just as lost as we were, some even more so. The Professor and I were both trying to find a spot where we could get enough cell service to make a successful call. Inside the building wasn't working. Outside the building it was continuing to rain, very noisy, and still not very successful. We were praying and calling those in our contact list whom we thought could pick us up.

We finally reached Mrs. C. She had become a friend after being Puppy's teacher in various subjects over the last several years. I am certain she never thought she would be taking in her former student's wet, muddy family. Once we reached her by phone, she told us that she would send her husband to pick us up. The only problem was he couldn't make it to the community center. He was directed to go to the middle school that was several blocks away. Our next task was to find a ride from the community center to the middle school.

The people who came out to help those of us who flooded were truly amazing. A couple in a pickup drove up to the community center and announced, "Anybody need a ride?" They were on their way home from the grocery store and decided to see if they could help. Puppy and I climbed into the front seat. Little Man and others were in the back seat. The wife was crammed into a child's car seat while the husband drove. The Professor climbed into the bed of the pickup with others. I don't know the names of that couple or even really remember what they look like, but I am thankful for their kindness.

We arrived at the middle school and Mr. C was there to pick us up. We were very happy to see him. We arrived at the Cs' BRAND NEW home with our wet muddy selves and could not have been more warmly greeted. We removed our shoes in the garage, but I am not certain that really helped any in not tracking through their house. We were covered in sewer water!

We were escorted upstairs to bedrooms and bathrooms where everything was new and shiny. We were told that we could get cleaned up and then go downstairs for something to eat. It felt wonderful to take a shower. It was like washing some of what had happened down the drain. Mrs. C gave us a basket, told us to put our wet clothes in it, and put it outside the bedroom door. A few hours later, she returned to us fresh clean clothes. She also took Mozzy and gave him a bath.

When we went back downstairs, we learned that the C's had also taken in an elderly couple who had truly lost everything. That couples' home was a one story so no moving anything upstairs. When they left their home with the clothes they were wearing, that is all they had. Their daughter lives in the area, but could not get to them because of the flood water.

We stayed with the Cs several days over the next week. They cooked for us, washed our clothes, and let us borrow their car. They were a great blessing when we were truly homeless. We will forever be grateful for the kindness they showed us.

Our "new" house is a couple of miles from our "old" house. For a couple of days, we had no idea if the new house had also flooded. The friends who were going to stay there ended up going to another friend's where there was furniture. The area around the new house was underwater so it was not accessible. We were hopeful that it remained dry.

Once it stopped raining and the water started to recede, our friends went in a canoe to check out the new house for us. We were overjoyed to learn that it did not flood! The house beside it and the houses across the street from it flooded, but our house was high and dry. We had a place to go! Thank you, Jesus!

We jumped into high gear to try to get the new house where we could move into it. We talked to our handyman and asked him to get toilets installed in the bathrooms as soon as the house was accessible by car. A friend let us borrow air mattresses and sheets, and she and her daughter cleaned for us. The house had never been cleaned since the former people moved out and all the construction work had been done. It was a dusty mess to say the least. Again, we are so grateful for the kindness shown to us.

I spoke to my neighbor by telephone numerous times. She and her family had been taken a different direction when they left the neighborhood by boat. They were staying with friends who were also housing several other flood victims. Each of us was trying to keep the other informed of what needed to be done and when we could access our flooded homes. Her husband had been able to go in by boat and sent us a few pictures. When she told me that she had no idea where they were going to go, I immediately told her that they could come to our new house with us.

 

You see, our new house is large. It has a total of six bedrooms, five of which are upstairs along with three bathrooms. Why did we purchase such a large home in great need of repair? I had no idea at the time, but God worked it out for us to purchase it. After the purchase, my prayer was "May this house be a safe haven." A "safe haven"? Why those words? Why were those words put on my heart? Why did I pray those words daily? And, now, here we were going through a flood and had enough space for not only our family of four, but our neighbors as well. We were most definitely in need of a "safe haven". God provided what we needed before we even knew we needed it.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

There is JOY in trusting God to meet my needs.

The story will continue . . .

Tami

Then Came Harvey . . . Part 1

In order to give you, my reader, the full picture of what was going on in our lives and how everything worked out in the aftermath of Harvey, I must first go back to the Spring of 2017 and give you a little background information. The Professor and I love to house shop. Not certain why, we just do. We are always watching the market and looking for a "really good deal". Over the years, we have contemplated purchasing an investment property, but never actually followed through with anything.

There was one house that we watched for a couple of years. It was on the market, then off the market, then on the market again. In trying to work out a deal on that house, we found another house and I fell in love. The Professor liked it, but not as much as I. He was, though, willing to make a low-ball offer. Sadly, someone else was interested in the house and made a higher offer than we did. We were disappointed, but felt it was for the best. We would keep watching the "other" house. A couple of weeks later, we got a phone call from our realtor saying that the offer fell through. We were back in the game if we wanted to be. Of course, I wanted to be! Again, we made a low-ball, as is, offer. It was accepted! Now, we have an investment house that needs A LOT of work just to make it livable. Pretty much everything in the house is broken, doesn't function properly, or is just really really old. We hired a handyman/painter to start to work. Things that we could not do ourselves would get done first and then we planned to complete the remainder. We would continue to live in our current home until the projects at the new house were almost complete then we would put our current home on the market and move into our new house.

That WAS such a great plan. What could possibly go wrong? We spent time making certain our current home was in tip top condition, touched up the paint and replaced a few rotting boards on the outside of the house. We even hired a repairman to get the built-in refrigerator in top working condition. We were set for everything to fall into place.

At the new house, bathrooms had been gutted and remodeled (everything except toilets - we were waiting until the last minute to put in the new toilets). Non-working appliances had been taken out of the kitchen and replaced. The aged faux finish on the kitchen cabinets had been sanded off and everything painted a crisp white. We were moving forward. We were only a few weeks away from being able to move into the new house. It was time to put our current house on the market.

Summer was coming to an end. What perfect timing. We had our current house on the market, we were finalizing everything in the new house, and we were planning to move in the Fall when the temperature was a little cooler. How exciting!

Then, news of Harvey forming out in the Gulf was all over the news. He was going to hit Texas and hit Texas in a big way, but he wasn't going to get close to us. We didn't need to worry. As time progressed and we saw that the Houston metroplex was in fact going to get a lot of rainfall, we talked to several friends who were told they would definitely flood. Even though our new house wasn't furnished and only one of the bathrooms had a toilet, we offered it to friends who were forced to evacuate their home. We had taken The Professor's truck to the new home, but then decided it best to bring it back to our current home just in case we were to need it. Still, though, we were not concerned. Our house was not in a flood zone. It hadn't ever flooded.  We didn't need to worry. Flooding happened to other people, not us!

On Monday, August 28, 2017, when the golf course behind our home and 90 percent of our yard had disappeared under the water, we started to be concerned for ourselves. The Professor and I discussed the situation and we decided we should probably leave. First, though, he thought it best to drive out of our neighborhood and assess the situation. The Professor drives a 4X4 equipped with an off-road package so he thought we would be good to go, but wanted to make certain. He was only gone a few minutes when he came back to say that the water was already too high on the street that leads out of our neighborhood for us to safely leave. We needed to stay put and ride it out.

Thankfully, I had been to the grocery store and bought a supply of nonperishable food and water just in case we lost electricity. We decided that we should take those items, as well as anything else of great importance, upstairs. We were doing this just as a precautionary measure. We weren't going to actually flood. But, with the very slim chance that we might flood, I put plastic trash sacks on the legs of the dining table. I was being prepared! Our home was split level in that the Professor's office was up four steps from the main floor. We decided - again, as a precautionary measure - to move anything we could carry up to his office. Even if water did start coming into our home, there was no way it would get that high. The Professor and I also decided it was probably best if we and the dog slept upstairs - just as a precautionary measure.

I couldn't sleep. Every time I put my head on the pillow, I would think of something else that I needed to grab - just as a precautionary measure. We weren't really going to flood. About midnight, my phone range. It was my neighbor saying her house was taking in water. I went downstairs to find that our house was also taking in water. It was a moment of disbelief, shock, urgency, all rolled into one. Everything that we could carry had to go up, either on top of counters or all the way upstairs.

I had called my brother earlier in the evening and he advised that we shut off power to the house for safety reasons. The Professor, Puppy, and I worked all night in the dark splashing through rising sewer water carrying load after load up the stairs. Little Man was fast asleep in his bed unaware of what was taking place. It was unbelievable how quickly the water was rising. One minute, it was coming in under the door and the next it was almost to my knees. Thankfully, we took all of our clothes, shoes, important papers, computers, and every cherished item we could think of upstairs. Items that we didn't want ruined, but were not as cherished, were placed on top of the kitchen counters. Even though the water was coming in quickly, it definitely wouldn't get that high. Would it? Yes, yes, it would get even higher than the kitchen counters.

The sounds. Will we ever forget the sounds? Air being sucked out of kitchen cabinets as they filled with water. Car horns going off as cars were dying under the water. The breaking of glass and crashing of furniture as it was knocked over.

As the sun was rising on Tuesday, August 29, 2017, I was sitting in Little Man's room staring out the window in the direction of the street that leads into our neighborhood. There is only one street in and out of our little two-street section. Little Man had awakened at some point in the night scared. Once the water was too high and we determined it unsafe to try to save anything else, I had stayed in his room to be close to him. As the day started and I could see out, I started watching the street. A neighbor who has a boat left the neighborhood. Other neighbors, one street over, went out on a jet ski. I saw a canoe float by upside down. I later learned that the canoe had tipped over with a friend's brother and his wife inside. They had to grab ahold of a tree until they could be rescued, which was quite some time later.

At this point, I knew that the only way we were getting out was by boat. I had looked downstairs and the water was to the top of our kitchen counters and still rising. It had reached The Professor's office. From Puppy's bathroom window I could see that the water was up over the hood of  The Professor's truck. My SUV was in the garage out of sight. From every window all we could see was dirty nasty water.

My neighbor called to say that the battery in her phone was going dead and to please not leave without her family. Puppy had discovered that we could charge our phones using her computer so I was able to get enough charge to still be able to use my phone. At this point, I could not get a call or text to go out, but I could use FaceBook. I found that to be rather crazy.

The outpouring of support from those on FaceBook was such a blessing. I started receiving messages from people assuring me that they were working on getting a boat to us. I had numerous offers from people saying that once we got out we could go to their home. I even had an offer from someone whom I have not met in person! A high school friend offered to come from Oklahoma with his boat to get us if we were not rescued soon.

Our neighbor returned with his boat. He first went to the house across the street from us. I was able to communicate with him from Little Man's bedroom window. He assured me that he would get to us. I never felt scared nor that we were in danger. We were safe upstairs. Even though the water was continuing to rise, we were up high.

Then, the boat came. I will never forget Guy from Longview and his son-in-law, Daniel, the firefighter from Corsicana. We were their first rescue. They heard the need, hitched up the boat, and drove to Houston to help. They put the boat in the water, started driving and landed in front of our house.

We grabbed a few changes of clothes, our toothbrushes, and headed out. When I stepped off of the step onto the main level of our house, the water was up to my chest. I was holding my arms straight up with a bag of clothing over my head. Our dining table - you know, the one with the plastic bags on the legs, LOL - was floating past me. I thought that I could put my stuff on top of it and use it like a raft. Uhh, no, that does not work! It started to sink so I abandoned that idea. The entryway to our house was built up a couple of steps. It was nice to be able to step up a little bit once we were across the living room.

Guy pulled his boat up to our front steps as close as he could get it. Daniel jumped down into the water. He first took our dog, Mozzy, and got him to the boat. He then grabbed me under the arms and carried me to the boat. He apologized for how he carried me! Definitely no apology necessary. I was good with any way he wanted to get me out of that water! Next, he carried both of my kids to the boat. We were so thankful to see those two guys that we were almost giddy!

It was a small boat, not meant for many passengers. Little Man, Mozzy and I crammed into a seat. Puppy was on the floor. The Professor and Daniel were on the front of the boat. Guy was driving.

Being that Guy had not previously been to our neighborhood, he had no idea where the street actually was nor where mailboxes were located. The Professor was directing him around mailboxes and telling him which direction to go to get us out of the neighborhood. The Professor and Daniel had to duck when we went under power lines! The current was so strong at one point that Guy had to really rev up the motor just to make it through the current. We were boating down the street passing other boats. Everywhere we looked it was under water. It was unbelievable!

We finally reached dry land and were dropped at the local community center. We were wet, cold, had very little battery life left in the phone, and spotty cell coverage. We had no idea what would happen next. All we knew is that we were on dry land and were safe.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 and 6

There is JOY in standing on dry land!

You will have to come back for the rest of the story . . .

Tami