First of all, THANK YOU to everyone that has called or emailed to check on us. I am amazed at the friends/family that have checked in...those in other states are even hearing about our situation...it is pretty amazing.
Now, onto our flooding experience. We returned home from grandma's party on Sunday afternoon to find that our sump pump couldn't keep up with the rain while we were gone (I've heard we got somewhere between 4 & 7 inches). I feel we were really lucky...the water was only in our utility area & basement bathroom (that was dry by the time we got home). There was also wet carpet in our 2 storage rooms and a VERY small part of our family room in the basement. Scott pulled stuff up to the garage while I ran to get a Rug Doctor to suck the water up. Right now everything is dry, but we are still running fans, the AC & dehumidifier to ensure it is really dry.
On Monday, I had a couple of errands to run & on my way home, I couldn't get down a road due ot a creek being out of it's banks. We hoped on the Interstate and went around town rather than through town to get home. I was SHOCKED at what we saw. I've NEVER seen that much water in my life. It was just feet from going onto the interstate. Allie had dance downtown later that afternoon so Jake & I wandered about 3 blocks to check out the river. It was truly amazing how much water there was.
On Tuesday morning I found out that the Interstate was closed due to flooding. Also, Scott called to tell me that the downtown area was evacuating and that I should fill water bottles and bath tubs just in case we lose water/power. I also decided to take some extra precautions since things weren't sounding good on TV. I had also spoke to a friend who's husband works for the city & he was concerned...that concerned me!
On Tuesday afternoon, I took Jake to baseball practice across town & encountered flood street after flooded street. A usual 10 minute drive took me about 30 minutes due to detours. There were more evacuations...the river was projected to either break or go over the levy & flood downtown. At that point, I decided to have a plan in place in case the worst happened...what would I need to take out of town & where would I go. I didn't think that the water would actually get to us...but would I want to have the kids here with no power/unsafe drinking water?? The answer was definitely NO!!
By Tuesday night, the news wasn't getting any better. Scott got home from work & immediately went to help sandbag the levy. The crest was quickly approaching & they needed volunteers. When he returned home he said that the water wasn't far from the top of the levy & he hoped the river was done rising.
We awoke this morning to find that the levy held tight, the river crested & the downtown was o.k. To the north of the river wasn't so lucky...I've heard it is a mess. The school to the north has water in it & homes are gone. Two of my co-workers lost their homes & all of their possessions. It is simply amazing!
Right now...we are just waiting to see what the weather does. We have heavy rain in the forecast through Friday. The news is saying that the river could re-crest again later in the week so the sandbagging is continuing to ensure the levy stays put. We haven't lost power in my area & our water is still safe. We have had some email/internet/cable interferences off & on, but that has even been minimal.
Thank you again for your calls/emails. I'm planning to update this site daily to inform everyone what is going on....if we have internet!
GRANDMA IS 80!!
My paternal grandmother, Marge turned 80 years old last week. She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and in-laws. We had a "small" family party for her at my parent's house. It was wonderful to be with everyone...our visits are few & far between as we all grow older & move further and further away from each other. There were only a few missing (I think just 4 couldn't make it). We made time for a family picture and my cousin Trish made a WONDERFUL DVD with tons of old pictures of our family. It was so fun to watch! We are looking forward the next time we can all get together again.
OTHER STUFF
- Jake started baseball.
- Allie started softball.
- Both kids started swimming again.
- Allie is going to a friend's b-day party tonight.
- Some very SAD news, a student in Allie's class was diagnosed with Burkitts Lymphoma (non Hodgkins). He is Stage 2 and they believe it is confined to his neck. It is an aggressive form of cancer, but his prognosis is good. He started chemo yesterday and will continue to do so for 6 months or so.
I'll post pics later today or tomorrow...my computer isn't letting me today!
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