FLOOD

Well, I woke up yesterday morning and looked out the bathroom window to see a pond where the street used to be. We had almost four inches of rain overnight, and we were looking at a flood. The neighbors all said, and I knew previously, that our house has never flooded. It is too high up. But when the water is encroaching your space, you start to worry.

This picture is the part of our yard that borders the lake. The little inlet is a staircase that leads down to a lower level of grass that stretches at least 8 feet before we enter the water on our DOCK. Thankfully, among many blessings, the dock is still there. At least the frame is. The boards actually floated away several days ago. John saw the metal poles coming up out of the water as it has receded quite a bit since this morning. You can see a couple boards of our swing on the left there. That used to be on the right side of the yard. Again, I'm thankful we didn't lose it.


This is the view I woke up to, minus the dump truck. There is usually a big grassy lot on the right of the street that the city maintains where many people come to fish and enjoy the nice summer days. That was completely under, and it spilled out into the street. The city employees worked very hard yesterday morning building up a berm with lots and lots and lots of dirt. The Creek that feeds our lake crested at around 10 a.m., so we felt we were going to be okay. And we were. Praise the Lord.

I have to say, it was a very unsettling feeling. I mean, we started trying to haul things from our basement just in case, and it is a very defeating feeling. What do you grab? It's just very overwhelming.

Austin had a huge flood like this just a few years back. Much of downtown was under water yesterday, and I'm sure they still are today. I know that some businesses had moved after the last big flood, and I'm sure they are thankful today. The ones that didn't were deep under water. One gas station was really buried. If I were a gas tank (and thankfully, I am not), the water would have been up to my neck. And that was around noon. The river flooding that area wasn't supposed to crest until 10 p.m. last night. Very sad situation.


Now on a funnier (definitely not happier) note, I wanted to share this picture of my youngest. Here is how the story goes: It was a laundry day, and we were folding up the laundry and putting it into piles on the couch. We were having a good time and working together, in the way that I had to pick up and fold everything Gertie folded. Andyway, when it came time to carry it upstairs, Gertie wanted to carry her own pile. It had severel things in it, but she is small, and her clothes are small, so I agreed. On the way up the steps she dropped a pair of panties. AND I PICKED THEM UP! That was the beginning of a major meltdown that lasted a good screaming twenty minutes. She finally got to the top of the steps and laid her head down on her pile of laundry, refusing to move--or do anything for that matter.

Well, I know from personal experience that nothing cheers you up more when you are furious than having your picture taken. So I obliged...
And I'm anxious to get my little ball player on the blog as well, but I need to work on some good pictures. He's been doing a great job this year. He is hitting with a bit more power and makes some smart plays out there. I'll get something going here soon.