For several days the rains just kept pouring and pouring from the sky. We feel so blessed. Our old neighborhood had few more issues than our new neighborhood. Goobers and Pookers worked hard to get to an HEB everyday. The older two stayed at our house with us. We never lost our power or any utility. That made a huge difference for us! The young adults and teens would go out every day and help anywhere they could. The entire situation is beyond actual description. Facebook pages were filled with people checking in on friends and offering to help. We saw destruction but we also so SO MUCH LOVE of neighbor. I will share various facebook updates. The pictures are not labeled well but know that we survived and we grew in faith because of this. We would never ask for a hurricane and flood, yet we are most grateful that we got to experience the positive side.
Goobers:
"Playing Apples to Apples... these are the cards I got from my parents 
đŸ˜” "
Neen: (8-24)
"All kidding aside, please pray for our area. Please pray for those in Houston and the surrounding areas. The hurricane named Harvey is projected to be a Cat 4 now as it hits Corpus. We are expecting several feet of rain over the next five days, which will result in lots of flooding. This could intensify if the hurricane goes back out over the ocean, re strengthens and then hits land again. It could be very bad for many in this area. I feel safe, as we are north of Houston.
Many of us will probably be without electricity, gas and water for a week if not longer. (Last hurricane was 10 years ago and we were without power for 3 and 1/2 weeks - that was a very long 3 and 1/2 weeks as our temps were humid and in the high 90's.) This is so hard on the young and the old. Please pray for all in our area. Pray for those that protect and care for others like our police, fire, and emt's. The predictions are pretty grim and the stores shelves are bare. On the positive side we are kind of looking forward to some simple days of playing board games and staying at home. Thank you for your prayers."
Neen: (8-25)
"Waiting for a hurricane is like waiting for Christmas without the joy. You run around every where, you spend a fortune, you offer prayers for those traveling and those at home, you prepare food, you rush to finish the laundry before a power outage, you bring live (small potted - not a tree but you understand where I am going) plants into your home, and you clean and reorganize the house. I wish there were presents that fell from the sky instead of the 3 feet of water we are expecting."
Neen: (8-26 AM)
"Saturday 8/26 8 AM So far we all good. Our area has just had lots of rain, but for us it didn't really start until 2 am. The ground is wet and the sky are still pouring the water out, so time will tell. Keep praying and thank you."
Neen: (8-26 PM)
"Saturday 8/26 10 pm As the rain comes down it is awesome to hear the kids laughing and playing. Nothing like a hurricane induced game of Uno and My Little Pony pretending. I worry that this is the calm before it gets bad, but I am very thankful for this time. I love having a house full of happy voices."
A visitor during the rains. Matthew was just getting back in town from a mission trip.
Neen: (8-27)
"Sunday 8/27 6PM. Thank you for the prayers. We are safe. We still have power. We had clear roads enough to take kids to work at the local grocery stores and get them home. We felt like we should help so we went to the local Red Cross shelter. The Red Cross shelter is located at Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic church, one of the two parishes we frequent and are members. The back part of that lot was actually receiving local flood victims by boat. I have never seen anything like that in person before. We were not able to stay and help because the Red Cross had plenty of help for now. Anyway the roads in and out of our neighborhood are still ok. We still have all utilities but are thinking that might change soon. Please don’t watch the news and panic for us. We are in a new home, in a new neighborhood and we are on pretty high ground. We are going to ‘hunker down’. We have plenty of supplies. If we felt it would be safer to leave we would; but right now we are better where we are. We are not near any of the bayous that you are seeing on the news. Everyone is at our house. The stores and schools are closing for the next two days so we will not be leaving our home again soon. Please keep praying especially for those that are not safe. A friend of ours has their one year old son at Texas Children Hospital waiting for open heart surgery. That hospital is next to the one being evacuated. Praying for all of those needing our prayers and thankful for all of you. This is insane, BUT we are SAFE!"
Neen: (8-28)
"Family update Monday 8/28 6 PM. We are safe, dry and everything is still on. We have been keeping up with old neighbors and church friends all day. Our old neighborhood is in bad shape. Right now they can’t get out but some of the houses are filling with water. (Not sure about our old house.) We feel bad that we have only our house to share. It isn’t much but we are going to be welcoming other families in. The videos are not of some random people on tv they are our friends. The buildings are homes that we have spent hours and hours in, not just some place in Houston. This is getting very very personal and it is very depressing. Pooker has friends that are working the 911 call center and they are doing a great job but need our prayers to continue. They are hearing plea after plea, desperate please for help. They have to rate them and move on. It is heart wrenching. Another local hospital has had to close. Then watching a local church go under is just so depressing. St. Ignatius of Loyola has lost everything. The sanctuary is several feet under. Every building has taken on water. This isn’t like the last time we had flood waters in our area, where some areas are effected and others are not. It is all around us. AND IT IS STILL RAINING. Too many friends needing your prayers to tell you about each one, just continue to pray. It might feel like that isn’t helping but it is. It does help us to know that people are outside of this and are praying for us! I can’t explain why but it does help. Thank you and know that we love each of you very much!"
Neen: (8-29)
"Pooker is so good at wording things. I won't even try to reword it, I will just share. Tuesday 8/29 10:30 AM"
Pooker: (8-29)
"We are dry and with power. We're so thankful. So many friends and fellow Texans have lost everything. This is unlike anything I've ever seen. Pray for Houston, the weeks to come are going to be challenging. I will say that these times really do make humans shine. I remember thinking hurricane Ike was so neat because it allowed so many neighbors to come together and take care of each other. Humans will always help humans, It's a natural reaction and things like this bring that to the surface and amidst the devastation, it's a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of.
The volunteer efforts are going to be needed for weeks to come. I know we all want to rush out and help, and that is so noble! I just want to say to pace yourself. We need each other for a long time to come. Make sure you're taking care of yourself, take care of your kids, their little minds are probably not enjoying what they're seeing. People will need you weeks from now as well, so stay patient with each other, check on your neighbors, pray, and take one day at a time. We're going to fix this, dry everything off and make it better than it was before. We'll be back to two steppin and tacos in no time! 
đŸ’™
"
Our old neighbors the LeBlancs watched the water come right up to the front door and a little inside.
Thankfully it receded as quickly as it rose.
Neen: (8-30)
"Family update 8:30 7:15 AM. After a night of some winds we are happy to report that we are still high and dry and have all utilities. We will now begin the process of helping our friends and neighbors clean. Harvey has left the area and the water directly around us has gone down. We feel very safe. Pooker and Goobers plan to go home later today. We played games last night and the twins are incredibly sad that our "hurricane party" is over. Please add Baby Oliver to your prayers. Our one year old friend is having open heart surgery this morning. Thank you all, it helped so much knowing we had support from all over the country. I won't bother you with updates continuously unless something happens. I would never say stop praying for us because we know we are up against a battle digging friends out, helping at the shelters (3 very close to us) and rebuilding. Just know that no news will be good news. Thank you again and we love each of you very much."
Facebook post:
" "Are you getting back to normal?" What a loaded question! We say, "yes" to make you feel better. There is nothing normal about checking Facebook to make sure friends are still alive and if more have checked in with someone. It isn't normal that the previous sentence is not dramatic or an exaggeration. There is nothing normal about the mental list of friends who have lost everything, friends who have lost a few things, and friends that never saw any flood waters but still need support. There is nothing normal about following the weather and the local levies and bridges to make sure that you don't a have a chance of flooding and neither do your friends. There is nothing normal about knowing who is back home and who is still visiting family out of town. There is nothing normal about trying to chase down a trash truck to figure out when they will take the mound of trash building up. There is nothing normal about getting super excited when you see that your favorite Chick Fil A is open and then are disappointed because they don't have your favorite item right now, and they aren't sure when a shipment will get through. There is nothing normal in letting your five year old pack her dearest belongings everytime you get into the car and carry them with her because she has seen others loose all their toys. There is nothing normal about following the latest needs from each shelter and trying to determine how you can assist. There is nothing normal about trying to learn what stores will have milk soon and which one will have bread. There is nothing normal about watching the news to plan the next day based on the safest routes to people who need help. There is nothing normal about seeing pictures of an outdoor Mass full of people on a Friday afternoon outside of a parish building that must be completely rebuilt. There is nothing normal about observing home destruction and the trash piles and thinking, "Oh thank God they are working through this." It isn't normal to sit down on Friday night at 8PM and cry tears of joy as you listen to each member of your family share their adventures of the day, especially when the adventures include ripping up carpet, delivering ice, and painting the fingernails of a young mom in a shelter just to give her five minutes to herself. It might not all be normal but it has been our normal for this first week post Harvey. We are doing great. WE ARE BACK TO NORMAL IT JUST ISN'T THE NORMAL YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT! That normal is probably gone for good. Saturday 8/2 at 9 AM."
I wrote this to identify the conversations that so many of us have been having. You here it every where like at the gas station, parking lot, grocery store, church etc. This is not an exaggeration. In the end the Texas T family is ok, no damage. We are thankful for our safety and health. We are hopeful that we can continue to help others.
Post
Harvey Conversation in Texas:
“Hey,
How are Y'all?”
Translation:
Have you accounted for everyone in your
family?
Did your home flood?
Did your work flood?
Do you or your family help in any way?
I will never be too tired to care?
Possible
answers from friend:
“Yeah,
we're good. Y'all?”
Translation:
We are all good, everyone is safe.
We were high and dry the past week.
Job is good as well, or I have not heard
otherwise.
We have been busy out there pulling
sheetrock down for strangers.
We are thankful that our family is
unscathed and are helping any way we can.
“Uhm,
OK. Y'all?”
Translation:
We had some water damage but everyone is
safe.
Or Mom and Dad / Sister brother had water
damage.
We have it under control.
We have worked non stop.
We have the drywall out and now we will
rebuild. We lost some pictures and
family heirlooms. It hurts but we are so
thankful to have each other. We are
thankful for the opportunity to clean up and make things better. We are incredibly thankful for all the help
from family, neighbors and complete strangers.
Our gratitude is something we can never repay.
Please know that even though we had had a
tough week if you need us, we are there in a heart beat!
“Great,
Y'all?”
Translation:
I have lost everything or almost
everything.
I have lost my car and my home has lots of
damage.
My people are all safe and that is all that
matters.
If you need help let me know because I have
learned a lot and can help in many ways.
“We will be ok, Y'all?
Translation:
This is not good news.
I lost someone I know to the flood waters,
or something related.
I might have lost all my material
possessions or those might all be fine. Doesn’t matter because I lost someone.
I have faith and we will get through.
Pray for me because I am praying for you!
