4 cars, 6 kids, 2 dogs and a tortoise

4 cars, 6 kids, 2 dogs and a tortoise

When it had become clear that Hurricane Florence was an actual threat, and mandatory evacuations were being put into place for the coastline, we made the decision to evacuate. Within a day we had packed up everything of value in rubbermaid bins, covered the piano and drums with tarps, packed up the dogs and the tortoise, left the stray cats plenty of food outside, fed the fish enough to make them triple in size, and left the house at night to head for the mountains ahead of the evacuation traffic. We had a four car convoy heading out into the night. Strange - the actual possibility of losing our home here in SC or suffering serious damage was fairly easy to digest. We were all in a place of complete trust that God would provide what we needed if and when we needed it and we were ready. In fact, we were actually looking forward to the possibility of starting over. My deal with God on that trip was, “take the house and everything in it - just keep my kids safe!” Especially since two of our adult children weren't going to be with us. At 3am, we ascended our favorite mountain road in NC exhausted and stressed after having found our way through the foggy, freshly paved (therefore missing any reflective paint or lane divisions) roads. The next day we heard of a friend in need of a place to go so we welcomed her and her husband to join us. They came the following night. 
What started out as a forced vacation, turned into a three week forced exile. We watched everything unfold via The Weather Channel, from a safe distance. We spent quality time together, got to know our friends a bit better, watched a lot of movies, had a lot of bonfires, lots of library time, and of course some adventures. My husband had to commute during the week to get his business up and running again. Each time filling us in on the road closures, flooding and mayhem going on back at home. When enough roads were open and stores had supplies again, we made the trip ourselves. Coming home was difficult to say the least. When you get to spend time up the mountain, physically and spiritually, it is always so hard to come back down. We are thankful that our home suffered no major damage. A lost shutter, some lifted siding, and a pool full of yard debris are all we had to deal with from the storm. So many are in such worse shape. We are still unpacking and putting our home back together on the inside, while many are trying to find what’s left of their home on the outside. Thank you, Lord, for Your protection and providence. Help us to do what we can to help others who have lost so much. As the flood waters continue to recede, help us to be patient. It will be a long time before our county is back to normal. I am grateful for lessons learned and priority adjustments made. Thank you to all of our friends and family who kept us in your thoughts and prayers! We appreciate you! May God Bless you and keep you! Now back to unpacking…….