Flash floods and rainbows

So much has happened this past week it's hard to know where to begin.  My grandparents came to stay with us and the kids enjoy their company so much.  Kinlee just adores grandma Bet and insisted on sleeping by her the first night they got there.  Rory was gone hunting so we were on our own.  We went to my mom's house Friday night for dinner and got home late.  I ran over to Debbie's for something (I don't even remember what now) and was visiting with her when Kadee came in holding her chest and crying.  She said she went to plug the TV in her bedroom in and was shocked by the outlet.  Her chest was really red and blistered so I decided to take her to the ER to have her checked.  They got her right back and did an EKG to make sure the shock hadn't affected her heart in any way.  Everything looked good so they monitored her for a few hours and then sent us home.

 

Saturday evening the floods came.  It was about 11:00 pm when Debbie called me to tell me our old house (the house we sold just a month ago) and all the houses down there were flooded out.  They had to back a truck up to grandma Rhea's porch just to get her out of her house.  I couldn't sleep so I actually went to Wal Mart at 3:00 am to buy muck boots because I knew we would need to spend the next day cleaning up mud and water.  When I got down there Sunday morning I wasn't prepared for what I saw.  My former neighbors had ponds in their yards and driveways that went up to my thighs, all of their basements had at least 5 ft of water in them and the damage done by the floods was unreal. I was so discouraged on Sunday and broke down in tears, there were tons of volunteers and we had been there for hours, but I didn't know how the neighborhood would ever recover.  I decided then and there I would do whatever I could to help them get back on their feet.  I'm not trying to brag, just trying to document everything.  We cleaned for days, so many people helped, we washed pictures and were able to save 100's of photos, we washed clothes, tons of people donated food, babysitting services, blankets, towels, whatever they could.  We were able to set up an account to donate to the flood victims and all worked together to get the neighborhood cleaned up.  We were even able to get a fundraiser going at the elementary school to help the flood victims.  The kids paid a dollar a day to wear a hat to school and donated canned goods.  By Friday we had made a world of difference, I'm so grateful to live in an amazing community.  Everyone came together and supported each other and I was so impressed by the love and kindness.  There is still so much work to do, but our spirits were lifted and we could see the progress made.  Governor Herbert came to tour the damage and give the flood victims a little pep talk.  He was a very nice man and it was a pleasure to meet him.       

A few pictures of clean up.  I bought Uncle Roger Depends Underwear because he jokingly told me that was the most important thing he lost in the flood. 

Branch Family helping clean up

Sunday morning as clean up began

Gov. Herbert, me and Kadee.