What a difference a year makes

One year ago tonight/tomorrow Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, destroying Galveston and doing significant damage to the Houston area, including our home.

It's kinda crazy to think back to one year and one day ago. We were happily living in TX, finally thinking we were settling into an area we would stay in for many years after three moves in just under three years. The kids were loving their friends and had just started a new school year. Josh was very happy with his new position/promotion. I was newly pregnant as a surrogate for my Intended Parents and looking forward to finally snuggling in to our neighborhood (sealing that with the purchase of the home we were renting when the new year rang in). Things were finally calming down for us--we were all looking forward to some normalcy and a sense of routine.

And then there was IKE...

One year ago tonight, we were battening down the hatches. About 8pm the wind had picked up to about 50 miles per hour and the sky had turned a cloudy pink. We were getting ready to put the kids to bed downstairs with us; we would all be camping out in the livingroom as it was the safest room of the house. We really thought that we would be waking up to some post hurricane mess, but we had no idea how much it would really change our lives.

But as much as Ike was destructive and devastating and exhausting...it's one of the most significant events of our family's lives. We learned from Ike what is REALLY important...and it's not stuff, and it's not a big house and it's not our plan...it's God and family...it's being together, and being thanful for what we have, and trusting that God will provide even when we can't imagine how.

Exactly one year later, I sit here typing on the same blog, but so much else is very different. We own a much more modest home in a new state, we treasure the time we have with all 5 of us together more than ever, and we are focused on getting completely out of debt and staying there. It's a much simpler life and I'm very thankful for where we are and what we've learned. (And no we aren't camping in the livingroom tonight in memoriam of one year ago...everyone is going to sleep in their own rooms and own beds lol.)

(If you are interested, you can use the links on my sidebar to go back in my blog to 2008 and September and scroll thru the pictures and such, especially if you are a new reader and haven't seen them before. It's a crazy story.)