Many Places to Call Home

It's been a little over 3 weeks since we evacuated and left our home due to flooding. While we have made a lot of progress on the house, we still have not been able to move back in.

I have been staying with different friends for two or three nights in a row, and then I head to another house. I have stayed at 8 different homes over the past 3 weeks! Each home has made me feel very welcome with a bed, food, good company, and telling me I can come back any time.

My parents have stayed with two different families and have plans to head to another home next week. Once we have insulation, sheet rock, hot water, and a fridge and microwave, my parents and I might consider moving back into our house. For now, we are thankful for the many friends that have shared their homes with us!

Squeaky Clean

Our house is looking better! Mom has gone out of control with the pressure washer, cleaning off the driveway, the outside of the house, the basement, and the inside of the house! That wasn't enough, however, and when my grandparents and Dad's aunt and uncle came to help yesterday, that scrubbed the two by fours with a toothbrush! Our windows and screens are now clean as well, and we enjoy a patio with clean furniture each night for dinner.

Now that everything is cleaned and sanitized, we have been working to dry everything out. We did restore electric yesterday, so we have plenty of fans running and dehumidifier. We also fired up the wood stove to help dry out the basement.

The electrical wires still need to be replaced, and I believe the next step after that is insulation and sheet rock - once everything is dried out enough. A family friend has been working on the electric, and a guy from my parents' church knows someone that wants to sheet rock for us and only charge for materials. They plan to meet with him next week to discuss that process.

Our needs have continued to be provided! The Red Cross came around each night with hot meals, but last night was the final night for those, so now we'll have to get creative. We have applied for a handful of grants and rebates and even have over $500 toward food stamps we can use the next few months - we're thinking Thanksgiving and Christmas!

The flowers in the picture above were given to us by a church in the area. They sure bring some cheerfulness to our yard! We have been so blessed throughout this whole experience, and Mom and I were even having some fun last night dreaming up our new home - we have a lot to look forward to after all the hard work that will go into this house!

Cheering as Alumni

Four years ago, Lindsey and I got pom poms at Homecoming. We headed back 4 years later to cheer on the Raiders at the Homecoming soccer game!

Nate and I headed up to Rochester on Friday night. We stayed at my friend, Jillian's, new apartment real close to campus. We participated in Homecoming activities all day, starting with a grand tour of campus for Nate. He also met several of my friends and professors that made my time at Roberts memorable. We celebrated the business department's 30 anniversary and watched some soccer games. The weather forecast called for rain all day, but we enjoyed sunshine and blue skies!

Nate ate his first garbage plate for dinner, and we went to Cobbs Hill Park for the sunset. We went back to campus for LIVE, the entertaining talent show students put on every year. Let me just say that one of my kids is going to be in a professional jump roping competition someday - you should youtube it!

A couple friends joined us at Jillian and Justin's place for the evening, and we stayed up talking until after 2:00! It was great to catch up and have some girltime again!

After enjoying crepes for a Birthday Breakfast, Nate and I went to Browncroft for church. We grabbed lunch afterward, and then headed back to Binghamton. It was nice to have a weekend away, but we did make it home in time to help my parents with the house Sunday night. Our weekend together ended with stargazing at Nate's house - it was such a clear night, and we saw 5 shooting stars!

It was fun to attend my first Homecoming as an alum, and I enjoyed showing Nate some of what my college years were like.

Heading to Homecoming

It's Homecoming weekend at Roberts, and I've had it on my calendar for a long time! When this whole flood thing came up, I wasn't sure I would still be able to go, depending on the status of the house. Since we got a lot of work done last weekend, I am able to take a break this weekend and head up to Rochester to spend time with friends up there.

I have not been to Rochester since June, so it will be great to see friends again. There are activities on campus all day Saturday, and I have a list of people I want to be sure to see! The business department is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, so I'm planning to go to their dessert reception and catch up with some professors too.

Nate is coming up with me, so I'll have to show him around Rochester a bit and introduce him to garbage plates! It will be fun to have him meet my friends and get a sense for how I spent my college years.

The weekend away will be a nice break from all the flood clean up back home, and it will be neat to attend Homecoming as an alum!

Good Night's Sleep

I have been staying at different homes all month since being displaced by the flood. Many friends have offered for me to stay with them, so I have been traveling around.

Despite not having a place to really call home, I have slept well at every house I have been to - a little too well the other night! I actually overslept and was an hour late for work! While I don't intend to make that a habit, I am glad that I am sleeping well and resting up for the day's many activities.

A good night's sleep will definitely be important in the weeks so come. My parents and I have been putting in a full day's work at our regular jobs, and then heading to the house to work until dark. After that, it's time to deal with laundry, phone calls, paperwork, and touching base with family and friends. Pray we will continue to make sleep a priority to energize us for these long days!

Back to Work

We all went back to work this week - including my dad! He has been unemployed for almost two years. He had started expanding his job search to outside the area, and my mom was beginning to think what life would look like if they had to relocate.

Just as Dad was interviewing for a job in Maryland, the director of Arrowhead Camping Ministries approached him about a position with their organization. The Business Manager would oversee the two camps and Christian bookstore involved in this ministry. After a few conversations and a shut door with the job in Maryland, my dad is now the newest staff member with Arrowhead! He started his job on Monday, learning about the financials of the organization. He was a little overwhelmed after day one with so much information to process, but he is very excited about this opportunity that the Lord provided.

My dad is facing many changes right now with this new job and the house project. Pray that he can find the right balance between the two. We are thankful that the job in Maryland did not work out - it would be awfully hard to sell our house right now!

Many Hands and an Empty House

We have had a busy 3 days! We have been so encouraged by the many willing hands that have come to help clear out our house. That was our task Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - and the job is done!! The basement and first floor of our house are down to cement walls and two by fours. We will let it all dry out while we determine the next step.

FEMA did come evaluate our house yesterday, so we will wait to hear back about the assistance they will offer. It will probably take a week for the ground water to go down and really dry out the basement, and soon after that we hope to restore the electric.

Above is me with my friend, Amanda. She has been just one of the many that have helped with this process! I'm bad at estimating, but I would say we've had 30-40 people come out to help - what a blessing! Below is the "toss" pile that so many people helped us bring out from the house over the past 3 days.

We left the house tired and exhausted last night, but encouraged by the love and support others have shown. We're working on the house again this afternoon and hope to get a plan in place for our next steps.

Pray we can find a good balance between working on the house, our regular jobs, and taking time for rest to renew our energy. We still have a long road ahead and many decisions will need to be made in the weeks to come.

Happy Home Owners

Today was the day! We got back into our house to start clearing things out. Dad was able to get in around 11:00, and Mom left work and arrived soon after. They called me around noon to say they could use my help. I ate my lunch, changed into dirty clothes, and headed out. I was on a mission to find rubber boots because it sounded like rubber boots, masks, and gloves are required when working in our area. I picked up several pairs from a family from church, then headed to another church to get more bleach.

I arrived at the house and helped make some decisions about items to keep. Then we began clearing everything out. Little by little, many helping hands came to work on our home. We cleared out cupboards and drawers and moved the large pieces of furniture. Next thing I knew, the guys were tearing down the walls! We just about gutted the entire first floor - and there's a huge pile of trash to prove it!

The basement is still full of water. It has only gone down to about the fifth step from the top. I did peek down there, and there is insulation floating around, and the ceiling is gone. That will be a big project for another day!

These happy home owners are hanging in there. I know they were glad to finally get in the house! While it was sad to see things go, they were able to do what needed to be done tonight and kept people organized. There will be many decisions to make in the weeks and months to come, and little by little they will see this house become a home again!

Focusing on What is Unseen

A friend and co-worker reminded me of some verses today that had not come to my mind yet. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."

This picture was taken in the Binghamton area last week and shared on Facebook. Despite the devastation that was sweeping through our area, we had some neat skies to enjoy each night! Our surroundings were muddy and damaged, but the sky was gorgeous - how much more beautiful will our home in heaven be! Though things around us are wasting away, we have Christ's love inside of us, renewing us daily as we focus on eternity with Him!

My other co-workers also blessed me today. Emily popped into my office with a basket full of goodies, giftcards, and notes from those I work with. It was so thoughtful and an encouragement to me. I only brought practical items with me from home, so the fun items in the basket will be enjoyable. Our family is seeing our needs being met, and my co-workers have been very loving all week!

God has been using others to provide encouragement to renew our spirits each day!

A Look Inside

After seeing our backyard on Sunday evening, my dad was determined to get back to the house yesterday! After being turned away twice by the police, he walked into the neighborhood using the rail trail, hopping fences, and walking through back yards. I called him after work yesterday, and he answered his phone with, "Laura, I'm in the house!"

He took pictures and grabbed a few things from upstairs. Here's a look at what the flood left behind. Above is our kitchen. The fridge flew open, sending food everywhere! There is still sitting water that we will have to deal with when we can really start clearing things out.

Here's our dining room - lots of family time has been spent around that table. And check out the wood floor! It just completely buckled and pushed stuff around! I was not expecting that. You can see the water mark on the wall in the corner.

Here is our piano in the front room. Each of us girls learned how to play on this piano. Many family and friends have enjoyed hearing music come from those keys over the years. Sadly, I think it has played its last tune.

My parents tried to get back to the house today, but the police have tightened up security. There was a problem with some of the sewage lines, so there is sewer water mixed in with the mess, causing a major health hazard for our area. There is still sitting water in the road, so there is no where to toss stuff or to drain water to. We have many willing hands eager to help clear out our house, but for now, we will have to continue to wait. The longer we wait, the more chance there is of our house being condemned after the foundation has just been sitting in water for so long. Many homes in our area have already been condemned, so pray that ours will be structurally safe when we can get back in.

It was good to get a glimpse of the house so we can better plan for how to tackle the big project we have ahead of us!

Our True Shelter

In church yesterday there was a song on the screen titled, "Made Me Glad." I immediately thought of the kids' song, "He has made me glad, He has made me glad, I will rejoice for He has made me glad!" and I wondered how they were expecting us to joyfully sing that after all that has happened in our area with the flooding and remembering that it was September 11th!

We did not end up singing the song together, but simply listened as the instruments played with the words displayed on the screen. After reading the words, I wished we had been singing the song together! The chorus was very fitting and a good reminder of who our hope rests in. Read some lyrics below, and listen to the whole song here.

You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Those words, "my shelter" really hit home as my earthly shelter has been taken from me for the time being. However, I have not been without shelter. The Lord has provided many friends in the area where I have been able to stay, and I have not been without a meal or clothing!

The verse at the top is Psalm 46:1, and that whole passage has stuck out to our family. My younger sister, Julie, is away at school in Pittsburgh. As soon as she found out about the flooding, she organized a prayer night on her campus. A friend of hers read Psalm 46, reminding us that God is mightier than anything that happens on earth, and we can rest in His strength. He is God and is in control!
We will continue to look to God during this time and thank Him for His provisions!

A Glimpse of the Backyard

I spent all day with friends from church cleaning out three homes in the area. We were about done for the day when I got a text from a friend in Virginia. She had heard that they were letting people on Old Vestal Road to see their houses! I headed over that way with a few friends and drove into my neighborhood. You still needed a boat to get down Second Ave, but we walked through some backyards to check out my family's backyard.

You can see from the picture above where the water line was - a little higher than halfway up the windows. That's higher than I was expecting - over the couches, counter tops, and dining room table. We won't know the extend of the damage until we can get into our house, which might not be until the end of the week. There is still a lot of water that needs to be let out.

It was kind of crazy helping people clear out their houses today, realizing that I will be doing that soon, but with my own belongings. It might be a little harder to toss those items to the curb when I recognize them and appreciate memories behind them. I did, however, come up with a few "flood clean up" tips for when it's our turn!

My church has already been very helpful. They set up a distribution site in our gym where flood victims can receive needed items. I swallowed my pride this morning, walked in, and asked for help. I was able to pick up cleaning supplies, toiletries, clothing, and bottled water. I also put our family's home on a list to eventually receive assistance. They can most likely hook us up with pumps, generators, and willing hands when the time comes. It's so neat to see the body of Christ coming together to help those in need!

Since we cannot get back into our home yet, I am planning on going back to work in the morning. My boss has been gracious and already told me I can take time off as needed to help with the house. It will be hard to balance "normal life" with dealing with this house. It will be interesting to see what these next few months look like as we find our new normal.

The Rains Came Down

"The rains came down and the floods came up."

Remember that childrens' song?

The last line says, "But the house upon the Rock stood firm."

We were able to see our house from the highway today! Thankfully, it has stood firm despite all this rain and flooding. Ours is the white house in the middle of this picture with the three windows across the top. Looks like the water is part way up the front windows. Our bedrooms should be dry on the second floor!

There is a meeting tonight for Vestal residents. Hopefully we will find out when they think we will be able to get back in. The water is coming down so slowly, so it will be a while.

We have had so many friends express interest in helping us out when the time comes. We'll spend a lot of time deciding to "toss or keep" items in our house. We had a finished basement full of books, toys, electronics, craft supplies, Christmas decorations, and more. We're thinking we'll just gut it all and leave it as storage. We're not sure what the first floor will look like - a lot from there will probably have to be tossed too. It is all just stuff, but some of that stuff has years of memories attached to it. We did bring the photo albums up to the top floor!

It was good to see our house today and know it's still standing! It might be a while before it feels like "home" again though.

And Now We Wait

The rain has stopped, but there is still lots of water all over the Binghamton area! Roads, businesses, and schools are closed. Some of those schools will not open this entire school year, and I bet many businesses will decide to close their doors for good.

This flood has affected so many people! We stopped by the shelter area at Binghamton University today (as pictured above). It has reached its max capacity at 1,600 people. Those people have nothing to do but wait until they are allowed to go back to their homes to see what damage has been done. Many were sleeping, some watching TV or playing games, just waiting to head back home.

While we are waiting to get back to our house, we've been anxious to see or hear the status of our area. We have driven out that way a couple of times, but roads are still closed, so we are unable to see anything. My mom did talk to someone who had been out on a boat on the road next to us - water was up to the first floor of those houses. Our road sits even lower, so we are expecting it to be bad! We're not sure when we will be able to get back into our area, but it will be quite a chore to go through all of our ruined belongings and make decisions about the house.

While BU has been a safe place for many, we're thankful for the home we have been able to stay in! We still have power, water, and internet. We've stayed connected with family and friends, and are thankful that we are safe as we wait to head back home.

Facing a Flood

It has been raining in the Binghamton area all week. We faced a flood back in 2006, and I was not expecting to face another this week. Schools let students out around noon yesterday, and my work let us go home around 1:30. I took a different route home due to roads being closed and saw some places underwater already.

My family and I had a normal night around the house, just bailing water out of the window well every few hours. We got a phone call during dinner saying if you were evacuated in 2006, you should prepare to leave. We did evacuate in 2006, but nothing happened to the house, so we decided to stay. A fireman came to the door around 8:00 that evening telling us to evacuate. We signed papers saying we had chosen to stay. After watching the news, Mom and I decided we wanted to head out to a friends' house for the night. We packed up around 10:30 when firetrucks came around with a loud speaker declaring a mandatory evacuation! Dad decided he would come too.

In 2006 we took everything up from the basement to prevent damage, but we did not bother this time, thinking it was a waste during the last flood as nothing happened to our house. We simply left the house with a few clothes, important papers, and the vehicles.

Mom and I headed out, but the road was closed to our friends' house. We called Dad, and he decided to just turn back and wait it out at home. Mom and I tried calling another friend, but it was around 11:30, and she did not answer. We headed to Binghamton University where the Red Cross had a shelter set up. We brought our stuff inside, but they didn't even have cots to sleep on yet. Thankfully, our friend called us back and offered that we could stay at their place. Mom and I headed there for the night, while Dad slept at home.

Mom's phone rang at 5am. It was Dad. The power had gone out and the neighbor's wall had caved in at the foundation. Our road was starting to flood with water coming up the driveway. He was stuck! Another phone call, and he decided to try and get out. He arrived at our friends' house around 6am. We were all safe and together!

We slept a little longer and contacted family and friends with what has been happening. We drove around a bit this morning to check out the river and flooded roads. We tried to go to or at least see our house, but the highway and side roads were all closed. We received word that water is now coming over the flood wall by our house. The rain has stopped, but the rivers are still rising! The water level is expected to be 20 feet higher than flood stage by 8pm tonight!

We do not know what we will come home to or when we will even be able to come home. It was a long recovery for the area back in 2006, but our house was not directly affected. We are expecting our basement to be full, so that will take some work to clean up. We are at peace knowing that our family is safe and our stuff is only temporary anyways. I'll post more updates as we find out more, but pray for the Binghamton area as you think of it!

ABC's of Achieving Your Dreams

With students around here going back to school today, why not talk about the ABC's?

I read a book recently that had the ABC's to achieve your dreams. With all of my goal setting, I appreciated many of the statements that went with each letter of the alphabet:

Avoid negative people and negative habits.
Believe in yourself.
Consider things from every angle.
Dream big!
Enjoy life today and live in the moment.
Family and friends are hidden treasures. Seek them and enjoy their riches.
Give more than you planned to give.
Hang on tight to your dreams.
Ignore "dream destroyers."
Just do it!
Keep on trying. No matter how difficult it seems, it eventually gets better.
Love yourself. The most important opinion you have is the one you have of yourself.
Make it happen.
Never quit, lie, cheat, or steal.
Open your eyes and see things as they really are.
Prepare and practice.
Quitters never win, and winners never quit!
Read, study, and learn about everything important in your life.
Surround yourself with "dream builders."
Take control of your own destiny.
Understand yourself in order to better understand others.
Visualize it.
Want it more than anything.
Xcellerate your efforts.
You are a unique creation of God's. Life the life you have always imagined.
Zero in on your target and go for it!

Now I should go review my list of goals!

15K Training

After running a half marathon last fall, I've done a few smaller races, but have been wanting to train for a longer one! I recruited some friends to do a 5K with me in August, and then found a 15K to run in October! A handful of us decided to train for it and are looking forward to running the 9.3 miles in 5 weeks!

Staying on track with our training schedule, Nate and I ran 5 miles on Monday. I had been wanting to run on the Riverwalk in Binghamton, so we checked that out. Online it said the trail was 1.8 miles one direction. The mile markers on the path went a little past a mile, but then we couldn't figure out which way to go to stay on it! That's when we just decided to make up our own route through Binghamton! We ran around downtown, then past my work, and down Riverside Drive past the hospital, and back to Confluence Park and the walking bridge where we started. Besides the giant cracks on the sidewalk that I tripped over, it was a great route to run. We finished just as the rain started, and now we're ready for a 6 mile run next week!

Watkins Glen

Julie came home to visit for the weekend! I have not seen her since May because she has been out in North Dakota doing a summer internship. After that, she drove straight to her college near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since she had Monday off from classes, her and her boyfriend, Brandon, made the trip up.

After Hurricane Irene changed our original plans, we spent the day hiking at Watkins Glen. Nate and I went with my parents, Julie, and Brandon. We had fun walking through the gorge and enjoying the waterfalls. The one above is Rainbow Falls - my favorite from the day!

Julie and Brandon spent some time in the water and walked the dangerous route for a while - until the got yelled at anyways! Nate and I got some cross training in for our next race by running up each set of stairs we came to! We all enjoyed some lunch after our hike, then headed back home.

We ended our day together playing a card game and eating raspberry pie. It was fun to spend the day with Julie, and I've enjoyed listening to her laugh again around the house!

A Praying Life

I recently finished a book that my sisters gave me for graduation. It was interesting because I had just commented to a friend that I had been struggling with my prayer life, and the book Amy and Julie got me was A Praying Life by Paul Miller.

I was looking forward to reading the book, and a section in the beginning stuck out to me. Miller explained how prayer does not have to differ from a conversation with a friend. If you think about it, a conversation with a friend typically jumps from one topic to the next (and not necessarily with smooth transitions). I often get frustrated when I pray because my mind easily wanders, and I get off topic. However, that's okay. Miller reminds us that, "When it comes to prayer, we just need to get the words out."

Spending any time in prayer, even if it's random or interrupted, is better than spending no time talking to our Father. He wants to hear from us, so we just need to express what's on our heart!