One Year Ago

This is the one year anniversary of the summer of 2008 floods here in Iowa. It's hard to believe it's been one year already! It seems like yesterday that we were hauling out wet and muddy items, ripping up hardwood floors, and powerwashing walls. Pretty incredible. For those of you who weren't following my blog during that time, last June, Iowa was hit with horrific flooding. It wiped out so much - many are still homeless. Our family was hit directly - our entire basement and a portion of our main floor was flooded - and my grandparents and aunt and uncle were also hit. But the Lord has provided for all of us in an incredible way - we are so thankful! Many people are still hurting and without homes - still be praying for them! Here is a video that was made last year by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries - it interviews people from our home church (as well as my dad) about the floods. Remember to pause the music on my sidebar! If the video decided not to work, then you can watch it at this link.



Here are some pictures of the flood.....

A very special thank you again to the team that came from Knoxville, Iowa to help us! As we reflect again on that time, we are so grateful for your help and realize that we couldn't have accomplished nearly that much if it weren't for you! Thank you!

Also, thanks to David and Kirk for providing us with these pictures that they took while they were here.

All of our ruined piano music

Trying to salvage what we can

Another BIG thank you to Megan and Caleb, who came up and helped us tremendously! Thank you so much, guys! We couldn't have done it without you!

So again, a big thank you to EVERYONE who helped us! There are just too many to name, but we appreciate each and every one of you!!

This Sunday, Iowa Holiness Association Campmeeting starts - please be in prayer for this incredible week!

Flood Cleanup

After being forced to use a sssllloooowwww laptop for two months, we finally have reason to celebrate because our hi-speed internet on our regular computer was hooked up yesterday! What does this mean, you may ask? This means that I can easily access blogs, quickly post something on my own and download pictures - which, in turn, means that I will post more often! Things are looking bright! Sooooo, I thought I would post a few pics that I downloaded last night of the flood to give you a taste of what has been going on.

:Cleaning out the basement:

:Hauling out ruined cabinets:

:Ah....memories of the old laundry room:

:Stairs leading up to the kitchen:

:Living room - notice the popped up hardwood floors:

:Dining room:

:Mom pointing out the watermark in our garage:

:Me pointing out the watermark at the front of our house:

:A very happy debris carrier:

:Our muddy basement walls:

:Stick 'em up! This powerwasher is loaded!:

:A mud caked bike:

:Powerwashing the basement:

:The stack of ruined music:

:Attempting to dry music out:

:Our friend, Megan - she and her husband, Caleb, helped us trmendously on our house:

:Washing the muddy bathroom floor:

:Ready to rip up some hardwood floors! Watch out, people, she's got a crowbar!:

:Way to go, woman!:

:Caleb the handyman:

:Laying the new hardwood floors:

:Our fixed hardwood floors in the living room:

:Our beautiful new hardwood floors!:

:That is the swingset that fell out of the truck (see previous post):

:Ready to take a load down to our new home:

:This was written above a door in our garage:

God's Promise!