The Best Day of Kaytlynn's Life...but not ours!

So, we learned that Kaytlynn doesn't have very high expectations in life. She's just happy getting to spend the night over at a friend's house. Who cares that it is because a hurricane is blowing through town. When we finally went to go check out the damage at our house, we were expecting to find some branches all over the place, a really messy lawn and we were actually pretty worried about our fence holding up. Well, we were so happy to see our fence did really well. Only the gate was needing to be replaced. The rest of the fence was in tip top shape! We lost our beautiful Bradford Pear tree in the back yard and I was really sad about that...but what really amazed me...were all the shingles that were scattered all over our yard. Yes...1/2 of our roof shingles blew right off of our house!

We went inside to discover that the girls' room was a mess. The sheet rock had become so water logged in the ceiling that it gave and there was a huge hole in the ceiling. It also happened to be perfectly placed right on top of the girls mattress. The carpet was soaked. Water was dripping from the fan, the light switch, the light in their closet, the electrical outlets. The sheet rock on all 4 walls was soaking wet. The room was absolutely totalled. The guest bathroom had water in several places on 2 walls and the ceiling. The study, hall, playroom, and foyer were all fine. The living room....was fine if you just looked at the east side of the room. The kitchen and dining room were looking pretty good too! What we were concerned about was the ceiling that was dripping water from all the recessed lights on the West side of the family room. Also, there was a 15 ft line of water dripping down from the "step" in the ceiling and also about halfway down that wall...another line of water on the sheet rock that was going left to right about halfway up the wall. The carpet was soaked a good 5-6 inches away from the baseboards and the fireplace mantel was not happy down at the bottom.

Our bedroom was fine. Our bathroom...wet. Our closet...SOAKED!!!!! Nothing was dry in there. It was pretty awful. Again...if it had to do with anything electrical, water was dripping from it.

Our refrigerator stopped...and we have no clue why, since we flipped the breaker before the storm hit.

We will get to speak to the adjuster next weekend. (Lord, please let him be in a cheerful, giving mood). Our neighbors father owns a state farm office and he came over yesterday to take a look. He said that there is at least 28,000 in structural damage, and assets would add to that. So we are looking at a good 35,000 - 40,000 dollars. Not bad for a measly little category 2 hurricane, right?

So, maybe when our house can be lived in again...say 4-6 months down the road...I will have some nice pretty pictures for you! In all seriousness, we are so thankful for so many things.

1. We are so happy that our girls were not there. They were quite sad that their kitty kat room was ruined, but they would have freaked, had we not decided to have a "game night" at the Crenshaw's.

2. We are happy this happened to us and not someone who didn't have home owner's insurance.

3. We are so surprised that in all of this...we really lost nothing of huge sentimental value. This could have been truly heartbreaking and its not. My pictures are fine, and all those precious little nick knacks that my kids have made, etc are all just fine. We hate losing anything, but some items would be missed forever...and nothing like that was taken.

4. Can I tell you how much I love air conditioning!!!! We have been at my sister's, since Day 2 after the hurricane. Those first 2 days...were HOT. I can do without TV, lights, microwaves, etc. I could not believe how miserable I was without ice or a/c. Wow...it blew my mind how crazy I felt just because I didn't have those 2 things. I walked straight into my sisters house, maybe took the time to say hi, went straight to her kitchen and made me are REALLY ICY Dt. Dr. Pepper and sat down to enjoy her cool 74 degrees house. I didn't have a livable house, but life was good at that moment!

5. We are blessed to not only have 1 set of friends to invite us to come stay with them, but three. We love you Jeff and Dana, Kim and Chris, and Robbie and Kelley. I couldn't be happier that God placed you in our lives! I can live without a house, but without friends like you, I don't know what I would do.

6. We have the best family. My parents and sister were here for me, just like they always have been when I have needed help. We have been staying at my sister's in Corinth and she has been making sure we are well fed and entertained. She has let me sleep in every morning while all 5 kids run wild in the mornings. I think I am going to miss that almost as much as I am going to miss her when I leave in 2 days.

7. We are most thankful that no one in our family was hurt! We are all in one piece and so are all of our loved ones.

Pray for us going through this yucky, but definitely not unbearable time. We hope all the insurance stuff goes smoothly and of course, we want them to pay for as much as possible and that everything be fixed in a timely manner. We also pray that the girls continue to take this in a positive way...but more importantly, please continue to pray for the people in our area that lost all of their belongings, and even their loved ones. I can't even imagine what they are going through and hope that they are surrounded by friends that shower them with love the way that we have been through all of this.