Some of the best and worst news of our lives...

I've been guilty of not really visiting/posting on this site in a couple of months. Things have been so busy here. We sold our house and moved into a new one the first week of August. Two weeks later we found out we are expecting our second child! We were at the top of the world. The one flaw was a trip to Disneyland in April and Disneyworld for the first of June would need to be changed since the baby is due April 4. We were discussing heading to Florida the week after Thanksgiving for a quick family get away before I get really fat and miserable

Unfortunately, we had moved to Bridge City, Texas and we lost everything we did not evacuate with when Hurricane Ike struck. Of course, dealing with flood Insurance (thank God we had purchased some) has been so much fun. One agent actually told our neighbor "flood insurance did not cover them because it was rising water - not flood." Have you ever heard of anything so stupid?

OK, end of soap box. While I'm sure this is going to be a long hard road I wondered how everyone else here faired. We have been lucky enough to have family close by to help. Although, it's not a lot of fun moving back home at thirty

Also, where would be the best places to shop to replace Disney memorobilia we lost?

 

Thanks guys!

I was just downloading some of our pics and I thought I would share a few. Every house on our street was built this year and ours was completed the end of July.

Front of our house when we closed:



Front of house post Ike - you can see the reed that was left behind:



Living area:


Post Ike - notice the carpet color difference. Lots of mud/sludge left behind:


Kitchen bar and breakfast nook - you can see our table and chairs were flipped over and broken.


View down our street as neighbors empty debris from their homes:

 

We are doing good - all healthy and we have each other which is more than some people I know. Of course, Insurance is the pits. It's been over a month and we still can't get them to pay us. It's irritating to know you have been paying for coverage you may not get.

They say they need to investigate and then depreciate the value before we can get anything. It shouldn't have depreciated because we just bought the house and we lived in a town that had more than 99% devastation. Only 14 homes in the whole town were not lost. Besides, it's not like our premiums depreciate over time! Most businesses were lost as well! Oh, here I go getting all worked up...

The point is we are very lucky. We have family and a roof over our heads. I know people living in trailers or tents. FEMA is taking a lot of flack right now for the few trailers they have issued. Not everyone can get one, but that may not be a bad thing...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_ ... a_trailers

I have not heard from anyone else on this site about hurricane problems. I know parts of Louisiana were hit hard by hurricane Gustave two weeks before we had Ike. Anyone know people affected by either one?

 

We finally reached a settlement with our insurance company and can start repairs. I was looking through my pics and thought I would share the scenery from our first look at the town post Ike.


Five miles from my house:



Three miles away:



Most buildings were almost unrecognizable:



A few blocks away:



Almost there:



A block away:

 

We have walls!

I was so excited this week to find our contractor had finally been able to put in two new tubs and walls! I never thought I would be so happy about sheetrock, and of course I cried like a total girl! ;D.

 

My thoughts exactly. Hopefully they'll move pretty quickly and get you back in your house soon.

 

Thanks guys...I think the projected date right now is late Jan or early Feb. The cabinet maker is at least a four week wait. I will just be happy to be moved in with furniture before the baby comes - April 4!

 

Crossing my fingers for you! Hey have you thought about going the Ashley Simpson route and chosing a Disney name?

 

Well, it has taken more than six months, but we are finally getting back in our house this weekend! The baby - Alexandra Grace is due in a week. Now I just need to get some furniture in there double quick! I'll share updated pics of the house as soon as I can get them downloaded.

 

My new kitchen...





New Entryway...




New tile in Bathroom...

 

So sorry to hear that you guys had to go through all that mess. Also, I a m glad to hear you are on the road to getting back to normal.

 

Thank you. We finally had some furniture delivered in the last week and are waiting for several more pieces. It is slowly starting to feel like "home" again.

 

Today...

 

About a mile from my house is this tribute to the hurricane...