For the past month, we have been living with friends. We moved into the home of the twins’ best friend. Although we had always known and liked this family, we did not really know each other as more than acquaintances prior to Hurricane Harvey. They were one of the first people to offer to help us with demolition in our house and were willing to gather their galoshes and wade through flood waters to help us on day 1. They then offered a place for us to stay and we decided to take them up on it, as we knew Andrew and Audrey would be very happy to be with their friend.

To offer your home to people you barely know for a month or more is yet another incredible act of kindness. As we have been here, the lingering mental effects of trauma have eased with time. Watching the kids run and play in the yard, laughing with their friend, squealing and having fun, has been a joy. Another neat thing is that there is also a 16 month old baby that my twins have come to know and love. I’ve enjoyed watching them become overnight big brother and sister to her. They watch out for her, try to make her laugh, and bring her pacifiers and toys when she is upset.

After finally feeling like my family was safe and settled reasonably well, I felt ready to travel again. I chose the city of Tulsa, OK, which is one of my favorite places to travel. It is easy to get there, the people are so warm and friendly, and the city is easy to navigate. I hopped on a plane and spent two productive days there before returning to Houston.

When I got back, we were given the news that our contractors were ready to start working on sheetrock in our home, which has since been completed and looks great. We are now preparing to begin work on bathrooms, tile floors, and kitchen cabinets. At the beginning of our ordeal, I felt overwhelmed at the sheer amount of decisions to be made. I have found that if I break it down, tackle a few things a day, and just keep plowing forward, it will all get done.

In the past week, we have also replaced our totaled car and were able to return the rental car we were driving. We have ordered new car seats for it as well.

We have managed to squeeze in a bit of time for ourselves. For several months leading up to Harvey, we eagerly watched trailers for the movie IT. Dave and I are both Stephen King fans and we thought it looked awesome. We tend to be bad about saying we want to see a movie and then not doing it. But with this one, we said we would go no matter what. And go we did. We had a date night dinner and a movie, while a favorite teacher watched our kids. Dave and also I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on October 10. It was a Tuesday night but we did manage to get our kids to bed early and sneak out for a quick dinner celebration. Although we are in the midst of an unexpected devastation, our marriage has never felt stronger. We are a team, and for that team, I am forever thankful. As the anniversary card that I gave to Dave said, “till death do us part is for quitters.”

As we move forward, life feels a tiny bit more normal each day. Thank you to all of you who continue to support us. We are making good progress.