Ike spared us

Can't say the same for the little lime tree...

I think my Mom might have "discovered" this tree on one of her walks when we first moved down here. Or maybe it was Chris? Anyway, this little tree became a special symbol of Texas to my family - especially extended family. So, I'm sure they will be sad when they see this picture. It was fun to look for limes when we were out on walks. I used them to make salsa, Chris liked to add them to lemonade to make "lemon-lime-ade", my Mom and Aunt took a whole bagful back to my Uncle this summer.This tree fell on our neighbor's house. This was one of the homes we had considered when we were on our house hunting trip. At first I thought they were lucky that the tree was just lying on the roof but later when we talked to the owner we learned he actually has a hole in the roof! That stinks!
This is a tree and a street sign (if you can see that it's sort of laid out flat). They are on the corner right by Anna's school. There were a bunch of trees down on the side of her school next to the road. A bunch of trees were also down on the other side of the street as well. I'm wondering if maybe a tornado headed down this path. It looks like more than wind. The trees down aren't little and several are completely uprooted.

And here's our backyard... Our main problem came from a stupid old tree on the other side of our privacy fence. It fell on the playhouse and busted up the fence a bit. This is the 2nd time we've had a problem because of that tree! The trampoline is another story. I think the wind must have gotten that. Chris had tied it to one of our trees and the rope is still there but there are parts of the trampoline all over the yard. The actual trampoline ended up on the other side of our fence. It looked a mess but Chris thinks it can be put back together. We'll have to see. We'll definitely need a new safety net.

There are sooo many people in this area without power. There are so many people with serious damages to their homes and many lost their homes. Our power was restored within 24 hours, we were able to return home with all of our normal comforts, we are so lucky. We do not understand why we were spared while so many around us have suffered but we are thankful for our blessing. We hope that we can be a blessing to others who were not as fortunate. Please continue to pray for those affected by Hurricane Ike. It has caused serious damage to this area of Texas. We are reminded of it daily. You cannot turn on the TV without seeing images of the damages and hearing about where to get aid or gas or how many people still do not have power. The crews seem to be doing such a great job. It's just such a HUGE job to do. We saw a truck today from Kent, OH (for electricity or tree trimming/removal). Thank God for these people!