Flooding

The past few days have been full of newscasts showing I-5 completely submerged in the Chehalis/Centralia area, families being evacuated from their homes, cars stranded in water past the windows...it is a difficult time for many families in western Washington. James and I woke to our backyard more than halfway flooded and parts of our pretty sod in the front yard drowning as well. The rain was relentless. We live in the valley. Our neighbors built a new home behind our house and raised the level of their yard this past summer. It was inevitable that we would have to deal with this but it was still very frustrating and worrisome. Luckily, my dear husband saved the day again and purchased a pump and several lines of hosing. He spent hours pumping water out of our yard and our neighbors' yards. Not all of the water is gone, but when you look out of our back windows it doesn't look like we own waterfront property anymore. I think we've saved the new sod in the front...but this summer we will DEFINITELY be working on a solution for the backyard. We don't have a large space back there but we'd really love to be able to enjoy what we do have.

Again, we are thankful and grateful. We know our situation could have been so much worse. I think of and pray for the families who have been displaced this holiday season. I gasped when I saw pictures of the familiar streets in Olympia (Black Lake Blvd. and Cooper Point especially). It's devastating and it doesn't even seem real.

Keep these families in your prayers. They definitely have unwanted challenges ahead during these winter holiday months.