Ike Update for our Friends and Family

Everyone is safe. We are safe and suffered very little damage. We were extremely blessed. We just got power about an hour ago. It went out about midnight last night. That is incredibly lucky considering about 2.6 million people in Houston are without power. They say they have restored power to 112,000 so far. That means that we are among the lucky 4.3% who have power again! How blessed are we!? I think we are the only one's in the family with power right now, though, so come on over everybody! Hurricane Party, Part 2!

Family Status:
-Sam and Lorig are safe, but there is severe flooding in their area. Their house is good so far, but there is still danger of rising waters. There were lots of fallen trees that barely missed their house. We can definitely see God's protection over them. I think they got it the worst though.
-Medzmama and Medzbaba evacuated to Dallas to stay with David and Lucie. They are safe. Baba checked on their house today and everything was great.
-Elize and her family are safe and staying at our house tonight because they have no power.
-Jackie and Dennis stayed with in-laws. Baba checked on their house and all is well. They are all safe.
-Jack and Lucine are safe, but have no power.
-Varouj, Georgik, and Edo are all safe as well.

We had so much fun last night hearing the intense, howling wind and seeing the trees tossed around like twigs. The front door and windows were shaking all night. It is an experience I will never forget. We were all huddled around the T.V. last night until the power went out and then we went all old-school and listened to the battery powered radio with flashlights. Raki is a pansy...he was scared and sat on me the whole time. It was pretty funny. The rest fell asleep, but I was up all night...I was too excited to sleep!!! I mean, how do you sleep during a hurricane!? It's too much fun! It was such a weird thing this morning to walk around the neighborhood and see it looking all crazy and stuff. Like I said, we were really blessed with little damage. Just mostly tree and roof damage. My favorite thing is how people are all automatically best friends in situations like these. After spending all day cleaning debris, we actually had a Hurricane BBQ with our neighbors using the food in the freezer so it wouldn't go bad, since we had no power at that point. Thanks for the memories, Hurricane Ike.

Hurricane or the Second Coming of Christ. Only time will tell...

This armageddon storm aka Hurricane Ike is heading right towards Houston in a couple of hours. Many have fled, but we Armenians are a strong people and we have decided to brave the weather.

All joking aside, we are taking this Hurricane seriously. All the preparations have been made: food, water, batteries, radio, medicine, pet care, vodka, etc. The house and cars are hurricane-ready. It is good to be prepared.

I think it's really interesting how your priorities come to light in a time of danger. A situation like this can easily become a life and death one, as we all learned from Hurricane Katrina. I know from experience that when your life is on the line, you let go of all the futile things in life and only the things you truly value come through. I love how throughout the entire city of Houston, businesses shut down and schools closed. What matters are the essentials: food, water, shelter, safety, and most importantly, family.

I watched my family band together as we always have. Everyone calls each other to offer help. The elderly are taken care of. I can't help but to feel joy as I see proof of the love we all profess for each other. I can't help but feel proud of my dad as he offers to help people board up their windows and get houses ready. My mom, in true Armenian-mother fashion, is cleaning the entire house. I tried to remind her that Hurricane Ike is not coming as a house guest, but she insists on having a clean house for the hurricane. This is one of my favorite quirks about my mommy!

I have to tell you though, I am soooo excited. I LOVE bad weather! I am so looking forward to hearing the wind howl and seeing the storm. It's not that I want a hurricane to come, but the fact is that it is coming and nothing can be done about it. Why not just enjoy it? So, we decided to have a Hurricane party, not to celebrate the hurricane, but to make the best of a situation that has the potential to be scary. Instead of being scared, we like to look at the bright side. Take the time to enjoy the power and wonder of God manifested in something like a hurricane. It's just another testament of the power of God, and how insignificant we all really are!


May everyone stay safe and sound.