Did any of my Pad Peeps have to evacuate? My heart is hurting for Florida and although Irma will be downgraded to a Cat 1 or (hopefully) Tropical Storm just before reaching me, we are expected to get storms with winds from 50-90 MPH here tomorrow. I live in a forest so I'll be watching the trees around my house and praying. I know we'll lose power (b/c we lose power when the sky turns dark, LOL) but there's a possibility the loss will be much longer than normal. They are telling us to prepare for 7 days w/o power! I'm hoping "they" are overreacting. Anyway, we had several families that evacuated from FL at our church here today and it was so sweet to get to minister to them a bit. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to leave, although I'm super glad that so many did. It's just not worth riding it out for those who are that close to the eye. Anyway, my prayers are with everyone affected and I wanted to make sure we support those in our little community who are facing this. Continuing to pray for Texas/Louisiana as well as the west ravaged by fires. I'm thankful that I trust in a God who is sovereign over it all and bigger than any storm or fire. HUGS!
My husband's whole family and so many of our friends live in Florida. We were just in Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL last month. His west coast family has gone to stay with his east coast family. One friend is Tampa is staying put and other in Tampa has moved east. A friend from Ft. Myers has gone to Orlando.
Most of my friends and family have scattered to safer areas and north. I'm hoping it continues to downgrade and bring less water and wind. It's heartbreaking to watch as it unfolds and unable to actually stop Mother Nature. My thoughts are with those that are dealing with the aftermath of Harvey, and then those that will deal with the aftermath of Irma. Even Sandy was no longer a hurricane (I'm pretty sure) when it hit NJ, but the aftermath was the worst part. Being without power for 10 days, rationing gas, and sending my kids to family in Virginia while DH and I had to work, was one of the hardest experiences that I have had to go through, and I was lucky enough to still have my belongings, home, family. There were many who didn't have that, lost so much and are still working to get back to their normal.
I have several friends who live in Florida and most have left. One of my friend's husband stayed behind in Fort Myers because he works for the power company, but she and her son came back to her mother's here. My heart breaks for all those who will lose so much! Thoughts and prayers for you and your family, Jen...hope the wind is not as bad as they say. The trees are always my worry here, we've had several come down over the years and it's scary. Continuing to pray for those in Texas and those being affected by all the fires as well.
I've been thinking about you Florida gals as well. Praying everyone is safe. We are expected to get tropical storm strength rain/wind tomorrow and Tuesday but nothing like what all those in Texas and Florida have faced. My heart goes out to those in the affected areas and we'll be looking for opportunities to help in whatever ways we can.
We are up at the very top of Alabama, 10 miles from the TN border, and our schools are closed tomorrow. My parents down in Birmingham have a family staying in their basement, and we have offered to help anyone who makes it this far north, but no one yet. I pray for everyone affected- and have been really concerned about all Floridians. the images of the water being gone from Tampa Bay, Mobile Bay, and other areas ahead of Irma are so crazy.
All of my husband's family is in Florida. We urged them to come & stay with us but they decided to stay. Several in central Florida and the East Coast. We have lots of friends in Orlando & Jacksonville. I'm eagerly watching all of the updates.
It looks unbelievable from what we've seen on the news here - and i know we are all scrapbookers/documenters/photographers but please stay safe and don't be one of the people i've seen on the news going out and taking photos of the freak waves etc - safety first, scrapbooking is a distant second in this case
I don't know anyone personally, my daughter has a girlfriend who lives in Fort Myers area and she said they stocked up and were planning on staying. I pray that they are all right! My nephew David works on a helicopter crew (he is a mechanic) And they all left Sunday morning to be there to help with any type of rescue mission.
I have friends that are out of their homes in TX due to Harvey and friends in FL who evacuated. Minimal damage for them My son is in the Natl. Guard and in Valdosta at the moment. They are contemplating sending them to Miami for security/martial law that is needed. Hot mess!
My childhood friend, she has family scattered around FL and was doing updates for everyone yesterday...so scary!! They're dealing with power outages and flooding, but everyone is safe.
My heart too, hurts for all those effected. I pray for their safety and send strength for what's ahead for them...
so far thank goodness my friends and family I have heard fro are safe and some even have power so I am thrilled. (My cousin is in the west Palm area and she has power now... anyway praying for all in Irma's path.
We are in south GA and just got tropical storm force wind and rain, our power has been out since this morning and they are estimating late tomorrow or Wednesday to restore it. Only an inconvenience really, as we continue to pray for friends in FL.
Yikes! I hope that this storm dissipates quickly and that you don't have any storm damage Jen and everyone else still in Irma's path. I've been glued to the news this weekend too! I have and Aunt, Uncle and Cousin in Florida. The Aunt and Uncle of North and inland and had minimal damage. My cousin is just outside of Tampa and I haven't heard from him yet. I'm sure it's hard to get word out when there is no power and probably no cell service. It's just awful seeing all of the destruction in the islands and Florida already. I can't even imagine where they even start with the messes they have. They can't even get to Key West and they have no power, sewer or water (it's piped in from Miami and there are leaks in the pipes to the sea).
I heard from my sister-in-law. She and my brother weathered the storm with minimal damage to their property. They live a bit inland, a few miles west of Fort Lauderdale. For everyone still in Irma's path, stay safe!
All of our family is safe & most of them have their power back. A lot of our friends still have no power. Our friends in Jacksonville probably faced the most damage with the flooding. We actually got some of the leftovers of the storm here last night. We were out of power for about 14 hours & no internet for 24 hours.
We just had some wind and the weird emptying of the bay as the storm moved up through Florida. I'm in Northwest Florida, way over at the western edge. Here are a couple of photos my cousin took of the bay. Where there are peeps walking on sand/mud, that should be lots and lots of water! This is about 3-4 minutes down the road from my mom's.
