We found out about the Hurricane evacuations Thursday morning. The Houston area is divided into evacuation zones, from coastal to A through the alphabet. We're in Zone X. Zones Coastal, A, B, and C were under mandatory evacuation. The rest of Houston area was being advised to stay and shelter in place. So, being unprepared, I ran to the store to stock up on essentials as well as getting some much needed groceries. At just 9am the stores were already packed and sold out of water and other essentials. We did the best we could to get the things we needed and get prepared. Since we are on the northwestern side of Houston, we prepared ourselves to weather the storm. Friday, we cleaned up debris outdoors, washed all our laundry and dishes, and set up the boys twin beds in the hallway of the house (the most central place without windows).
The boys loved it. We explained to them the hurricane and how we needed to be safe. They thought it was like a pajama party with flashlights. Luckily this kept them from being scared.
We put Cocoa in a makeshift kennel in the garage. We tried bringing him inside at one point but he was so anxious we couldn't keep him under control. Our power went out about 4 am Saturday morning. Then, the storm hit us about 7 or 8am. It was scary. You could hear the winds howling and the rain pelting the house. It continued for about an hour or so. Amazingly the boys slept through most of the hurricane. When they woke up, we stayed in the hallway until we felt safe. The boys loved reading books with flashlights.
The boys loved it. We explained to them the hurricane and how we needed to be safe. They thought it was like a pajama party with flashlights. Luckily this kept them from being scared.We put Cocoa in a makeshift kennel in the garage. We tried bringing him inside at one point but he was so anxious we couldn't keep him under control. Our power went out about 4 am Saturday morning. Then, the storm hit us about 7 or 8am. It was scary. You could hear the winds howling and the rain pelting the house. It continued for about an hour or so. Amazingly the boys slept through most of the hurricane. When they woke up, we stayed in the hallway until we felt safe. The boys loved reading books with flashlights. 
By about 10 am the hurricane had pretty much passed completely. We even opened some of the windows to let in some wind to cool off. The power came back on around 4pm and luckily, I cranked the A/C because the power went out again around 11pm. Poor Joshua, got sick and started throwing up around 4am. As soon as we got him back to bed, he'd throw up again. He was so tired Aaron set him up with a pillow and blanket in the bathroom. By 8am the power was back on and has mostly been on since. We have running water but are being urged to boil it or drink bottled water for now. 
It has been quite an experience. As far as we can tell no damage has been done to our home or most of the homes in the neighborhood. However, the empty retention pond behind our house is now about half full. Now, the plan is to help others and wait until things return to normal. We didn't have church Sunday and Aaron won't go back to work until Wednesday. We were fortunate but we have heard that others, even in our area of Houston, weren't as fortunate. Two days later, Aaron's Uncle Paul and Aunt Meg are still without power, and she's on critical lifecare machines. Luckily they have a generator to keep everything running. We know that we have been truly blessed and thank our Heavenly Father repeatedly. Thank you to all those who checked on us, helped us, and kept us informed.
