Hurricane!!!

Some days have passed since my last post. Things got a little complicated for me and my family.

The story:
On Saturday (August 20) we were informed that Tropical Storm Irene was going to pass really close to the south side of Puerto Rico (100 miles over sea). At 2:00 AM Sunday, after watching the last weather forecast we went to sleep, still no change in the projected path of Irene.
Woke up at 10:00 AM, had breakfast with my family, my son left for College, my youngest daughter returned to College also; beautiful sunny day, everything looked fine.
Suddenly a phone call from my Mom (11:00 AM) asking if I was getting ready, I did not have a clue what she was talking about. She told me to look at the news and call back.
Surely enough, we were going to receive the direct impact of Irene who was still a tropical storm, but was almost a hurricane 1, the system was going to cross the island from east to west. PANIC MODE!!!!
Oh my! My kids had left already. My youngest daughter was still close to home, so she returned, but my son was closest to my parent’s house, so he was headed in that direction. This part was solved: my daughters were going to be home with me; my son would be with my parents.
Went to the Supermarket to buy some water, trying not to panic, only to see families buying a lot of meat and dairy products, then I realized that it wasn’t just me, people didn’t know what was about to happen. Talked to some explaining everything, grabbed the water and ran home.
My husband left to help his mother get prepared; it was 12:30 PM.
My daughter arrived, and my son called to inform that he had arrived safely to his grandparent’s house; it was like 1:30 PM.
We were picking everything from the backyard, moving the dogs to the garage, and it began to rain, no time was left to secure the sliding door that connects to the backyard (16’ feet long). Winds began also; it was 3:25 PM.
My husband arrived home, weather had really taken a turn for the worst, by 6:00 PM we didn’t have power supply, and wind was blowing so hard. Midnight hit was terrible, I knew that the storm had gained hurricane force, and we received the direct impact. All that could be heard were the trees falling glass windows breaking and people screaming. We were in prayer mode, kind of not believing that something like this could happen on such short notice.
At about 6:30 AM, the wind was slowing down, it was still raining so hard, complete darkness, couldn’t see a thing in or outside the house. Everyone got out in the rain helping those that needed it, still could not see what had happened inside the house.
It was Tuesday when I finally could see what had happened in the house, we knew that the windows in the family / craft room didn’t resist the impact of the winds and that they had opened, but I was not prepared for what I saw.
Wall paint was damaged; water came through the windows and the roof and damaged most of my furniture. My Cricut was full of water, I did dry it, but since there is still no electrical power, I do not know if it is working. My printer was damaged.
Lost most of my crafting supplies: cardstock, papers, copics and adhesives. Had some cards in a box for Operation Write Home that were damaged. There were two projects waiting to be posted on my desk, they received some water damage.
Have to admit that I cried a little, not because I am feeling sorry for what was lost, but because I felt helpless.
Everything happened so fast that we did not have the time to prepare ourselves and protect our belongings, and I felt vulnerable.
Not a minute has passed that I have not given thanks to God for protecting my family, we are all fine, and that’s the most important thing.
Today I am writing from my work, not sure when I will post again, since there is still no electrical power in my community.
Wanted to share this experience with you, so you all could see how thing change in a few hours.
Here are some pictures:

 Here are the pictures of the cards that survived the hurricane, with some water damage:

The Outlawz Color Challenge: August 16, 2011 

Crafter's Digital Art Center  Progressive Challenge
image by Whoopsiedaisy Digi Stamp

Take care!

Love

Julia