God Bless Texas & Harvey.

Sierra, circa 1999-south padre island, tx. 

Although I've been out and about enjoying time with my kids before school resumes Texas has been on my mind a lot lately, and as I have been keeping up with the news of hurricane Harvey and all the damage he's done in the state I grew up in I am absolutely sad for my fellow texans. 


Growing up in Texas I  know the devastation a hurricane can cause, but I also know the unity that it can bring among the people affected by it. I've never encountered such a horrific storm, but I have experience quite a few in Texas, and here in Jersey if you can believe that, but luckily we were spared in our area! I was ten years old when  Hurricane Allen swept through south padre island back in 1980, and as a little girl remember some of the damage it caused when we returned back to our home. Although resilient I remembered the aftermath, and how we lost electricity for days. I remember a lot of tears being shed, but underneath those tears was some relief due to our neighbors pulling through for each other and helping one another out. Hurricanes really pull communities together, and helping hands come out of the woodwork like never seen before. Storms will do that, and it truly is an amazing feeling. I've read a few articles in which people are coming out to help out their fellow man whether it's through using up 4000 lbs of flour to make bread, or a devout texan putting up his huge mattress warehouse store to house numerous evacuees. 

So far Harvey is truly is the most devastating hurricane in record history. Worse than Katrina in regards to the rain. Apparently this storm lingered for days without the rain letting up! It finally stopped, but there is still a lot of flooding, damage, and healing to be done. 

My mother who has pretty much lived in Texas her whole life continues to live in Corpus Christi, and I remember one year when we visited her from Utah how there was a storm approaching and we didn't even know! Hurricane Bret made landfall the day after I took this photo of Sierra. It was unbelievable. I wondered why it was so windy, and the waves were crashing hard. You can tell by this picture in the background that high, high tide was kicking in and the waves were getting taller, and bigger! We saw some crazy surfers out in the water. Luckily we missed the hurricane, and that my mom was safe then. She is safe now too, and only lost power for a few days. She was stubborn at first and didn't want to leave, but as the winds grew stronger finally left to Mcallen to stay with friends. I'm so grateful she was out of harm's way, and returned to her apartment that was undamaged. I have many a friends who live in the Houston area, and I have been keeping up with some of their statuses via Facebook, and so far everyone seems to be safe, and somewhat returning back to normalcy. This is where I am extremely grateful for technology. There are way too many friends to keep up with on a one on one basis, and by them keeping me informed through social media helps a lot to know what's going on. I'm so far away from the people I love, and even though I don't know the 12,000 plus people who are in shelters right now wish I could be there in person to lend a helping hand. 

Luckily there is the American Red Cross as well as legit relief funds, and numerous organizations we can reach out to help and donate. 

I know Harvey made landfall in Louisiana the other day where my only sister, and great aunt live! Not too happy about that, but it looks like their area didn't get hit too bad. My prayers go out to every single soul who is enduring this nightmare especially in the Houston area, and to those in Louisiana! 

Here is a list of highly rated organizations you can help donate to...

Texas diaper bank
Houston food bank
Coalition for the homeless in Houston
Porlight strategies, Inc. -specializes in post-disaster relief work for individuals with disabilities. 
Hurricane Harvey relief fund,- housed at the greater Houston community foundation
Humane society of Houston and San Antonio
SPCA of Texas
Feeding Texas food bank 

Heres' hoping everyone stays safe, and that you have a nice long weekend!