A Year Ago

A year ago today we were 10 days away from having a baby boy.

We were technically "homeless" after having lost our home in a flood 3 months earlier.

We were living with my in-laws along with our 2 dogs and 5 cats + their 4 dogs. My dear Mother-in-Law was used to having quiet in the mornings. That was not possible given this situation.

I spent a lot of time crying after the lights went out, and quite a bit when the lights were on.

I missed our home, I missed having our own space but I knew how truly blessed we were to have a home to stay in.

Those months after the flood were hard, no hard doesn't even begin to describe it. It was devastating. We lost stuff, but that wasn't the worst part. We had spent 9 months of our lives renovating the house before moving into it. We only lived there for a year before it was all destroyed. It was something we were both so extremely proud of. We literally had put our blood, sweat and tears into it (and all the money from the sale of our first home). I remember how angry I was that we had to carry flood insurance on the property. I really believed we would fork over $1,000 a year for the insurance for the next 30 years and never have to use it. But that all changed that Tuesday morning. With no warning it was all gone, but that story is for another post, another day.

Flash forward to a year later...

We are back in our home. Despite the warnings and crazy looks from family and friends, we moved back in as soon as the construction company was finished and the final insurance payment had cleared the bank. And I love it. I love it as much as I did when we moved into it the first time. I thought I'd be scared and constantly worry that it would happen again but as it turns out, it rained the entire first week after we had moved in and I wasn't scared. Maybe going through it once was enough for me to believe it wouldn't happen again or maybe I just know that we can make it through it if it were to happen again.

We have a very active, very charming, makes me laugh-out-loud every day, little boy, W. Gosh, I adore that kid! He looks like me but he's got his Daddy's personality. He is the best thing that has happened to us. We are blessed. He is 10 days away from being 1 and walking all over the place. Before he goes to bed at night, he turns into a bit of a drunk sailor and walks real unsteady, giggling the whole time. He knows he's adorable.

I thank God every night for our flood insurance. We only paid $2,000 for two years before they paid us $134,000.00.

Most importantly, one year later, I love my husband. I love him more today than I did a year ago. I thank God every single night for him. Marrying him was the best decision I've ever made. Being his wife is a gift. I am so blessed.