It's been 7 days since Ike hit. The Woodlands is starting to bounce back, but there are so many other places in the Houston metro area that are far from normal. Many communities are still without power, phone and water. A day or 2 without these things is manageable for most, but to go a week and more is just so difficult.
We have power, cable, Internet and phone service now. We never lost our water. The stores and some restaurants are open. Medical facilities outside the hospital are opening. The lines for gas are nearly gone in our area. Even though we have these things, life is still not normal. Schools are still closed with some opening on Monday. There are brush piles everywhere along with downed trees that have yet to be cleared. The reminders will be with us for some time, longer for others who have rebuilding and major repairs to deal with.
The pictures above are our house and street. We loaded 25 lawn bags full of debris and then ran out. The brush pile is very long and high along the driveway.
We have a few friends and neighbors that suffered damage. Others are still without power even now. What's been great is the sense of community. Everyone has been checking on their neighbors. Several have helped remove trees and shrubs. The trees in the picture on the left above are from a neighbor out of town. Their neighbors cleaned the trees out of the street and those good Samaritans had their own damage to deal with. I'm proud of everyone here in Houston!
On our way back from Dallas, I noticed that even in such tragedy Houston's gas prices are still lower than other parts of the state. Dallas gas was $3.69 in most stations while I saw $3.49 to $3.59 here.
Our school opens next week. Sports practice starts up again. Jason is working and we still have medical appointments. Life is moving on just as it should. I hope it happens for all in South East Texas soon.
The girls had their 1st soccer games on Saturday. Anna is in the 8-9 girls league and her team, The Texas Crushers, won 3-2. Sydney is in the 6-7 girls league and her team, The Shooting Stars, tied 1-1. They each had a lot of fun and ran hard. We are so proud of them! 
Hayden was so cute too on Saturday. He played hard too, but had a hard time taking a nap. He actually fell asleep on Daddy. It's been a long time since he's done this.
We have a few friends and neighbors that suffered damage. Others are still without power even now. What's been great is the sense of community. Everyone has been checking on their neighbors. Several have helped remove trees and shrubs. The trees in the picture on the left above are from a neighbor out of town. Their neighbors cleaned the trees out of the street and those good Samaritans had their own damage to deal with. I'm proud of everyone here in Houston!