Whew!

I heard from my dad this morning. He rode out Hurricane Ike all by himself in his 66 year old house. The levees that surround Texas City did their job and he didn't even get water in his yard. If you see coverage, Texas City is up I-45 from Galveston. It sits on Galveston Bay, not the Gulf of Mexico. The storm surge wasn't as high as they predicted, although it started much earlier than they thought. I've never seen waves overtop the Galveston Seawall! But he's just fine. Part of that pecan tree did come down and he thinks there may be some damage to the back part of his garage, but he can't see for sure. He left his car outside of the garage for just that reason! (Can you tell the man has been through a few hurricanes?)

His power is out--so is his phone and cell phone won't work yet. He was out driving around assessing damage this morning (are you kidding me?!?) and went by his usual yard man's home--probably to get on the list for yard cleanup--and they happened to have phone service. That's how he was able to call me. I called my sister and brother, and then thought to call my aunt as well. Dad has said that he'll wait and see how long it takes to get the power back on to decide what to do next. If he gets too uncomfortable--hot, etc.--he said he'll leave. Maybe he'll even come visit me! We're supposed to visit him next weekend for his 90th birthday--but we'll play that by ear.

Thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers. They certainly helped. My dad has no idea the number of prayers that were sent up in his behalf the last couple of days! The peace that I felt last night and today could only have come from one place.

Ooh...I hear rain outside. Look like Tropical Storm Ike is starting to dump on us here in Dallas! Gotta love it!