Abandoned

Wow.

Corey and I work up multiple times last night to check the evacuation notices. Nothing was directed at our area, so, this morning we both work up as normal, showered, and got ready for work. I knew the snow and roads were bad, so we decided Corey would take my car to work and I'd try and get a ride with a coworker.

I started straightening my hair and at about 6:45 am, Corey suggested that I look out in the front yard and if we should be worried. What we thought was lots of snow in our street was actually rising water. We quickly changed our plans from going to work to preparing to abandon our home. Our first task was moving Corey's car (small Ford Focus). So I drove our SUV and Corey drove his car. It's a good thing we left when we did - I don't know if we could have made it out with his car had we left a few minutes later. We dropped his car off at his aunt and uncle's house in north Bismarck (thankfully on a hill).

We then drove back down to our house to pack and prepare to evacuate. In a very short time, we threw what we could in suitcases and moved a few treasured belongings from the basement to the second story. A huge thank you to Corey's cousin Chad, he brought his big pickup and helped us pack and move some furniture.

We abandoned our home at 9:30 am. Before we left, we turned off the water, gas and power. We drained all faucets, since it's so cold they would freeze and burst. We plugged the toilet and drains down in the basement to try and keep the sewer back-flow out.

I'm at Corey's wonderful cousin's house - home of Chad and Tara and their three kids. Tara does daycare for a bunch of adorable kiddos that are keeping me distracted from the disaster.

Corey and Chad are in his pickup looking for sandbags. Last I heard there were lines over 5 blocks long at the distribution area, so they went back to our house to try and move more furniture upstairs.

I'm devastated. We had no warning. We were getting ready to go to work today! I'm so thankful for all the support and prayer from our friends and family. Keep them coming.

My sister Caitlyn lives in a third-floor apartment very close to our home, she's also evacuated. My sister's boyfriend Chaz is also evacuated. I know so many others that also have abandoned their homes, including my boss.

We're preparing ourselves for the basement to be completely flooded. Hopefully the water doesn't get high enough to reach the main level.

I would have taken photos, but my camera is stranded in Corey's car. Apparently I don't think straight when I'm in survival mode.

I called my mom as were were driving away. I totally broke down. I was sobbing. I'm trying to remind myself that "we are safe - it's just a house" ... but it's so hard.

Cell phone usage is getting hard and many calls are not going through because of the heavy use.

I'll write more when I hear more.