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Well, we survived, and we are counting our blessings. We sheltered at Dutchtown Middle School in Ascension Parish. It was very well run, and I would really like to thank the Red Cross for doing such a good job keeping everybody safe and happy.

We rode out the storm, and left the shelter yesterday at 2ish. There was massive tree damage along the route home. We are 55 miles east of New Orleans. There are steel beams wrapped around trees this far away from the center.

We got home yesterday afternoon. 6 trees were down, nature had reclamed the pool. Part of the fence was leveled by a tree. But the house was safe. 50 fellow residents of Ascension Parish, last I heard, had trees fall on their homes.

We were told to wait two weeks for power, so we spent the day just cleaning up the immediate area around the house, and getting some ice, and more water. It was really hard to get news from the outside world. We had a portable tv in the car, barely getting reception, and the baton rouge stations would not give information about much of the outside world. They were extremely pissing me off, focusing on how the storm affected Baton Rouge, and when Baton Rouge would get power back, but that can wait til later.

My baby had massive diarreah this morning, and we worried that we weren't keeping track of the time on his bottles, so we sterilized everything on a coleman stove. The house was about 95 degrees easy inside, we were stinky and wet. We brought out the tents, put them on the drive way, getting ready for the long haul. I went back in the house to get batteries about an hour ago, and the lights flicked back on.

So we are here, alive, safe, comfortable after a shower, and very very blessed. The people of Louisiana are great, they are suffering, as are those in Alabama and Mississippi.

I do want to close by giving you all an indication of how devestating this hurricane was. We were so far away, but the damage here is quite extensive. No flooding, but shattered windows, steel, trees, live wires and we are truly lucky and blessed, and reflecting.

God bless.