Major Update! Part 1 - Family

Hey everyone!

So sorry I haven't blogged in FOREVER.... It's been over a month now, but to be fair, life has been prettttty busy. Now I need to catch you up on everything that has been happening! This will take a few posts, so bear with me, and feel free to take your time reading it all. :)

To start off, since this was a recent and very important event, I thought I would touch on it first... My dad had a heart attack two days ago. My mom woke me up at 3:30 Tuesday morning saying she had called the ambulance, and while she stood at the door looking for it, I sat with my father while he struggled to breathe and move due to his immense chest pains. I was in pure shock, too tired to comprehend what was actually happening and unable to grasp the significance of it. The paramedics eventually wheeled him out on a stretcher (talk about a sobering sight), and mom and I followed them to the hospital, where we were to stay for the next five hours.

At first, the doctors said dad didn't actually have a heart attack but rather was on his way to one, then later they changed their minds and confirmed that it was, in fact, a heart attack. As it turns out, he had almost complete blockage in three vessels leading to a main artery to his heart, so he had to have stints put in to open them up. He started feeling a lot better after that surgery, but the recovery process has been and will continue to be long and slow. Thankfully, though, he got to the ER just in time, and by some miracle I can't explain or understand, he has no damage whatsoever to his heart. Praise God! He's home now and on a very healthy diet (to his displeasure) as well as some meds to monitor his cholesterol, but other than that, life is on its way to being back to normal again... sorta. :)

As a post-flood house update, work on our living room (the room hardest hit) is finished!! It actually looks better than before with new carpet, fresh paint on the walls, new washer/dryer, and overall is more organized. Some work is still left to do - namely, in the shed outside and in the dining room upstairs, plus we'll need a new heater by winter - but the biggest project is done! :)

Here is a picture of the room before renovation:

We have been so blessed with the help, prayers, and support of so many people throughout everything - from the flood damage to our most recent scare. So, THANK YOU to all of you!

I think that's it for life updates.... The next couple of posts will have more to do with the wedding, I promise! :)

Love you all!

C & A

Nashville Flood

Hey everyone,

For those of you who don't know, Nashville is in the process of recovering from a massive flood that devastated our city last weekend. It's not getting a lot of national media attention, but it's really rough here... So far about 30 lives have been lost, and that number is steadily climbing as homes are being cleaned out. Downtown was completely underwater, as were many neighborhoods and historical landmarks in and around the Nashville area. It was a record-breaking flood that is estimated to have caused at least $1 billion in damage, which would make it one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history.

Thankfully, all my friends and family have been spared the worst. Green Hills (the neighborhood where I live) was probably one of the least affected areas, though the first-floor apartments in my complex still had flooding. I was very lucky. My parents' house wasn't quite so lucky, but it could have fared much worse. We live next to a creek, and even though there is an acre of distance between the creek and our house, the water still managed to surround the house and flood our family room (the lowest room in the house) with up to 4 feet of water. My parents were out of town for the worst part of the storm, but came back in time to salvage the furniture downstairs. The carpet has to be replaced, but that seems to be the only casualty, thank goodness.

Others haven't fared so well... Many alumnae of my sorority who live in the area have suffered a lot of damage from flooding, and some have lost everything. My sorority is trying to help out by donating money and items as well as volunteering our time. The one good thing to come out of all this is the way Nashville has stepped up as a community to help out those in need. Relief organizations have been overwhelmed with donations and volunteers to the point that they have had to start turning people away. The aftermath of the flood may be devastating, and the economic downfall sure to follow (due mostly to the destruction of tourist destinations such as Opryland and the Country Music Hall of Fame) will be equally difficult, but I think there is something to be said for the people of Nashville, whose spirits are stronger than ever. As I am about to leave this place that I have called my home for 22 years, I finally feel like a true Nashvillian, and I have never been prouder to call myself one.

Here is a really good video of compiled footage from the flood. There are lots of videos out there, though, so if you want to see more footage, you don't have to look very far.

Here are some more photos from last weekend (the last one was taken outside one of our alums' houses):

I still can't believe this happened to my city... Please keep Nashville in your prayers as we continue with the recovery effort.

Love,

C & A