This is our house in drier times:

On October 30, 2013 a water alarm went off in our house at around 11:00 at night.  Jo Ann told me that an alarm was going off, so I woke up and got up, thinking it was a leaking ice maker.  As I walked into the kitchen I stepped into water.  I looked at the front door and water was squirting out of the sides.  I realized what was happening and decided to try to save the car, but it was too late.  When I opened the garage door, the water came rushing in.  That night we had 22" of water in the house.  All of the carpet, most of the furniture, and a lot of our property below the 22" water mark was ruined.  All of the sheet rock up to 48" had to be taken out.  Fred Carter, our hero, put the house back together for us.  We can't say enough good about Fred.  And luckily we had flood insurance.

This photo is an example of the interior damage:

This photo shows the water line on the outside of the house (and Badges):

On June 13, 2016, we flooded again.  This time we didn't open any doors and the depth was limited to about 4".  However, that was enough to ruin furniture and carpet, requiring that the sheet rock and carpet be torn out.  Again, Fred Carter came to the rescue.

Because we had two serious floods and had flood insurance,  FEMA has a program that will pay to elevate the house if there are multiple floods with significant loss.  Because of the extent  of loss to FEMA, our house, 28 Mimosa Lane received a grant to elevate the house to 12.5 above flood plain level because it would save FEMA money rather than continue to pay claims under our flood insurance. This means that water will flow over Highway 84 before it comes into the house again.  We would like to acknowledge the tremendous help of FEMA, The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), Kathy Hopkins of TWDB, Niamh Gray of TWDB, The City of Teague, The Teague City Council, Theresa Bell, City Administrator/Secretary, Mayor James Monks, and Jeff Ward, Grant Manager.  All of these people have been very kind and helpful during this ongoing ordeal.

Then on April 24, 2019 we flooded again.  That time it only ruined the carpet.  The depth was about 1".  Fred Carter took out the carpet and we continued to live in the house.

 Finally, on May 18, 2019 we flooded again, to a depth of 10".  Furniture was ruined, carpet ruined and the sheet rock had to be torn out.  We moved into our rent house at 8 Mimosa Lane and remain there at this time, pending elevation and repair.  Once elevated, we will again look to Fred Carter to restore our once comfortable home.

This blog is intended to document the elevation of our house.  It is not intended to talk about politics, gossip, or dogs.  Okay, maybe an occasional dog.  Unfortunately, our buddy Badges won't be moving back into the house with us when it is finished.  She died of cancer in August of 2019.  This blog is dedicated to her.