Is 2013 gone yet?

Sigh. It's still here.

This year has been a challenge for my family. The day after posting about losing my little dog and my kitty, my sister and her family in Oklahoma City were hit with flooding.  Her husband just shipped out to Afghanistan the week before and she has four kids. Her home damage was because of the five tornadoes in the area - it was not caused by their house being hit by a tornado; therefore, no insurance coverage.There is a huge, long saga involved with this situation, but let's just say that there is finally hope on the horizon. She contacted her local rep, who has taken her cause to the assistant city manager. She's been in constant contact with the assistant since then and seems to be making some headway.

BREAK THROUGH! I actually just got an e-mail from her saying that FEMA came out at noon today to inspect the damage. She has to wait a week to ten days before she hears what, if anything, they can do to help her, but at least they're talking to her now. Sometimes it helps to get the bigwigs in city government on your side. : )  FEMA may provide assistance with the extensive structural damage she received, but can't do anything about the furniture and appliances. Thankfully, that's where friends and family have stepped in. We're all pitching in to get the inside of her home taken care of as soon as the outside has been repaired. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. She has to wait until her claim has been processed before she'll know anything. Until then, all she can do is hope and wait. And try to stay dry.

Debbi