of our two houses is in the evacuation zone. There are four zones that go by zip code. This is new since I lived there, but apparently everything and everyone that effects me are in Zone B. Since my dad's family had to get out, I'm not as worried about them. I do worry about our two houses.

The one in LaPorte is where I grew up and it has flooded before. We rent it out, so have put money into it over the years for repairs and such. We just put a new roof on and had a new driveway put in. Not to mention paint and carpet and stuff before the current tenants moved in. I am afraid that a lot more money is going to go to repairs again after this.

The other house is the one my mom grew up in. My grandfather built it by himself, and it has stood many a storm, as I am sure you can imagine. It has a raised foundation, so it is safer against flooding. It is, however, closer to the ship channel that leads into Houston. I fact, the town it is in is called Channelview.

It feels awful when all I can do is just sit here and watch things unfold. I wish I could be there and actually be DOING something. All I can do here is just wring my hands and stare at the news stories... Over the next couple of days, I'll probably be talking at y'all (that's my southern accent coming out) a bunch just to have a place to voice my concerns.

I know there are probably a lot of you who are physically in harms way, so I really truly send my prayers your direction. Since I know all of the cities and places they are naming on the news, because I grew up there, the danger really hits home. No pun intended.

Right now they are saying that there may be waves as high as 20' at landfall. I was there during Hurricane Alicia and the eye went right over our house. It was a lesser storm than this, though. It appears as if the same thing is going to happen again, but this time it is a bigger storm. Argh! It's awful to just sit here and have to imagine what may be happening!