To some this may look like an innocent picture of a garage/basement floor with a few minor cracks. Notice the moisture that forms from these cracks. It begins with a little bit of moisture and within an hour (literally) can turn into this:
Yes, that's right. At least an inch of standing water (deeper in some places) covering the garage and basement floor. You might look at this picture and think to yourself, "they are lucky that their furnace and not-in-the-picture water heater are up on stilts." You are correct, however these pictures were taken after an hour of sweeping out water, so at the beginning, it did not matter that these major appliances were up on stilts because that's the height the water had risen to. You may notice the wet line on Matt's pants or the wake he is causing with the broom. It was pretty deep. Dry-wall is involved in some places---not good.
Sweeping water to the vacuum so as to save our backs.
You may also be thinking, "oh good, they got it under control." Again, a valid point. But, this was not "under control" until the rain stopped approximately 3 hours after we started sweeping the water out. As fast as we swept or vacuumed the water, it would fill back up. You might also be asking yourself, "where on earth is the water coming from?" Excellent question, and if you were able to answer it, please let us know. As far as we could tell, it was literally rising up from the small cracks in the floor and a two-inch spot where the concrete floor meets the exterior cinder-block wall (there was a small crack in the water-proofing).
Here is Matt dumping out one of the many, many vacuums filled with water. We swept for about an hour before we realized we could vacuum. Once we started vacuuming, we emptied out at least 50 gallons.
Here is Matt dumping out one of the many, many vacuums filled with water. We swept for about an hour before we realized we could vacuum. Once we started vacuuming, we emptied out at least 50 gallons. On a happier note, we went to the doctor today for our monthly check-up. Avery's heartbeat was 155. Only 28 more pounds to gain! We are going to be going to UAB for a fetal echo to take a closer look at Avery's tiny heart. My family has a few people with some history of cardiological birth defects, and my doctor would like to know if Avery has one before she's born (and so would we). We don't have an appointment with UAB yet, but should hear from the schedulers by the end of the week.
Thank you for all of your prayers!!
