In the days before Hurricane Matthew hit Florida, different models projected different paths for the storm. It seemed like the whole East Coast of the state had a hurricane watch or warning. Even Central Florida felt threatened by the storm – it was so huge and horrible. My brother headed out of town for a work conference when it was battering Haiti, leaving Amanda and the kids home alone. Since they hadn’t been in their house for too long, combined with potential flooding and high winds, we offered up our home to crash with us.

Seven people in our three bedroom house is A LOT, but the kids had a blast. Henry loves his cousins, Grayson and Finley, and the kids played (mostly) well together. The three adults were exhausted at the end of each day, but we had prepared for the storm Florida-style and we were stocked up on snackies and adult beverages.

I’m thankful their house turned out to be just fine; Orlando didn’t get hit hard by the storm. My parents home in Jacksonville lost power for a few days, and there were tons of trees down in their neighborhood, but otherwise they were unscathed. Unfortunately, St. Augustine and the Jacksonville beaches flooded and were torn up, and we have friends who live out there. Hurricanes, especially ones category 3 and above, scare me, and I’m definitely taking steps to make sure our home is secure for next year’s season.