Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear about Bismarck's and your family's troubles. IMO, anybody who doesn't think there's some kind of climate change occurring--is crazy! Good thoughts, even wet sunflowers, and lots of prayers are on the way to them.

Michelle, Here are some more Sunflowers, along with prayers for your family and your hometown.
I know you must be in a state knowing it's coming and there's nothing anyone can do.

(I'm still cleaning up big Oak limbs and debris from the last big storm----I'll take this any day over flooding!!!)

I was just about to come find you. I saw the flooding in ND and thought of you. I am on my way to St Louis and was checking out where the Mississippi flooding stands when I saw that further upstream they were releasing water from the MO river, that had been stored up until the MS could handle more flow. It's all so horrible. My thoughts and heartfelt kind wishes for all involved.

Loads of beautiful water lilies coming your way.

Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear of your family's troubles.I just can't imagine going through a disaster of that type.

oooops, Michelle---sorry; make those Sunflowers I sent to you, Cattails---I do have a few of those!

Hopefully, the worst will be over soon and folks can get their daily lives righted again...

More prayers coming.

Michelle, good thoughts coming your way for you and yours. I read some of the stories in the Bismark Tribune and it looks tough for the people there, lots of new dikes, berms and road closures. Hope things turn out well for your family.

I feel for your family and the rest of the folks. I am not sending flowers, I sending sand and bleach!

Michelle, prayers and positive thoughts going to your family and friends in ND.

This year has been an unbelievable year of weather disasters for this country. Prayers for all of us to have the faith and strength to withstand whatever happens.

Mary

Michelle, I am so sorry.
It is so sad for folks to have to go through any disaster.
A flood is a horrible thing.
It sucks eggs that your family is in the area that will be flooded.

Neil and I were talking about all the people who need help
and here we sit too impaired to do anything but make
donations.

My prayers and thoughts will be with you and your family.

How are things today? I sure hope that things haven't gotten worse!

Things haven't gotten any worse, Agnes. But they haven't gotten any better either. It seems at least two family homes are certainly doomed. Time will tell how the rest fare.

A group of Catholic nuns has taken in my Lutheran aunt and uncle. Another aunt and uncle are living with grown children. Everyone I know has become a sandbagging pro.

This is happening in slow motion, and once inundated, homes will stay so for weeks. That bleach will come in handy!

And as the water continues to flow, it'll have similar impacts on communities downstream.

Hope they will be able to rebuild or move on as they wish or want with help and the flooding is kept to limits that save more homes. Still thinking of you and yours.

I'm interested in getting some cattails.

janis_g

There has never, ever been any tragedy that a warm hug, a quick prayer, a kind word of encouragement didn't help.

They can open prisons and jails, get lots of volunteers to fill sand bags, and get ready for it, but it takes special kinds of folks to offer the comfort needed when everything one has is gone or damaged...

You and Neil are just as capable, and just as useful as anyone else in these times.

We're glad we got you!

Hey Michelle?

I realize this is a "kicked-up thread", but how did everything come out? Or are they still dealing with the remnants? I thought about them all the way from here to St Louis, crossing every river in between back in June.

Here, we're finally opening our big mall, next spring; two years later! Ooo, I hope they open it on May 1-2, that'd be a full circle. I like completeness.

It's still flooded, Rob, but the worst is over. One aunt did get weeks of water in her basement, two aunts and two uncles are still evacuated, but the sandbags held. (Of course they'll have to replace sheetrock and cabinets when they do go back.) My parents will FINALLY close on the sale of my childhood home tomorrow. (Turns out no bank will write a mortgage on a property with a 3-foot wall of sandbags around it --- but the new people have been paying rent in the interim.)

Sometimes all it takes is a bigger tragedy to put things into perspective. We got that in the form of my 61 year old aunt slipping into a coma and dying a couple weeks later. Perspective is a b$@&!, eh?

It'll take ND and the other inundated states a while to right themselves, but it'll happen.

Yes, it does take time. And loads of help. Phooey. I was hoping for better, but this is good progress. To be expected.

I am so sorry about the flooding and the aunt.