[Sly Fox]

The power keeps cutting on and off. Over 1.3 million people in Houston are without power right now ... and counting.

A huge branch just fell in my front yard and driveway that would've done some serious damage to my roof it had fallen that direction. Thank you, Jesus.

[Sly Fox]

My front and back yards are a complete mess. At least now I know what I'll be doing the next few days after this over.

The power is constantly kicking on and off. Frankly I'm at the point where no power wouldn't be so bad. I am sure that is coming soon enough.

I'm also spent. I'm going to try and grab some shuteye before the really nasty stuff hits in the next hour.

[justagirl]

praying for you and your family sly!

[Sly Fox]

The power did indeed kick off shortly after that last message. We are being told that it will be Monday at the earliest and up to two weeks before we'll get our power back on.

We still have tropical storm force winds and rain. But the worst of it is behind us. The wind sheered the tops off of many of the Ponderosa pines around our house. One huge branch (2-foot across branch) is hanging precariously behgind my next door neighbor's garage from a phone line.

I only have so much battery power so I'm not sure how much I'll be posting. Thanks for everyone who was praying.

[cheerbren]

Praying! Are your phone lines down?

[Rooster Cogburn]

Still praying here Sly! Hope everyone is OK!

[Fumblerooskies]

Thank you for the updates...and thank you God for watching over Sly and family.

[Sly Fox]

You have no idea how much it sucks to not have electricity or water. Wow!

Hopefully we can get one or the other soon. It is like living in a war zone. Debris and destruction all over the place and no businesses open. It is odd to drive around the 4th largest city in America and not see any lights anywhere.

I am rationing my internet time taking turns using a inverter. So my posts will be few and far between unless the power issue is solved. Complicating matters more is that most Cellular towers sustained damage meaning my Blackberry signal is a fraction of what it normally is. I can receive email and text anybody rather easily. But I can't get on the board from my Blackberry and tethering to my laptop is my only connection to the outside world.

We may be heading to Austin in the next day or two to hold out until power returns. Mrs. Sly is not down with 90% humidity and no a/c.

I spent several hours with a saw working on a the mess in my front & back yards. But it is a gigantic project. Rain is in the forecast for Sunday complicating cleanup matters even more.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated. The number of trees on my street that fell in the only direction they could without hitting a home is astonishing. It has been a great witness tool amongst my neighbors.

I'll do my best to drop in nuggets from the Dark City the next few days whenever I can manage.

[thesportscritic]

you and your family are in my prayers. stay safe.

[JeanW]

Thanks for the update. My girlfriend and her family in SugarLand finally got power again after almost 24 hours. They had a limb come through the roof in their kitchen. But they've put a tarp over it and are thankful it's nothing worse. They're all safe.

Hope you get both power and water SOON.

[01LUGrad]

I thought things were bad here after Isabel in '03, so I can't imagine what it is like down there right now. Take care of youself!

[Sly Fox]

Last night we evacuated Houston and we're staying with family near Austin. We still have no power or water. One of my neighbors I talked to by phone this afternoon said his daughter asked one of the utility trucks driving near our neighborhood when they would start working on ours. They told her that we were a low priority as they are focusing on places that are easy to get back online (i.e. not many trees). We live in a densely wooded neighborhood and the damage is widespread. There are pockets of electricity within a few miles of the house that have allowed a few grocery stores to reopen. But gasoline is nearly impossible to obtain and may be so for several weeks.

As we were feeling town there were long lines of cars trying to get into the city. I was asking myself, "Why?". There is practically no work and just keeping fed and fueled will be tough for the next few weeks.

We plan on staying over here for awhile even if power returns shortly. The chaos and lack of control by authorities is not an environment for children. With my son being homeschooled and both Mrs. Sly & I working either online or off site there is no urgency to return home.

We really appreciate all of the prayers.

[4everfsu]

Sly do you have any neighbors to keep an eye on your house while you are in Austin?

[Sly Fox]

Yes. And he tells me that we now have running water on our street. But electricity and gasoline remain elusive.

We're relaxing in Austin hanging out by Barton Springs as we try to return to some form of normalcy. We have no intentions of returning for several days even though temps have cooled.

[Sly Fox]

Still waiting in Austin while my house remains part of the half of Houston still without power. We've been told we should have power by Monday.

How is your family faring, PastorZack?

[PastorZack]

Sly, my family is still under a mandatory evacuation. They let them come and look and take inventory and that's about it. They had to put a tarp on my dad's workshop, that had its metal roof blown off. They found it about 400 yards away in a wooded lot. They had to put a tarp on the corner of their roof. They had water in their den because of the fireplace and two blown out windows. My parents also ( I think this was dumb of them) left their RV at home and it took on water from somewhere. They also lost their back deck because the car port was taken off and smashed it to the ground. They still have no power, no water pressure (but plenty of dirty rainwater), and no sewer. My parents say that they could do with the no power, but the lack of water and sewer makes things dicey. They still are waiting on the MRE's and other things in Sabine County where they evac'ed to. I think they were one of the smart ones and actually brought their pets with them. Thanks Sly for asking. My prayers are with your family and mine and the other millions that have been displaced and just waiting. The power company has said that they could expect power by the first of the month at the earliest.

[blwall1416]

This is one of the main reasons I'm trying to get in the Coast Guard Reserves...disaster relief.

[fan00]

My aunt and her family live near Tomball and they were hit pretty hard. They had a tree go through their roof and take out one bedroom and a bathroom, also considerable water damage. After they returned she said they had prepared themselves for at least a month of no power since all of the poles on the main road leading to their neighborhood as well as in their neighborhood were snapped. So, this weekend they purchased a pricey generator and were going to "tough it out." But, yesterday morning they woke up to power! Originally they had been told that the line from the main power line to their house would be their responsibility, but she went to ask the men working on the line if they knew anyone who could do it and they did it for her. They were all the way from Connecticut. She was very grateful. Now its just a matter of insurance issues, adjusters, etc. They are just glad they evacuated since it hit their area about 4am and the bedroom that was crushed was the Master where they would have been sleeping.

[cheerbren]

I have not heard from my daughters father from Houston yet, so I am not sure how it is going, but without electricity maybe they don't have a car charger for their cell. Pray for them if you think of it.

[Sly Fox]

I just received a text from Mrs. Sly that the power just came on at our house!!!

Two weeks after the lights went off we are back in business.

[Fumblerooskies]

I just received a text from Mrs. Sly that the power just came on at our house!!!

Two weeks after the lights went off we are back in business.

That's great. Have a safe trip home.