Houston Mom Blogger Monday: Erica Nicole; Lindsey Morris & Coppelia Marie


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#HoustonStrong

In the early morning hours after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Rockport Texas, the city of Houston started seeing water levels rise steadily. By noon on Sunday, August 27, 2017, entire communities were being evacuated. Flooding in Houston started becoming an overwhelming catastrophe with hospitals, government buildings and thousands of homes at risk.  The entire Texas National Guard was activated.

As of Monday afternoon, over 2,000 people had been rescued with the Houston Police chief announcing that nearly 200 critical rescue requests were still pending.

On this special edition of Houston Mom Blogger Monday, we’re introducing you to three Houston Mom Bloggers who are sharing their experiences with the Hurricane Harvey aftermath in the city they call home.  Meet Erica Nicole, Lindsey Morris and Coppelia Marie:


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Erica Nicole

Blog Name: Aiming for August

The Houston mom of an adorable toddler girl and baby boy (ages 2 years & 4 months) is currently in the process of becoming a lactation consultant. She shares with Mommy In Los Angeles® that she started blogging as a way to express her experiences with the ups and downs of motherhood.

“When I was pregnant, every blogger that I followed made pregnancy seem easy and so beautiful. While it may be for some, it wasn’t for me! I had unrealistic expectations and wanted to make sure that no other mothers got blind-sided like I did,” explains Erica.

 

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING HURRICANE HARVEY?

We live in the heart of the city right behind White Oak Bayou. We live in a small condominium community with several other long-time residents. No one was expecting Harvey to be as bad as it was. The morning before Harvey, we were all planning for destruction of some sort. We all moved our patio furniture and raised everything in the building above waist level. Most of my neighbors stayed in their homes. Because we have two little babies, we knew that we had to leave. From the words of our neighbors, everything is gone. Our building is covered almost to the ceiling and approaching the floor of my upstairs neighbors. Fortunately we are all safe but some of our belongings are not. We are still some of the fortunate people in the city as there are others who have literally lost everything and some who have lost their lives.
 

WHAT DO YOU TELL YOUR KIDS ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING?

They’re babies so I haven’t said much. We are staying with my in laws so the 2 year old is getting to see her grandparents and do a lot more things that she normally doesn’t do! We have power currently so we’ve been watching tons of movies and eating tons of snacks!

REFLECTIONS & SENTIMENTS ABOUT BEING A MOM IN HOUSTON DURING THIS DEVASTATING TIME:

So far, this has been one of my hardest challenges as a wife and a mother. I’m terrified of storms but I knew that I had to be responsible and strong for my children. While the effects on the city have been devastating, I’ve watched so many people come together. That’s one of the greatest things about Texas and Houston, period. It may take a while to rebuild for almost all of us, but we will. #houstonstrong


Photo Taken by Erica Nicole a week ago. "All of this is underwater now," she tells Mommy In Los Angeles®

Photo Taken by Erica Nicole a week ago. “All of this is underwater now,” she tells Mommy In Los Angeles®


Photo: Aiming for August Blog

Photo: Aiming for August Blog


Photo: Aiming for August Blog

Photo: Aiming for August Blog

Connect with Erica!

Instagram: @aimingforaugust  | Twitter: @aiming4august | Facebook: www.facebook.com/aimingforaugustblog



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Lindsey Morris

Blog Name: Leave a Little Pixie Dust

Lindsey Morris is a Houston-based engineer, happily married to husband Brad and mommy to 17-month old Jack. She is and avid runner and is currently serving as a Disney Parks Mom Panelist (selected among thousands of applicants worldwide). Her blog, Leave a Little Pixie Dust, is a close look into her experience as a Disney Parks Moms Panelist with a highlight on Special Disney events and friends she has met along the way. Lindsey is an energetic and passionate born-and-raised Houstonian. The type of mom who gets things thoroughly completed before a deadline and still maintains the drive to do more.

Currently, Lindsey tells Mommy In Los Angeles® that she and her family are safe, patiently waiting for the rain to stop and keeping fingers crossed so the flood waters start receding.

 

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING HURRICANE HARVEY?

The past couple of storms we’ve had in Houston have been really blown out of proportion. We’ve heard that we are going to lose power and flood and it could be a mess, but it’s amounted to not much. What made me nervous with Hurricane Harvey was when all the media coverage began I feel like a lot of Houstonians had the “boy who cried wolf” mentality and a lot of folks thought that it wasn’t going to be as bad as it sounded.

Since we had a little one, I didn’t want to take any risks so we had pallets of water, our cars filled with gas and food for days. We knew there wasn’t much we could do to prepare for loss of power other than flashlights, but I think we did the best we could. As we saw the tropical storm upgraded to Hurricane Cat 1, then progressively up to a Cat 4 storm I think it clicked for a lot of people, but it may have been too little too late.

There are historic storms that born-and-raised Houstonians remember, like Allison, and when we began to hear the comparison between the two it really began to make Houstonians fear what was to come, but I don’t think anyone could have ever predicted the catastrophic impact that Harvey would have on our city. As our reservoirs and bayous are flooding out of their banks, we are hearing that they don’t even have models to try and understand what could happen because 50” in a matter of days didn’t seem humanly possible. I continue to pray for our city and those that have lost so much.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AS YOU SEE AREAS YOU RECOGNIZE SUBMERGED? HAS THIS EXPERIENCE PERSONALLY AFFECTED YOU OR YOUR BELONGINGS?

It’s devastating to see the areas we drive every day completely submerged. Our routes to and from work, the routes I take for daily runs, completely underwater. This pales in comparison to those that are seeing their homes and neighborhoods completely devastated.

During a recent move, we consolidated from a larger home in the suburbs to a smaller townhouse in the city so over half of our belongings are in a storage unit. Based on the coverage we’ve seen from the news we are fairly certain our unit is completely submerged at this time. While I was upset to think of our wedding album, furniture and childhood belongings completely ruined, in reality it’s just stuff that we can ultimately replace. The important thing is that my family is safe, we have not been displaced and I can still hold onto what really matters.


Lindsey Morris shares with Mommy In Los Angeles® this picture of the current situation in what would have been a smooth commute to work.

Lindsey Morris shares with Mommy In Los Angeles® this picture of the current situation in what would have been a smooth commute to work.

 

REFLECTIONS & SENTIMENTS ABOUT BEING A MOM IN HOUSTON DURING THIS DEVASTATING TIME:

As I just laid in bed putting Jack down for a nap, I watched one of the Houston newscasters rescue a woman in the middle of active labor. I couldn’t imagine the stress that Momma must be feeling and I just began to pray for the safety of her and her baby. I’ve watched family after family of little ones be rescued and it’s truly devastating. While Hurricane Harvey is the headline this week, ultimately it is going to take our city months to rebuild. My family has been extremely fortunate thus far, but my heart breaks for those that don’t know when their babies will be dry or feel safe again. It is amazing to me though to see the outpouring of love and assistance that people are sending to Houston.

I’ve seen the “Cajun Navy” as they’ve dubbed themselves, bring a plethora of boats from Louisiana to Houston to help rescue. They understand more than most what devastation like this feels like and I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone helping in any way they can. As Mommas, we can feel overlooked at times as though the little things we do aren’t always appreciated or recognized. Please know though that Houstonians are appreciative of any assistance they can get right now. No donation is too small and no act is insignificant. It all matters and it all helps so please keep the city of Houston in your thoughts and donate anything you can.


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Connect with Lindsey!

Instagram: @leavealittlepixiedust



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Coppelia Marie

Blog Name: CoppeliaMarie.com

Coppelia is a Houston wife, radio & TV host, speaker, published author and worship leader. She’s also a mom to Chris, age 11 and Allyson, age 7. She juggles her responsibilities with such grace that one would think she’s the epitome of a super mom. Her blog emerged as a way to make extra income but Coppelia says it has allowed her to meet and connect with the blogging community in Houston. When she’s not busy with a speaking engagement or a mommy blogger appearance, she’s at church keeping her faith alive and encouraging other people to believe in God’s gifts.

“As a Christian family, we have been praying a LOT!,” shares Coppelia. “The kids Bible devotional book we read last night gave me so much peace! It was like God was saying, ‘I’ve stopped the rain before and I can do it again. Ask me!'”.

 

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING HURRICANE HARVEY?

Hurricane Harvey is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And I grew up in Puerto Rico, home to Category 3 and 4 storms like Hugo in 1989 (during which I saw my street flood when I was 12), and Georges in 1998 (which destroyed the School of Public Communications at the University of Puerto Rico during my last semester. We ended up meeting teachers in fast food restaurants to finish handing in projects etc!) 

Our family moved to Houston from Sacramento, CA in 2011 for a morning show position at KSBJ Radio. We had only heard about terrible flooding and storms in Houston, like Ike and Allison.

When we first heard about Harvey, to be honest, I was concerned. I’d never been through a storm here and was scared that Houston would make Katrina mistakes, like not evacuating people early enough. 

Sadly, I’m afraid it looks like, not only did the city not evacuate, the storm has been worse than the “catastrophic” reports we were receiving at the radio station at the onset of Harvey. 

My heart is breaking for folks in areas that had never flooded before, who had to find a way to their roof in hopes of being rescued. 

Currently, in our apartment complex, the first floor has been taking in water, including our garage. We are thankful because we are safe in our 2nd floor, but it’s crazy to see our neighbors leaving in little boats with a few backpacks full of what they could take. 

I shared a Facebook LIVE last night of a kids Bible devotional that talked about praying BIG prayers. It shared the story of Elijah, a man in the Bible who prayed to make the rain stop and it did! We need those BIG prayers right now in Houston.


Coppelia keeps a positive & cheerful attitude, even as the first floor of her building is beginning to flood. At the time of posting, Coppelia and her family got word that flooding is expected to double so they will be evacuating soon.

Coppelia keeps a positive & cheerful attitude, even as the first floor of her building is beginning to flood. At the time of posting, Coppelia and her family got word that flooding is expected to double so they will be evacuating soon.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AS YOU SEE AREAS IN HOUSTON SUBMERGED UNDER WATER? HAS THIS EXPERIENCE PERSONALLY AFFECTED YOU OR YOUR BELONGINGS?

It’s surreal and shocking. We drove yesterday hoping we could make it to Dallas before our area flooded, but had to turn around because the roads were impassable and we chose to “turn around and not drown”.

What is shocking me the most, literally leaving me at a loss, is the charts I’ve seen meteorologists, like my friend Travis Herzog on ABC 13, showing were you see the records of rivers, and how far above and beyond Harvey has surpassed that. It’s truly astounding.

 

REFLECTIONS & SENTIMENTS ABOUT BEING A MOM IN HOUSTON DURING THIS DEVASTATING TIME:

Interestingly, my kids have been so chill this whole time. My gymnast daughter had her USAG Level 2 meet cancelled, and so was my son’s football game, both on Saturday.  Today was supposed to be my son’s 1st day of Middle School and my daughter’s first day of second grade. We told them the school district had postponed school until September 5th. And every time we mention things like that, they’re like “OK!” 

As of right now, Monday at 1pm, we still have power and water. My son made us all bagel sandwiches for lunch. Yum! We were all watching Descendants 2 (again!) Haha! We’re Disney freaks! 

And when my hubby and I have discussed evacuation plans and what we would do, my daughter especially got excited about maybe heading to Florida to visit my sister, Titi Milli (a Disney freak herself!). I think that’s what is amazing about kids – –  they’re so positive and creative! 

If we have to leave, no problem, we’ll move to Disney World (aka my sister’s place! Lol!) 

We don’t have a boat? No problem! My son made a raft with a pool floatie, some rope and a “stick oar”! 

We’re having tuna and crackers for dinner? Awesome! It’s like camping at home! 

These kids are the best! I’m incredibly thankful for their attitudes because they are making this very heavy situation a little lighter. Makes me think of why it says we need to be like children to inherit the kingdom of Heaven. 

Thanks for letting me share! Now to keep praying for this rain to stop and floods to recede!


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Connect with Coppelia!

Instagram: @CoppeliaMarie | Twitter: @CoppeliaMarie | YouTube: Coppelia Marie | Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/coppeliamarie/


Los Angeles Moms wishing to donate to help families and victims of Hurricane Harvey, can find different options and organizations in this Houston Moms Blog Post.

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