We are home

We moved home about a month ago. It is so nice to be home again.

We are still unpacking but have everything we need.

My sister's home is still being repaired. She had no insurance and no help from FEMA for repairs so we are working on donations, if you can make a donation to help get her home today. She needs all new appliances and furniture, plus misc. household items.

Thanks.

Pictures to follow.

-Becky

Once we get home

Once we get home we still need:

full size mattress and boxspring
living room furniture (couches and tv stand)
kitchen table and chairs
refrigerator

I am able to reuse old stove and dishwasher and a friend is giving us a used stackable washer / dryer unit. So that is a blessing.

The table and chairs and living furniture will be a challenge as I had no contents on insurance; and the spaces are small so we can't just take any used stuff. I do not mind used at all, but it just has to fit.

I know it will come together eventually. I do have an air mattress I can sleep on until I can get another mattress. The fridge is the only real need immediately as I can not reopen my in home daycare with out a working stove, and fridge.

~Becky

My house update

They are scheduled to install my kitchen counter tops tomorrow afternoon. I am so excited.

We still have to:

insulate under bathroom
install toilet
install shower head
install vanity
install sink
hang mirror
hang fixtures (like towel bar)
seal tile in bathroom

seal tile in backroom
install hot water heater

seal tile in kitchen
put in dishwasher
put in stove
put in microwave (wall mount)
put in sink

reinstall my bedroom light

paint some trim

install some window trim

install closet door

install furnace door

install ac unit

I am not sure what else, but hopefully it will all be done and we can go home before March 1st.

Most of what we need has been purchased (from insurance money advance, donation money, and the rest on credit,) but we still may need a few odds and ends.

It is so exciting to be going home soon.

~Becky

3 months ago

3 months ago today my sister, nephew, boyfriend, and my boys were having a hurricane party. We were all at my house preparing for the hurricane. We had games, movies, snacks, and confidence that our homes would be fine. My biggest worry was a tree falling on my house, as I have 11 in my yard. But water in the house was not even a concern of mine. Yes, the town was under mandatory evacuation, and yes all the news reports were saying this was going to be a bad storm. Yet still until you live through something like that it is hard to imagine.

So about 8:30 at night when we finally lost power and the water rose quickly to my street, then yard, then ultimately under my home it become a bit more real. As a home down the street was engulfed in flames it became more real. As we went to bed with wind howling, unsure of the scene we would find in the am, it became more real.

But the next morning as the sun was shining and the water had receded it seemed that we had escaped the hurricane. Until we took a walk, and quickly had to turn around as we discovered first large amount of debris (like a huge deck in the middle of 8th street,) to boats tossed around like children's play toys, to homes and business's hanging on for dear life.

So then we went home and we waited. Waited for news of what was going on. Waited to hear if loved ones were ok. Waited to know if we could leave our homes or not. Waited for heat, and power, and food. We were cut off from the news and most cell phones had died or had no service. Our cars were submerged in flood water and unusable. News came from neighbors with no certainty of any validity. I kept thinking this is crazy that we can not get any information, with all the technology we have, yet it was useless at a  time like this. (Please add battery operated radio to your emergency kit.)

And now, 3 months later although our technology has been restored our lives have not. I have yet to hear of anyone who suffered damage in Union Beach who is still not living with said damage. My sister and nephew whose home was seriously damaged (and they had no insurance at all) is living with my mom and stepfather. 3 months later and she still can not even find a reliable car to buy to replace the one she lost. We (my boys, dog, and I) are living in my brother's 1 bedroom apartment in Keansburg. Every time I say we may be able to go home in two weeks it is still always two weeks. Jay (my boyfriend) whose apartment was destroyed in Keansburg, is currently sleeping on his niece's floor or couch as his old place is still a mess. Countless other friends are still in hotels, on other's couches, or have had to leave the state to find suitable housing.

And still we are all waiting. Waiting on FEMA. Waiting on insurance. Waiting on Disaster Unemployment. Waiting to resume any semblance of normalcy. Waiting to go home, or waiting to find a new home. And waiting to relax.

We all still need prayers, love, and support. If you can find your way to Union Beach and volunteer for a day or more, or if you can donate to our hurricane relief fund, or someone else's. Anything you can do to help us all get home will be greatly appreciated.

~Becky Rivera

Progress

Christian Aid Ministries has begun work on my house. It is all so exciting. So far the floor joist are repaired and subfloors are put in. They replaced all damaged insulation and sheetrock. They gutted the entire bathroom and are redoing it (everything in there was damaged from old water damage.) They put in a new regular size tub. They are working on the plumbing (all the plumbing in the house is being replaced.) The kitchen cabinets have all been removed. The electrical has been checked and cleared (and a new outlet in my room and for the microwave have been installed.)

We still have to:

spackle living room

put in living room floor

paint living room

put in closet door in living room

spackle hallway

paint hallway

put in hallway floors

spackle bathroom

install light switch in bathroom

put in new floor in bathroom

install toilet in bathroom

install shower head in bathroom

install fixtures in bathroom (towel bar, etc.)

install vanity and faucet in bathroom

install light switch in bedroom

spackle bedroom

put floors in bedroom

paint bedroom

replace bedroom door

install kitchen cabinets in kitchen

paint kitchen

install floors in kitchen

put back stove, dishwasher, sink, and refrigerator in kitchen

put plumbing in kitchen from under house

install countertop

install furnace, central air unit, and all hvac ductwork

install hot water heater in back room
put floor down in back room
spackle back room
paint back room
make coat closet in back room

In the next few days I have to pick paint for all the rooms, and order and pay for kitchen cabinets.

I should have just enough money to buy the kitchen cabinets (stock cabinets they are $2,600, this is the cheapest option they have except buying them unstained and staining them myself.) I will charge the paint and pay it off when I get my insurance settlement.

I do not have enough money for:
paint
kitchen counter
any floors
toilet
vanity
pay HVAC guy ($4,000)
supplies for coat closet
bedroom door
living room closet door
pay floor guy for work he already did

But it is exciting to see progress. I am praying the job will be done by Jan. 29th (three months since the hurricane.) But that is very hopeful as the insurance company has until Jan. 28th to make a decision regarding my settlement amount (and then more time to actually send the check.)

Thanks again for all your support!

~Becky

Help still needed

It will cost about $40,000 to repair my home. I did get an advance of $5,000 from the insurance, but have no idea what the final amount given will be. Plus we have damages that the insurance is not covering since it is from termites and my house just being old.  So we still need prayers and help with donations. Especially since after my house we have to secure housing for my sister (since it is not looking likely that we will be able to repair her home.)

Cash donations and Lowe's and Home Depot gift cards appreciated!!!

Thanks for all your help!

~Becky

Thanks so much!

To anyone and everyone who made a donation (time, cash, a gift, or a gift card) for us for Christmas and / or for the house, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
I am trying to send everyone a thank you card, but some addresses I do not have and some donations were anonymous.
If you know someone who gave to us please express our gratitude!!!

~Becky

Progress

I just got an advance in the mail today from my flood insurance company for $5,000.
This is a huge deal and now we can buy supplies needed to start rebuilding!

This is awesome news.

~Becky

Not really an update

I have not blogged much on here as nothing has changed with our houses. No work was done at all in either house in Dec. We are all still waiting on the insurance money.

I do have a crew ready to begin work on Monday and I have about $2,500 (all from donations from amazing people like you) to get started. Plus I paid $3,400 (of my own money) to the HVAC guy to buy the furnace, ac unit, and duct work we need to replace all that was ruined. (I still owe him another $4,000 when the job is done.)

I will say that Christmas was amazing and we were blessed by family, friends, and strangers helping to make our Christmas so special. I still am in awe of the love and support we have gotten from so many.

My boys and I are still at my brothers apartment. He is still staying with friends. My sister and nephew are still at my mom's. Yet I know how blessed we are as others we are now are still on couches and in crappy hotel rooms or hotel rooms that are over an hour away. We get to try and have some sort of normal while our homes get repaired.

Today we are going to try and resume school (we homeschool) and also clean up some of the Christmas mess. I also will watch my nephew at 3. (I have watched him for over a year while my sister works.) I also was watching other children, as I was running an in home daycare. I, of course, am unable to do that now with a home that is floorless and heatless. But at least I can still watch my nephew. I watch him at my brother's or my mom's.

Once we go home again I hope to reopen my in home daycare.

Hopefully next week I will have more news about the houses as we get the crew in to see what supplies are needed and what we can and can not do and so on. I am super excited to know myself.

Happy New Year!

~Becky

Awesome news

With all the donations and gift cards we have received and some awesome news from Christian aid ministries we will start work on my home in the second week of January. That is the best Christmas gift I could ever receive. The love and support from others feels like home to me.

~Becky

p.s. Still working on all the financial details, but I have enough to get started.

So thankful

I wanted to share that a team of people who I do not know and who do not know me came and spent about 4 days doing demo in my home at the end of Nov. They were so kind and cheerful. They ripped out all my carpets, laminate, tile, and subfloors. They removed all insulation under my house. They removed all the ductwork under the home as well. They neatly stacked all garbage on the curb. They also mold treated shed and under the house twice. Then they reinstalled a vapor barrier under my house, and removed all storm debris and leaves from my yard. That was amazing.

I got a chance to chat with some of the guys on the first day and they were all volunteers who paid their own way to get to NJ. They were sleeping on the floor of a church while they were here.

I started to cry the first day as they began to demo my house (I am very sensitive), and I apologized to the group of men, yet one guy said, "No, you need to cry, this is a big deal." How loving this was, that he didn't make me feel ashamed or embarrassed for my tears.

I can never thank them enough. This was a huge help and also mitigated any further damage caused by the storm.

~Becky

A little celebration

Yesterday was Jason's 15th birthday, so we had some cake and he had lots of video game time.
                                                            And life goes on.

                    This picture is from this summer, when we celebrated Jason graduating 8th grade

I can finally write a post as we have not had internet where we were staying, but now we do. We have gone to my brother's apartment for now (he is staying with friends.) I am so thankful for my amazing brother who is sacrificing his apartment so the boys, our dog, and I can be together. It was extremely difficult for me over the past 2 weeks to have one son at one house, us at another, and our dog at yet another.

We got to put up my brother's tree the other night and also got to all have a meal at his kitchen table. These things feel like home to me.

My home is currently in limbo, sitting lonely and empty without any floors or heat. We are waiting for insurance to give us an amount, so we can begin to make decisions. These are the things that need to be done to it so far:

cut out sheetrock in some walls, as we discovered wet insulation in some
replace all floor joists (including perimeter they sit on and center support of floor) $8,000
replace all heating and cooling duct work, furnace, and ac unit $8,000
replace all subfloors $1,500
replace all floors
resheetrock walls
inspect all electrical, have electrician install furnace and ac unit
have plumber update improper water shut offs
replace kitchen cabinets
replace bathroom vanity
replace tub, and toilet (need plumber to do so)
replace tile on shower walls

I do not have estimates on everything, but believe it will be over $30,000. I am still meeting with people to get estimates, while I wait for the insurance settlement. The biggest stressor (besides not being home) is that some of the above damage is not Sandy related but old house related, yet still needs to be updated. The floor joists all need to be replaced, but most likely will not be covered by insurance since the damage is not flood related. But no one will just slap new subfloors on them as it would be unsafe.

So we continue to wait.

~Becky

Today

Since we discovered my home is also unlivable (mold has set in) and needs more repairs than originally thought we have to move out as well. Sam and Kaiden have already gone to our mom's. I have sent my boys to their other grandparents. I am still in the home with my dog, frantically trying to secure housing for us that will allow our dog and do a month to month rental. Don't forget that hundreds of homes in our area have been destroyed, so rentals are hard to come by.

I did go back to FEMA and change my claim to let them know I now need relocation money. They were so helpful and I did get approval to stay in a hotel up to 15 days and then get rental assistance for up to 2 months while my home is being repaired. I checked and I do not have to repay any of these services or funds.

It is a relief that I have their backing, however finding somewhere to stay in those perimeters is no easy task. All while packing up my entire downstairs (which is almost my whole house) and being separated from my boys.

Still I remain calm and hopeful. Also through this all I have not felt alone. I know God is overseeing and carrying me through, plus many from my family, friends, and church have reached out to offer assistance. Yesterday a friend from my church was over helping me pack. Today a few more friends are coming as well. Fri. a team from my church is coming to get all my appliances and big furniture in storage.

For now I take a quiet moment to just be, and also to count my blessings as they are still so numerous.

I count you my reader as a blessing today. For taking time to read this, and for your care and compassion. I wish you, my dear reader a happy Thanksgiving. I also ask you to share this blog on your facebook, twitter, blog, even email the link to your contacts. And if you feel lead please make a donation so we can rebuild my home and my sister's home as well.

Thanks.

~Becky

Demo Day

Remaining items on street

 

Organizatin that did demo

Yesterday I received a phone call from this Mormon organization, they were at Samantha's house, and wanted to know what help we needed. After a few calls back and forth, they came back today to completely gut Samantha's house, When I say gut, its a shell. Walls, floors, molding, anything wet, moldy or rotted. In this case even the kitchen sink. Anything tangible left from Hurricane, was either boxed to bring to my house or scrapped. Very little was saved. While this all might seem great that now the house is bared to the bones, it does not mean very much. We do not have the means, financially to put it back together. But at least further damage will be avoided.

This coming week, we will be packing up Becky's house, as the entire first floor flooring has to be pulled up. Did I mentioned finding a place for all of Becky's stufff

The sub floor, the floor, any walls that got wet, maybe the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom tile and tub. Who knows what will be found upon further inspection. All heating ducts need replacement, the central air unit was under water and any insulation under the house needs to be removed. Sadly under the house was just completely weatherizied by professionals about 3 years ago. As if not to add insult to injury, on Friday Becky had a small house fire in her dryer. We are not sure now if perhaps electric got wet, or the dryer just felt like quiting. Hopefully it is the latter. The one saving grace from Sams' house is about 2 months ago I replaced her dryer and it did not get wet. It is smaller but will work for now. Of course it is outside, so hopefully weather elements will not ruin it.


Whats left of kitchen, mold already making a new home
 

What does this mean, Becky, Sam, three grandsons, a dog and a cat will have no place to go, I am hoping Scott and I can find a small short term rental for about a month and they all can stay here. Sounds simple except rentals are not available due to the amount of homeless survivors of the storm that also lost their homes, I thought a extended stay hotel would work but they are all booked with again survivors of the storm and all the utility workers from out of state. Each day we face a new challenge, each day we find new strength

Trying to find the hope, faith and love, please continue your support

  

Team doing demo, God Bless them all

Mold setting in

Add caption

What was Sam's bedroom, floor was still wet after 14 days

                                                    Sam in her gutted out house, so sad

Thanks so much for the donations

So far we have received donations of cash, food store gift cards, Home Depot & Lowe's gift cards.

We are so thankful.

Will update when we know exact repairs needed on both houses, plus estimates. The cash will go towards home repairs for both homes.

We really feel the love. Thank you so much!

~Becky

FEMA letter

Just got my letter from FEMA. I am getting $0.00. That will really help right now.

Ahhhh!!!

~Becky

After the storm, this is the town after the storm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yNnZGctDLs&noredirect=1

Flood insurance

My flood insurance adjuster will not be out until the week after Thanksgiving. He said that I can not make any repairs or even pull up the kitchen floors until he comes. I asked him about mold especially since I have a child with asthma, he said I could call a mold guy out myself to check for mold.

Apparently we are not priority since we are still living in the home and have power and heat. My fear is that we are blowing mold into the house with the heat on, as the FEMA guy said their was water in the vents and installation under the house.

I guess I will be calling a mold guy; oh and I have to also call HVAC as I have to get an estimate to get that repaired as well.

I can tell you, I officially feel like a grown up now with dealing with all this storm stuff. I sort of miss the days when my mom would come in and handle everything for me (and she has offered) but this is stuff that I have to take care of.

Will update on my house as I know more.

~Becky

From a 9 year old's perspective

Last week we had a big storm. The water came up to our deck. I wasn't scared, because I knew if it came in the house we could go upstairs. The water came up my aunt's car, you could not even see her license plate. The water went over our car's tires. The power in our house went out for the whole week.

My aunt Sammy lost her house. She has to stay at our house. And my baby cousin, Kaiden has to stay too. And my mom's friend has to stay, he lost his house too. It is stress full with 6 people here. My mom, my aunt, my cousin, my mom's friend, my brother, and me. So we are praying that everything goes well. We are all crowded in this house. But we know that God will provide a way. Please pray for us.

                                            Josh at the Union Beach bay this summer

~Josh (age 9)