Amid the wreckage this week in Florida due to Hurricane Ian, one military family is counting its blessings — and wishing for the safety, well-being and good health of other Americans who have been badly impacted by the latest destructive storm.
The family also reminded other Americans that we have "built" in the past — and "we will rebuild" in the future.
"Yesterday evening I got a notification on my phone that our nest cam picked up movement," wrote the mom of four based in Sarasota, Fla., on Thursday. She shared her messages and story with Fox News Digital and asked for privacy for her family.
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By that time, she and her four young children had evacuated to another state — while her husband, a veteran, volunteered to stay behind all this week to protect their house and personal possessions and to help any victims in the area who might need assistance.
She said her husband "had gone back to the house to get a few things before evacuating. He had asked if there was anything I wanted him to get in case our house flooded," she said.
The mom added, "The only things I could think of was the binder of letters we wrote each other from his deployment year and a map he drew the day he proposed to me."
"Everything else is just stuff and can be replaced," she said.
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As she watched the activity via the cam on her phone, she added, "I loved seeing him carry it to the car along with the American flag we fly (and a pizza)."
She wrote, "He later told me that he was just going to leave the flag at home, but he heard my voice in his head to bring it [along] and hang it up to encourage others."
Said the mom, "He must have been thinking about what I tell our kids when their blocks get
knocked over and they get all upset. I say, 'Kids, Americans build and rebuild. You built, now rebuild. You're Americans.'"
She said her husband is right now safe and sound — and would be going back to the house, which the family literally just finished building — to assess the damage.
Added this patriotic mom, "Regardless of what he finds, we built — and we will rebuild. We're Americans."
She also said, "I think I have another letter to add to that binder now."
The mom added afterward in a further update, "We are thankful to report our home made it through the hurricane as did [a] foster care campus. No power or internet, but lots of thanksgiving."
She said she's aware that "others have different stories and so we hold ours humbly. Still, we see mercies everywhere."
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She described a tree that had fallen right near a church — but somehow, completely missed smashing down on it.
"A little movement to either side could have resulted in a very different picture," she said.
"May we ever more be agents of peace in a world rife with destruction."
