Glenda Bamberger looks out of the back door of her home in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on Friday, May 29, 2015 after flash floods destroyed her home, her husband's business and most of her family's belongings. Bamberger, who was born and raised in Blanco, said, "We put everything into buying this house and now I am not sure we will want to rebuild."
Serenity Bamberger, 7, looks at the damage in her home in Blanco, Texas on Friday, May 29, 2015. Of the donations that have flooded in to help Serenity and her family, she said, "It is like Christmas." However, her mother Glenda Bamberger said that Serenity and her sister Cielo were very upset at first.
Cielo Bamberger, 10, and Esme Bella Bamberger, 9 months, hang on their mother Glenda Bamberger while their sister Serenity Bamberger, 7, digs in the dirt outside of their trailer on their property in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on July 1, 2015. The family is living in the trailer, which is parked in front of their flood-damaged home, while they build a new house on eight-foot pillars on the same property. Despite the pain that the river along the property caused, the family decided to try to rebuild. The dog, known as Buddy or Bear, showed up on their property after the floods and has stayed since. Glenda said that she thinks he was carried far from his home in the floods, because none of their neighbors in the area have claimed him.
Glenda Bamberger rubs her forehead while she looks at a receipt for the sand and rocks needed to make the cement for the pillars that will hold up their new house in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on July 11, 2015. The Bambergers' new house needs to be raised off the ground to avoid future flooding. The supplier only delivered a portion of the sand and rock order and the Bambergers were concerned about whether they had enough to finish pouring all of the cement pillars that day. The supplier was closed when they arrived. Before her parents left to see the supplier, Cielo Bamberger, 10, said, "I always heard the saying 'cheap as dirt,' but this dirt ain't cheap."
Jarrell Bamberger talks to his wife Glenda Bamberger about what they need to start building their home while their daughter Esme Bella, 9 months, sits in their shopping cart at Home Depot in Bulverde, Texas on July 10, 2015. They began construction on their new home the next day.
Glenda Bamberger, right, and her husband Jarrell Bamberger, left, widen holes dug in their yard in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on July 11, 2015. Their home was destroyed in the floods that occurred in May along the Blanco River in Central Texas. They poured a concrete pillar in each of the twelve holes for the house they are building to replace the one that flooded. The house will be eight feet off the ground in the hope that it will not be affected by future floods on their property.
Glenda Bamberger and her daughter Cielo Bamberger spin around in what will eventually be Cielo's bedroom in their new house in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on August 22, 2015. After receiving donations from several flood and disaster relief organizations from around the country, the Bambergers were able to continue working on the house without having to sell the trailer they are living in.
The Bambergers celebrate their youngest daughter Esme Bella Bamberger's first birthday in the kitchen on their first official day living in their new home in Blanco, Texas on October 27, 2015. "We feel beyond happy," Glenda Bamberger said. "I feel like I am going to explode with joy." Standing in the center, this was Glenda Bamberger's father Jose Rivera's first time seeing the house completed. Rivera helped the Bambergers break ground on the house before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money ran out and the volunteers and donated materials came in.
Serenity Bamberger, right, leans on her sister Cielo Bamberger outside of their new house in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on October 27, 2015. This was the first night that they slept in their new home since its completion. Three days later, the same river that destroyed their first house flooded their property again with several feet of water. Because their new house is high off the ground, the Bambergers and their belongings survived.
While Jarrell Bamberger plays guitar, Serenity Bamberger stands on her parents' bed and reaches out towards her sister Esme Bella Bamberger, who is in Glenda Bamberger's arms, on their first official day living in their new home in Blanco, Texas on October 27, 2015. This was also Esme Bella's first birthday.
Serenity Bamberger floats in the Little Blanco River along their property on August 18, 2015 in Blanco, Texas. Three months prior, over Memorial Day, the same river flooded their home and business destroying the majority of the family's belongings and source of income. The Memorial Day weekend flooding, which affected Texas and Oklahoma, killed 24 people according to The Associated Press. Three of those deaths occurred along the Blanco River of which the Little Blanco River is a direct tributary. Despite the toll the river has taken, Bertha Rivera, Serenity's grandmother, said, "The river bed was dry for years, so now that the water is here I tell the girls to take advantage of it all that they can."
Glenda Bamberger looks out of the back door of her home in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on Friday, May 29, 2015 after flash floods destroyed her home, her husband's business and most of her family's belongings. Bamberger, who was born and raised in Blanco, said, "We put everything into buying this house and now I am not sure we will want to rebuild."
Serenity Bamberger, 7, looks at the damage in her home in Blanco, Texas on Friday, May 29, 2015. Of the donations that have flooded in to help Serenity and her family, she said, "It is like Christmas." However, her mother Glenda Bamberger said that Serenity and her sister Cielo were very upset at first.
Cielo Bamberger, 10, and Esme Bella Bamberger, 9 months, hang on their mother Glenda Bamberger while their sister Serenity Bamberger, 7, digs in the dirt outside of their trailer on their property in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on July 1, 2015. The family is living in the trailer, which is parked in front of their flood-damaged home, while they build a new house on eight-foot pillars on the same property. Despite the pain that the river along the property caused, the family decided to try to rebuild. The dog, known as Buddy or Bear, showed up on their property after the floods and has stayed since. Glenda said that she thinks he was carried far from his home in the floods, because none of their neighbors in the area have claimed him.
Glenda Bamberger rubs her forehead while she looks at a receipt for the sand and rocks needed to make the cement for the pillars that will hold up their new house in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on July 11, 2015. The Bambergers' new house needs to be raised off the ground to avoid future flooding. The supplier only delivered a portion of the sand and rock order and the Bambergers were concerned about whether they had enough to finish pouring all of the cement pillars that day. The supplier was closed when they arrived. Before her parents left to see the supplier, Cielo Bamberger, 10, said, "I always heard the saying 'cheap as dirt,' but this dirt ain't cheap."
Jarrell Bamberger talks to his wife Glenda Bamberger about what they need to start building their home while their daughter Esme Bella, 9 months, sits in their shopping cart at Home Depot in Bulverde, Texas on July 10, 2015. They began construction on their new home the next day.
Glenda Bamberger, right, and her husband Jarrell Bamberger, left, widen holes dug in their yard in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on July 11, 2015. Their home was destroyed in the floods that occurred in May along the Blanco River in Central Texas. They poured a concrete pillar in each of the twelve holes for the house they are building to replace the one that flooded. The house will be eight feet off the ground in the hope that it will not be affected by future floods on their property.
Glenda Bamberger and her daughter Cielo Bamberger spin around in what will eventually be Cielo's bedroom in their new house in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on August 22, 2015. After receiving donations from several flood and disaster relief organizations from around the country, the Bambergers were able to continue working on the house without having to sell the trailer they are living in.
The Bambergers celebrate their youngest daughter Esme Bella Bamberger's first birthday in the kitchen on their first official day living in their new home in Blanco, Texas on October 27, 2015. "We feel beyond happy," Glenda Bamberger said. "I feel like I am going to explode with joy." Standing in the center, this was Glenda Bamberger's father Jose Rivera's first time seeing the house completed. Rivera helped the Bambergers break ground on the house before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money ran out and the volunteers and donated materials came in.
Serenity Bamberger, right, leans on her sister Cielo Bamberger outside of their new house in Blanco, Texas, U.S. on October 27, 2015. This was the first night that they slept in their new home since its completion. Three days later, the same river that destroyed their first house flooded their property again with several feet of water. Because their new house is high off the ground, the Bambergers and their belongings survived.
While Jarrell Bamberger plays guitar, Serenity Bamberger stands on her parents' bed and reaches out towards her sister Esme Bella Bamberger, who is in Glenda Bamberger's arms, on their first official day living in their new home in Blanco, Texas on October 27, 2015. This was also Esme Bella's first birthday.
Serenity Bamberger floats in the Little Blanco River along their property on August 18, 2015 in Blanco, Texas. Three months prior, over Memorial Day, the same river flooded their home and business destroying the majority of the family's belongings and source of income. The Memorial Day weekend flooding, which affected Texas and Oklahoma, killed 24 people according to The Associated Press. Three of those deaths occurred along the Blanco River of which the Little Blanco River is a direct tributary. Despite the toll the river has taken, Bertha Rivera, Serenity's grandmother, said, "The river bed was dry for years, so now that the water is here I tell the girls to take advantage of it all that they can."