It's funny how quickly we forget our suffering.

Yesterday at 3:35 pm our power was restored after 13 days of being in the dark. Earlier that day I ran up to the grocery store to get our dinner for the evening, cake mix for our dutch oven and ice for the cooler when I noticed that FEMA was handing out ice and it was melting fast. I had the firemen load my car up with about 50 bags of ice to deliver to our neighborhood. We were so appreciative for all the ice. Well, wouldn't our luck be that right after we finish delivering the ice the power comes back on. We didn't know what to think. We were just getting use to living without it. The kids ran around the neighborhood yelling, "we've got power!"



We had already planned to have a hot dog roast party and to make a cake in the dutch oven that night so we decided to go ahead with our plan.

Madelyn with her "boyfriends"

Christopher blowing out his birthday candle on the dutch oven chocolate cake. Singing "Happy Birthday". We don't need power to have a good time.
Christopher with his golf clubs that he got for his birthday. Like father like son...
Christopher at Texas Road House for his birthday dinner.
Yummy!! The big 9!
We brought donuts to school to share with his class at lunch time.

See, even as I am typing I am forgetting that the last few weeks were really difficult at times.

I will NOT miss

the sound of our neighborhood with 85 plus generators running at night but will be grateful for a friend that let us borrow a generator to plug our fan in to cool us down (it's still 95 degrees here..)

the sight of extension cords running throughout my house but will be grateful for the sight of cords running across the road to neighbors to share some power

hanging all clothes out to dry but will be grateful that we could hook up the generator to the washer after an unnamed child decided to poop in his/her pants.

buying ice/food everyday to keep food cold but will be grateful we could buy food

taking a shower in the dark but will be grateful that we had hot water (many do not have water)

But most of all I am grateful that my family and home were unharmed and that we endured this time together but we will still have fun memories of it too.

** This picture is to show the 4 inches we cut off Madelyn's hair a few days before the Hurricane. ***

It's been over a week since we've had power...

But we haven't noticed much because we've been gone. We stayed with my brother in College Station until Thursday and then we headed up to Dallas to stay with some friends. We did go home on Wednesday to clean up the yard and check things out. Most of our neighbors have stayed and I am amazed at their great attitudes in this situation. That night we stayed and hung out with them and roasted smores around the campfire (the firepit they bought after the storm). My kids thought it was great. And I always love a good smore.

Our school has power now so we have to go back to our home today for school on Monday. We will still be without power until Thursday or later. That will be almost 2 weeks since the Hurricane. Darn Ike!! We are grateful for our great family and friends that have let us hang out with them this past week. We went to the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco on our drive to Dallas. Have you ever tried the real Dr. Pepper that is made with imperial sugar? It is YUMMY! We also went to the Fort Worth Zoo. We had a fun time and it was beautiful weather. That is the best time to go to the zoo.

That is the latest with us... How have you been this week?

We survived Ike!

Do I get a t-shirt that says "I survived Ike"? Friday, school had been canceled and so we sat outside ALL day long and played waiting for the storm to come. It was a beautiful day and it definitely was the calm before the storm. That night we came in and had our last home cooked meal because we did not know when we would be able to cook again. We went to bed and woke up at 2 am when the power went out and he stayed up all night long listening to the big bad wolf try to blow our house down. We're so glad our house is made of bricks! Have you ever heard 100 mph winds? We saw our neighbor's trees across the street fall down at 5 am. We shined our flashlights in their window from our window and they shined their flashlight back as if to say can you believe we are surviving. They moved here from New Orleans after they lost their home after Katrina. Here is a picture of their house. They lost four trees. They are so grateful that that fell in the direction that they did. One went through another neighbors fence. It is also good that they had that open space next to their house or they would have fallen on top of someone's house.
This is taken from our upstairs window so you can see how tall the trees were that collapsed across the street.
This picture is of a house also across the street from us. Their next door neighbors tree landing on their roof and made a hole in the roof and so water was running in flooding their bedroom. It was great to see neighbors out helping during the rain trying to help this family tarp up the room and cut the tree down.This is a house around the corner. The tree fell down and went right through the fence.

This is our park in our neighborhood. Look at those roots. The tree fell on top of the playset.

This is the tree at the park from a different angle.
Another neighbors house. It really is amazing that most trees went the opposite direction of the house.
Here is one with the trees hitting the back of the house.So, after driving around and seeing these trees all over the road and with the electricity out, we decided to evacuate and go to my brother's house in College Station which is about an hour northwest from us. Their power did not go out. Not like the 5 million in Houston that are without power. They are telling us it may be 2-4 weeks before our power is restored. Are you kidding me. My kids loved driving around and seeing all the down trees. It was a sight that I hopefully will never see again.
We emptied out our fridge/freezer (the smell would be atrocious if left in their for a whole month without electricity) and headed north. We don't know what to expect. All we know is that we are grateful for electricity and grateful that we survived. Hopefully, we won't be kicked out too soon! It's amazing to think that we are 70 miles north of where the Hurricane first hit landfall and look at our damage in our area. Now my brother wants to do his blog about the day the evacuees came to stay....just kidding.

Ike

Hurricane Ike is heading our way... 

You know it's bad when you go try and get gas and the pump will only let you have .16 cents worth of gas.  So, I move onto the next pump, .34 cents.  Gas is running out!  Luckily, I found a place that I could fill up the car.  

Next stop, Walmart.  The shelves are bare.  No bread. No tuna.  No peanut butter.  No batteries. The panic face has set in with most people wherever you go.  

We haven't been evacuated yet.  So, we are just bringing in everything from outside and filling our tubs with water.  

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.  Hopefully, everything will be fine and we won't regret that we didn't leave.  For now, I am going to go watch Annie with Madelyn and try to forget about Mr. Ike.  In a few days, I may be singing the song from Annie, "yesterday was plain awful...but that's then, not now."

I am also remembering today as Sept 11th and how 7 years ago so much happened that changed our country forever.  

I'll post more later if I still have electricity.  

STAND UP TO CANCER

Cancer takes one person every minute. They are our brothers, our sisters, our fathers and mothers, our husbands and wives, our best friends, our children, ourselves.

Make a donation of $1 or more to launch a personalized star in honor of someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.

Watch Tonight!!

In an unprecedented television event, NBC, ABC, and CBS will simultaneously devote 1 hour of commercial-free prime time to raise funds for the fight against cancer.

A spectacular line up of talent including Jennifer Aniston, James Taylor, Scarlett Johansson, Meryl Streep, David Cook, Christina Applegate, Lance Armstrong, Jack Black, Kirsten Dunst, Charles Barkley, America Ferrera, Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Forrest Whitaker, Jimmy Fallon, Keanu Reeves * will make personal appearances on the show. These celebrities and more will educate you, move you and entertain you. They will also be on hand to answer your calls in the celebrity phone bank.

ONE NIGHT ONE STAGE
The premiere TV performance of “Just Stand Up” – the star studded charitable single in support of Stand Up To Cancer will be performed by legendary recording artists Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes, and Carrie Underwood.

Don’t miss out!

Tune in September 5th at 8pm ET on ABC, NBC and CBS!

see here for more information.

September Birthdays

Gabe (Matt's brother's son) turned 12 on Sept 1.  He has become such a handsome young man. He is Garrett's idol.  At school this week, this is what Garrett wrote. (see below)  Happy Birthday Gabe. Make us proud because Garrett is following in your footsteps!

Greyson (Matt's Brother's daughter) is turning 13 on Sept 12th.  Greyson was so kind to give up her bed for us to sleep in for 10 days.  Thanks Greyson!!!  Greyson made the volleyball team when we were in Ohio and we are so proud of the beautiful young woman she has become.  

My sister Suzanne turns 27 on the 16th. Suzanne is a wonderful sister and friend.  I hope she has a great birthday!  I know that her husband will surprise her with something fun because both of them love surprises!!! 

And last but not least, my first born, Christopher turns 9 on Sept 24th!

C- christlike; he just is!

H- handsome; don't you agree?

R- respectful; his teachers always mention this

I- important; he is an important part of our family

S- selfless; he cares about others

T- tender; his heart can be very tender

O- outstanding; in all he does

P- private; he doesn't tell all

H- happy; he really is

E- easygoing; goes with the flow

R- real; keeps life real!

We love you Christopher!  We hope you have a Great Birthday!

Wolf Badge

Christopher earned his WOLF in scouts this year.  He has worked hard all year to earn this badge.  Last week, we attended his pack meeting where he received his award.  It was fun for Christopher to have his dad as one of the leaders.

His troop watching the boys receive the awards.
Receiving his awards.
Fun for everyone.