Uprooted...in more ways than one! :O)

One week ago today we were packed to the gills in my Excursion with Hannah, BJ, John and Ginger and Jim in his Colorado with Oreo (devildog). My sister, Vicki (who also happens to be the BEST SIS in the world) opened up her home to us in Seguin! We got on the road about noon, as did most of Clear Lake City due to a mandatory evacuation. Traffic was steady, but slow. There were only a few times when we came to a standstill and the total trip took us 6 hours. The trip home only took a little over 3! (Thanks to Heather for telling us about the Westchase toll road)

The kids were "hunkered down" with books, video games, ipods etc. They were AWESOME the whole trip.

" hey Mom- I will take pictures!" BJ got to sit up front due to his broken leg! One good thing to come out of it..."Shotgun"!

Friday was mine and Jim's 16th anniversary. Depending on the area power restorations we were talking about celebrating this weekend. Our favorite restaurant is not opened yet in Rice Village, hoping soon though! Sunday we celebrated Hannah's 13th birthday! i cannot believe i am a parent of a teenager. it feels like I was 13 just yesterday! Here is her cute teenage smile. Better enjoy it- I have learned that teenagers don't smile a lot! :O)

Hannah, Aunt Vicki and I went to Brooklynn's (my great neice) 3rd birthday party and when we came back Daddy had made Birthday Brownies. I decorated them and then we had a PARTY! They were delicious, but we still owe her a REAL party! 13 is a big milestone!!!
This is a dolphin webkinz from BJ! I told him I was going shopping for her and he made sure that I knew that is what he wanted to get her. He can be so thoughtful sometime.





Here is the room that we had to put Oreo in. Why? you ask??? Well were sitting out in the front of Vicki's house and my brother-in-law Mike saw Oreo run around the front of the house. Mike and Jim made sure that there were no holes in the fence and that it was locked so she couldn't get out. We put her back in the back yard and a minute later we saw her JUMP over the 6 foot fence. If I hadn't seen it myself I would not believe it! We had to put her in the back room that they use as a craft/ playroom. Imagine my horror when we walked out there and saw this!!!

NAUGHTY DOG!


We had gone to Gruene and John wanted a harmonica...so I bribed him to let me take his picture in these glasses! I love Hannah's expression in the background. (I just had to throw this pic in the mix!)

Here is the traffic light near our house (taken by BJ)

As we pulled down our street

A guy stopped by and offered to cut the tree up- we took him up on it!!!

Think we could use it as firewood???

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes! Time to go get my house back in order! Please continue to pray for those who lost so much in the tragedy of Hurricane Ike.

Let the fun begin!!!

Well it is the official start to my junior year on Tuesday, September 2. Hurricane Gustav may make that impossible. I am feeling very sorry for the people in the northern gulf coast as they have already begun evacuations, but we are not totally out of the path yet. He could make a turn towards the west and hit us, although I highly doubt that will happen. We are prepared with water, gas and nonperishables. I am hoping that we do not have to evacuate because BJ had a football game yesterday and he was hit by a player on the other team and broke his tibia/ fibia bones in his shin. It was a clean break but he cannot move around and can only sit on the couch waiting for us to be at his beck and call. He HATES that. He is a very independent child who is very active and this is absolutely killing him, which is killing me!

Here are a few photos from our day yesterday!

right before the game...

after the injury and Dad brought "Josh" to visit (can you see how utterly ticked off he is?)

After we got home and settled...which is no easy feat!

He had 3 of his teammates stop by for a visit to make sure he was okay! He is a super duper trooper and I know he will be fine, however, it may take a little while. (physically and mentally) I am anxious to see what the doctor will say about his activity level. I got to see the x-ray and it was a clean break, which was a good thing. I was happy that there was no crazy breakage!

Please keep him in your prayers and pray that he has quick, painfree healing.

Thanks and I hope everyone stays safe from Gustav AND Hanna (for my East Coast friends!)

Stop the MADNESS....

For the past week or so i have been absolutely consumed with Stephenie Meyer's series- Twilight. Please click on the link below to see for yourself. A couple of girlfriends and I were at the pool with the kids when they started talking about it and were screaming like giddy teenage girls. I just HAD to get in on the action and have read the first 3 books thus far. Yesterday was crazy as I read ALL day long due to Tropical Storm Eduoardo (weird name). I finished at about 430 pm. I am refusing to begin the 4th until I finish physics class (next Thursday!!!! woo hoo) because i have 2 tests next week so I cannot spend time reading the book- which once I pick up I have a very hard time putting down. It is going to be a very hard week because I MUST find out what happens with Bella and Edward and Jacob. Will Edward give her what she wants? Can they live in harmony with Jacob? How will she say goodbye to her loved ones? Oh my...too many questions.
I hope that if you begin this wonderful series that you will enjoy it as much as I have. If you have already read it...what did YOU think?

StephenieMeyer.com Twilight Series Twilight

What a difference a day makes...

I switched from my 5 week physics class to a more manageable 10 week course. I had taken the second test twice and failed it both times much to my discouragement. My admittance into UT is contingent on my passing physics with a "c" or better and I knew that I needed to do something! My professor agreed to help me move to the 10 week class. They hadn't taken the 2nd test yet so I got to take it a 3rd time! Talk about God's plan...i really think he wants me to be a radiation therapist! :O) I got my grade back last night and i got a 103!!! That's more like it! I was starting to feel stupid in the other class and i know I am not...I just needed a little more time for my brain to wrap around the information and understand it!
Thanks for all your prayers...I hope I can keep the momentum up!

4th of July photos

Here is a photo that I took on July4th. We had a fun evening watching fireworks and honoring the United States soldiers! I have been reading a blog called Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (by a woman named Ree) and she has some great tips on how to cook, take photography and how to live in general. She gave some tips about how to take great fireworks photos- the first being using a tripod! I don't have a tripod, so i tried to take them with a steady hand. I was thinking that they came out pretty cool, until I looked at Ree's post of her pictures. Now mine don't seem so cool anymore...What do YOU think? Here are couple more-

I hope everyone had a Fabulous 4th! May God Bless you!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

Yesterday morning when Jim went outside there was a package at the door from University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center School of Health Sciences and I was accepted into the Radiation Therapy junior year program! I have to make it throught physics though and that is a TALL order, but I believe that this is God's plan for me so I will do what i can and put 100% into it! My family has been super supportive, especially Jim, and I have them to think about while I am working my hiney off! Physics has been giving me heck and I guess that is to be expected since I do not have a strong math and science background! I had to move from the 5 week program to the 10 week program because i just wasn't getting it! I think I will do much better at a slower pace. My new teacher seems real nice and knowledgeable. That is another reason that I think that this is all about God's plan! Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I know that I CAN do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me!!!

I call that "Parenting"

Yesterday I had to run an errand and I took BJ with me. On our way home we decided to stop by and get Sonic for Hannah and John, who i had left in charge of a couple of chores, because i just KNEW that they would have complied. Once i got home and realized that the chores were undone I took the shakes and put them in the freezer. john was totally upset and Hannah just stormed away, the way that a pre-teen girl should, of course! ha ha
I had to have BJ at the baseball field for his first All Star game (which he won) and on our way I was talking to Jim on the phone. Apparently John had called him a few minutes prior and told him that i was "torturing" him by keeping the shakes from him and for requiring him to pick up his things! After laughing hysterically i hung up the phone and told BJ "John thinks that I was torturing him because I didn't give him the shakes- do you think that is torture?" BJ then replied, "that's not torture, I call that 'parenting'." Wow, sometimes you gotta love them!