Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Busch's
Read about how Hurricane Ike impacted my sis here. PTL they are all safe and now have electricity after almost a full 4 days without!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Take a Hike Ike!
This is from Mel (elisabeth's dad) with a few tid-bits added here and there:
Jamie's (my sister) power went out early so we started texting. (It's great to have more options than voice.) They had little idea of Ike direction so I decided to stay up as long as possible and monitor radar and Nat Weather Svc and keep them posted via texting. I finally went to bed about 2AM Pacific. At that time they were on the west edge of hurricane force winds and I figured it would not get any worse for them. At 5:30 AM she text'd me that it was mostly over. They are OK. The kids came through it ok though they woke up some.
They sustained a little damage to fence and landscape. There doesn't appear to be much house damage. All windows held. There are still bands of danger out there so they remain hunkered down, though it is quiet at the moment. We just communicated and she said it sounded like being close to a freight train much of the night. Very loud. She could see flashes of lightning but the wind howl was so loud they never heard the thunder. Their power remains out. If it doesn't come back on they have a friend who will share a generator. She sounded tired. They don't expect power until Monday. Jayden says the toilet still works!!! (He called it toilet electricity still works. LOL).
RE: Tom and Mercy (my uncle and aunt) and Brian and Jen (cousin and wife): I talked to Mercy last night after Jamie's power went out and they were waiting, jamie being 50+ miles farther south and west got hit first. When I got Jamie's text at 6AM Pacific the eye had just gone over Kingwood. NWS said winds around the eye were 100 mph at that time. So I suspect they got hit pretty good, though they live in a somewhat sheltered area with lots of big trees around for miles. I have not been able to reach either Mercy or Brian by phone and no response by text. I left messages. Jamie is going to try to contact them and let me know. (Jamie just called and said she was able to contact Mercy, who said she and Tom , and Brian and Jen were ok too.) According to Radar wind could diminish for them any time. Brian and Jen boarded up so that prob helped. Tom didn't but taped windows. They lost a few big trees in Mercy's neighborhood one landing on a car. That is all I know at the moment. Apparently their windows held.
My (Dad's) Cousins Dave and Sandy are prob ok as they were about the same distance from the eye as Jamie. Cousins Matt and Cheryl may have been closer to the eye. Communication will be difficult for a while as I don't have cell numbers for either of them.
Thanks for praying with us. I really appreciate it. This could have gone much worse if Ike had gone 20 miles farther west.
Jamie called 5PM an gave an update. She said when they were talking about being without power little Gracie (age 3) flexed her biceps in a body builder pose and exclaimed, "NO POWER?!" (That tyke has personality!)
Jamie confirmed Tom and Mercy, and Brian and Jen are all OK. They are perhaps 50 miles north, and they eye of Ike went right over them, but have been able to communicate once.
A store close to them reopened a few hours ago and they went to try to replenish milk. No milk there but she got to see some devastation. The store was also without power and throwing away all their perishables. She was amazed how many great old trees were down. A friend a few miles away never lost power so he is loaning them a generator as of a few hours ago. They have the refrig plugged in and are charging cell phones. Oh, and the DVD player for the kids :-). She said pray that the power will be back on by Monday because the friend has to take it back to work then.
Adam's parents did OK too. They live about 5 miles from them, farther away from Ike's path. They are without water but have power.
Yesterday Jamie was cooking something in the crockpot when the power went out. So she stuck it in the freezer section of the refrig. It was still cold today, so she cooked it on the stove and are sharing it with neighbors.
Thank you all for praying!! The Lord certainly protected our family and what is the loss of a few fence posts and trees and shingles compared to human life.
Jamie's (my sister) power went out early so we started texting. (It's great to have more options than voice.) They had little idea of Ike direction so I decided to stay up as long as possible and monitor radar and Nat Weather Svc and keep them posted via texting. I finally went to bed about 2AM Pacific. At that time they were on the west edge of hurricane force winds and I figured it would not get any worse for them. At 5:30 AM she text'd me that it was mostly over. They are OK. The kids came through it ok though they woke up some.
They sustained a little damage to fence and landscape. There doesn't appear to be much house damage. All windows held. There are still bands of danger out there so they remain hunkered down, though it is quiet at the moment. We just communicated and she said it sounded like being close to a freight train much of the night. Very loud. She could see flashes of lightning but the wind howl was so loud they never heard the thunder. Their power remains out. If it doesn't come back on they have a friend who will share a generator. She sounded tired. They don't expect power until Monday. Jayden says the toilet still works!!! (He called it toilet electricity still works. LOL).
RE: Tom and Mercy (my uncle and aunt) and Brian and Jen (cousin and wife): I talked to Mercy last night after Jamie's power went out and they were waiting, jamie being 50+ miles farther south and west got hit first. When I got Jamie's text at 6AM Pacific the eye had just gone over Kingwood. NWS said winds around the eye were 100 mph at that time. So I suspect they got hit pretty good, though they live in a somewhat sheltered area with lots of big trees around for miles. I have not been able to reach either Mercy or Brian by phone and no response by text. I left messages. Jamie is going to try to contact them and let me know. (Jamie just called and said she was able to contact Mercy, who said she and Tom , and Brian and Jen were ok too.) According to Radar wind could diminish for them any time. Brian and Jen boarded up so that prob helped. Tom didn't but taped windows. They lost a few big trees in Mercy's neighborhood one landing on a car. That is all I know at the moment. Apparently their windows held.
My (Dad's) Cousins Dave and Sandy are prob ok as they were about the same distance from the eye as Jamie. Cousins Matt and Cheryl may have been closer to the eye. Communication will be difficult for a while as I don't have cell numbers for either of them.
Thanks for praying with us. I really appreciate it. This could have gone much worse if Ike had gone 20 miles farther west.
Jamie called 5PM an gave an update. She said when they were talking about being without power little Gracie (age 3) flexed her biceps in a body builder pose and exclaimed, "NO POWER?!" (That tyke has personality!)
Jamie confirmed Tom and Mercy, and Brian and Jen are all OK. They are perhaps 50 miles north, and they eye of Ike went right over them, but have been able to communicate once.
A store close to them reopened a few hours ago and they went to try to replenish milk. No milk there but she got to see some devastation. The store was also without power and throwing away all their perishables. She was amazed how many great old trees were down. A friend a few miles away never lost power so he is loaning them a generator as of a few hours ago. They have the refrig plugged in and are charging cell phones. Oh, and the DVD player for the kids :-). She said pray that the power will be back on by Monday because the friend has to take it back to work then.
Adam's parents did OK too. They live about 5 miles from them, farther away from Ike's path. They are without water but have power.
Yesterday Jamie was cooking something in the crockpot when the power went out. So she stuck it in the freezer section of the refrig. It was still cold today, so she cooked it on the stove and are sharing it with neighbors.
Thank you all for praying!! The Lord certainly protected our family and what is the loss of a few fence posts and trees and shingles compared to human life.
Friday, September 12, 2008
We Do NOT Like Ike
So, in case you haven't heard (which I hadn't as of this time yesterday), Hurricane Ike is headed toward the greater Houston area. That just happens to be where my sister Jamie and her family made their big move to last summer. They live directly west of Houston, and so far it looks like the majority of damage will be to the east. However, they just lost power (she texted me) and we are asking you to stop and pray right now for their family and my other extended relatives who live there also. Thank you!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Building Building Building
Jonah asked me last year if he could get out Daddy's hammer and build something. I said "No way!"
Well, since then I have been reading a bit more about being a little boy (something I have no experience with!) and discovered lo, and behold, that little boys should be given opportunities to build and create and this is NORMAL. :)
Jonah asked again yesterday if he could build something, and with Ava they decided they wanted to build a ladder for their "bush-fort". The designed it and made mistakes and lasted about 30 minutes before they were done for the day. They got one rung done, though!
I think both Michael Pearl and their Grandpas will be proud.
And no one smashed their thumbs, either.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Pressure's On!
It's 9:58pm.
I walk past Jonah's door and hear him humming.
"Jonah, you need to go to sleep..."
"I'm trying to, but I'm just too excited for school."
Wow. Someone better tell that boy it's JUST homeschool. No reason to be excited! (insert sarcasm here)
I walk past Jonah's door and hear him humming.
"Jonah, you need to go to sleep..."
"I'm trying to, but I'm just too excited for school."
Wow. Someone better tell that boy it's JUST homeschool. No reason to be excited! (insert sarcasm here)
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Oh, the Joy of Reading New Books!
Our homeschool curriculum came in the mail today.
That means like 40+ new books to explore and Jonah delved right in (I think it would be cruel to make him wait until we "officially" start school next week, don't you?). And I am excited to get everything organized and in it's proper spot (I know, type A).
So we're all happy today and it's quiet for now.
That means like 40+ new books to explore and Jonah delved right in (I think it would be cruel to make him wait until we "officially" start school next week, don't you?). And I am excited to get everything organized and in it's proper spot (I know, type A).
So we're all happy today and it's quiet for now.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Ava-Rellie, Your Youngest Sales Rep
Lately Jonah and Ava have been watching Qubo, which is a station that plays shows like Veggie Tales, 3-2-1 Penguins, Babar, and more. The funny thing is, the station runs commercials that are geared toward adults, not kids. I was wondering why Ava kept telling me that I need to buy a clip for my cell phone so I wouldn't drop it anymore, or a pot strainer that fits right on the pot, or Space Bags. She is super convincing when she tells me about these products! And she does it at random times, like when we're driving down the road. The entire car will be quiet (for a brief second--yes it does happen) and all of a sudden she pipes up with: "Hey Momma, I think you need to get this little vacuum that can fit right under your couch! It's AMAZING!" I think we see a future in sales for this girl.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Our Kitchen Transformation Thus Far...
The ugly "before" tile
The new wall color with a primer on the tile (the sections of paint on the cabinets are just testers that we are not going with. Jon really wants dark dark blue lower cabinets and then cream uppers)
The shade of gray we chose for the tile. I am still not sure about it, as it seems a little dark, but I think it's just that the cabinets look hideous with it. Next step: paint random tiles fire engine red, green (like on the little cart in the above picture), yellow (same color as the walls), and dark blue. Oh, and paint the cabinets! Then get a new faucet and face-lift complete for a fraction of the cost of a new kitchen. Hopefully it'll inspire me to cook and do dishes without a blindfold on!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
All Done!!
Hello my new favorite sweater! (Per this post) I finally finished my shrug on the first day of our trip and personally am thrilled with how it turned out. Let me know what you think!!
(Photos by Jonah)
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Last Hurrah of Summer
We met up with all of Jon's mom's family (the Gretsinger clan) up near Cooley City, Washington last weekend. There were 45 of us and luckily it was on a lake because the temps were over 105! We swam at least two times everyday and in between that we all hid in our cabins near the A/C. Poor Brynne had a double eye infection and this was the relatives' first time seeing her--too bad they will always remember her as looking like a baby Rocky.
The kids had SOOO much fun playing with their second (or is it third?) cousins all day every day. Jonah especially had a great time playing with Sarah, who is ten next week.
After the reunion we ventured on to Spokane to visit Steve and Brooke and their kids Addisyn and Paige. That was a great time as well, seeing where they live and antique shopping with Brooke. I got inspired while there and once we got home I rushed to unpack so I could start painting my kitchen and the tile backsplash (I'll post some pictures soon of the before and after). Hopefully it turns out half as cute as Brooke's kitchen!
The kids had SOOO much fun playing with their second (or is it third?) cousins all day every day. Jonah especially had a great time playing with Sarah, who is ten next week.
After the reunion we ventured on to Spokane to visit Steve and Brooke and their kids Addisyn and Paige. That was a great time as well, seeing where they live and antique shopping with Brooke. I got inspired while there and once we got home I rushed to unpack so I could start painting my kitchen and the tile backsplash (I'll post some pictures soon of the before and after). Hopefully it turns out half as cute as Brooke's kitchen!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Almost Done...
I have been working on this shrug style sweater since March! I can't wait to be done and I intend to finish it while on a roadtrip with my family this weekend. We are heading to the Grand Cooley Dam in North Central Washington (where it's going to be HOT!) for a family reunion. We'll be off blogger and email for a while, so check back in about a week. It's going to be a blast!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Just a few more...
This is my serious face..
Strong arms in front of the Oregon City Fire House. The firemen came out and watched us and I was super embarrassed!!
Zary Ora
That's the name of my friend Suzanne's new clothing line. She asked me to model some of the clothes and her friend Sarah even did my hair in a craaaaaazy up-do for the event.
With Sarah's sister Esther who I met that day and may never see again...but we really had so much fun!
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Third in the Lavender
We have pictures of all the kids in the lavender at this age--isn't she a Cutie-Boo?
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Crunchy Delight Restaurant
Welcome to Crunchy Delight! We serve all kinds of food and today our breakfast special is a happy face french-ty toast sandwich!
Here is the happy chef
Here is our handsome waiter
Here are our lunch specials today: A Terkey Samwich for only $4
Another happy customer!Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Disc Golf
Our family went disc golfing (Jon's latest hobby) together last week. It was a beautiful day and the mountain was looming over us as the sour cherry trees were showing their fruit. (Sorry for the poor picture quality--I'm sure you can tell I'm an amateur!) And, yup, those are knobbies in Ava's hair and golf bags Jon and Joe are carrying.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)