Word of the Day...

Hurrication

Definition: the act of turning a hurricane evacuation into a short vacation.

So...Wednesday we decided to travel to Andrews to visit Josh's parents. At that time the storm was headed strait to Corpus and we wanted to get out of town before everyone else. However, the storm turned just before we left. We had two extra days off of school and work so we thought it would be the best time to drive 8 hours across the big 'ol state of Texas. We made a vacation out of it and got to see the family.

We have many friends and family that live in the Houston area and have been thinking a praying for them all night. It was a long scary night for many of them. I texted with my brother (Brandon) at 6 am and he said he thought the worst of it was over but it was a long night. They have no electricity and he heard lots of transformer explosions.

Lord please protect us from the storm. Help us to not be scared. Help the workers to get the electricity on as soon as possible. Help everyone get some rest after the long noisy night. Be with those who are hurting through this. Guide us through this time of stress. Thank you for loving us so much. We love you. Amen

Ike Update

So many of you have been calling, texting and emailing me to see what we are going to do, so I thought I would give everyone a brief update...

Josh is on his way home from Austin...

YIPPEE!

He is not yet convinced that we should board up and evacuate but we are a step closer to that. By the looks of the lates radar (see picture below) it is going to hit about 100 miles north of us. However, the storm is said to be that wide so we will still get some pretty yucky weather.

With Dolly, I ended up not having electricity for a couple of days.

YUCK!

So...I would like to go ahead and leave so that we would not have to sit in a hot house without electricity.

The storm could easily turn south and hit us directly.

It is predicted to be a category 4 storm by tomorrow.

My vote is to leave and make a fun trip out of it.

I have already packed up the stuff I would take with us.

When else will be get a 4 day weekend. :)

So for now we will wait some more.

Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us.

Maybe we will come see YOU!

Do you see what I see?

So...what would you do?

Lookin like Ike is on its way...

Josh is out of town...

We do not own boards to board up our windows...

Should I be worried?

I typically don't worry too much but....

this time it is close.

Really close.

Ike please take a hike!

Miracles for Fun

This weekend we went to Houston for a golf tournament to raise money for Brad and Jenny Wims. We had lots of fun visiting with friends and the tournament raised 44 thousand dollars for the Wims family. While this seems like a lot of money it is really only a dent in the medical bills this family faces to cure Brad's cancer. He has elected to do some alternative treatments in Germany. Insurance does not cover this treatment and so the medical bills are outrageous. Please join us in continuing to pray for this sweet family.

Here's David ready to tee off.

Bryan was tired of me taking pictures.
This is Brad front and center and these two guys are famous football guys that I can't remember their names. Quinton Coriatt maybe? Please pardon my ignorance. Brad was super excited to have these guys there.
Johnathan Anderson just teed off.
Saw this cute little turtle near one of the water hazards and I had to snap his picture.
Stephen, Brad and Josh
Lisa and Alison. Don't they both look so good in blue.
Bryan and Brad
The guys checking out all the auction items.
Here's their team. Bryan Hanna, Josh Leftwich, Stephen Grove and David Anderson
I have tons of pictures but I thought ya'll were getting tired of them so I did not post. If you would like me to email any pictures of this event, comment and leave your email and I will send you the other 164 pictures I took. :)

Holiness

This week at the kids chapel the pastor taught the kids about Holiness. He defined Holiness as being set apart. He described a story of his mom making cookies. When she was finished she would let him have the first pick any cookie he would like. He said he liked to pick a cookie with not too many chocolate pieces but with just enough dough that he could sometimes have a bite without chocolate in it. He could set it aside as his special cookie and eat it after dinner. It was set apart from the others. Just as that cookie was set apart, so should we be set apart. I really liked the way he used something the kids could really relate to, to help them understand something that God wants from us. So today we made cookies and I let the kids set apart their very own cookie for later. Beck does not like chocolate so he picked one with very little chocolate. Elisabeth on the other hand wanted her special cookie to have lots of chocolate. While there were still lots of other cookies on the pans, their cookies were different. They were special to them and set apart. I reminded the kids of what pastor Livingston had told us in chapel yesterday. I reminded them that we want to be set apart, too. While Gates and Beck might be a little young still, I know that Elisabeth and Hogan understand Holiness a lot better now. Thank you pastor Livingston for teaching such a basic lesson today.

Holiness, holiness is what I long for.

Holiness is what I need.

Holiness, holiness is what You want from me.

Holiness, holiness is what I long for.

Holiness is what I need.

Holiness, holiness is what You want from me.

So, take my heart and form it.

Take my mind and transform it.

Take my will and conform it.

To Yours, to Yours, oh, LORD.

My Crazy Illness!

Ok so some have said that I have a weird disorder...

It started when I was just a little girl.

My sister got me started.

She taught me how to do it and everything.

Once I learned, I loved to do it.

My sister would even have me do hers.

I agreed because I loved it and she did not.

I would even do my doll's clothes.

I love to iron!

...the end result is fabulous.

I iron most everything our children wear.

I do not iron pajamas or underwear...

However, I do iron everything else including the boys undershirts.

I do not think less of the people who do not do this, but I can't quit.

I love the perfectness of a freshly ironed shirt.

I love the lines it makes on the top of the sleeve.

Clothes just look so good all ironed up.

My kids love to put on warm, freshly ironed clothes.

So...I ask...

Do you think I am crazy?

Should I break my compulsive habit?

Do any of you have this habit?

...or one like it?

Wayback Wednesday!

Found these pictures of Hogan when he was two. I thought they were hillarious. You can't go wrong with a purple tu-tu, pajamas, a red cowboy hat and a holster for your guns. He is going to be so embarrassed when he sees these.