Is it October already?

Wow, September just flew by. It went by so fast it's like a blur that I barely remember. So much has happened since IKE. We helped my parents move into their new home last weekend. It is so beautiful. Their house sits on top of a hill and overlooks 20 acres covered in grass with a few large trees near the bottom of the hill. Picture 4 horses (two of which are mine and I miss them terribly) grazing the pasture and a slight breeze blowing their mane and tale and all you hear is the quiet sounds of the country. Aahhh, it's a slice of heaven for me. This week has gone by equally as fast. Today Cole and I met up with a few of the ladies we met at MOPS at the mall playground. I think it was a little bit of an overwhelming experience for both Cole and myself. He played with a few of the items there but mainly wanted me to hold him. I think once he starts walking he'll feel more equal to all of the other kids that were there. He was so cute though. He just stood next to something with a look of awe on his face and watched all of the other kids play.

Cole has recently become Mr. Independent. He wants to feed himself and hold his bottle or sippy cup himself. Such a big boy.

On Again; Off Again

After we came home last Wednesday we had two glorious days with power. Friday afternoon we lost power again. We kept thinking it would come back on that day but it never did. So we packed up our stuff in the dark one more time and headed for Donny's sister, Rachel's, house. She, David and the kids were great hosts and took our minds off of not being at home and not having power.

While we stayed with them we got to do many fun things. We went shopping (along with everyone else in the city apparently). We made a homecoming mum and we took Cole to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.

His cousin Lindsey works at Chuck E. Cheese and is often called to be Chuck. She is really good at her job and seems to enjoy it.

While we were there, Cole got to ride a few rides and even watch the birthday show. It was a lot of fun. Thanks Lindsey!

Our electricity came on again yesterday so we came home last night. All is good.

Yikes! It's IKE!

Friday evening after Cole had eaten his supper we decided to go outside and watch for Ike. I knew it could be days before he or April would get to play outside so we took advantage of the calm before the storm.
As the sun set the clouds started to roll in with a forceful wind. See how our neighbor's tree is bending. Ike was just making landfall at this point and we were still hours away from really seeing any effects from the storm.
Our trees stood so strong together, swaying in unison.
Our power went out about 2am and that's when we really started feeling Ike's presence. The wind blew fiercely and the rain was constant. The wind used our crape myrtles like fly swatters against the windows in the front of our house. The sound was frightening. We just prayed that they wouldn't break through . It rained most of the day on Saturday so we were not able to check things out until that evening. God must have put a protective bubble around our house because we did not receive any real damage. Our three pines in the back yard lost a few limbs and one of our crape myrtles and oaks has been slightly up-rooted in the front yard. Our neighbors did not fare as well. You could see several trees like the one below throughout the entire neighborhood.
Our neighbors directly to our left lost both of their pines. When one of the pines snapped in half and fell to the ground it broke a gas main. You could hear the hissing of gas being released and could smell it throughout our entire cul-de-sac. When the firemen showed up we had to evacuate our house for about an hour. We took this time to go for a walk.

Since everyone was without power and was loosing their refrigerated food all the neighbors decided to get together and have a feast. We didn't think and had bought a freezer full of meat the previous week so needless to say we grilled the meat and shared it with everyone. We were able to meet people we had not yet been able to meet. It was great.

After enduring the storm and the muggy conditions for a day; not knowing when our power would be turned back on we decided to pack up all of our necessities and head for refuge Sunday morning. Pa and Grammy were thrilled to say the least and looked forward to their time with Cole (and us).

Monday was cool and beautiful; perfect. Mom & Dad are near the end of building their house so we got to help out a little and learn a few things about construction. Cole hardly ever sits still but he sat in his Pa's lap for a few minutes just relaxing in the comfort of knowing he was safe.

We were visited by several cousins and both of Cole's great Grandmothers. We enjoyed catching up with everyone and our unplanned time with each of them. Tuesday night before bed Cole even got to swing outside. He had so much fun.

Later that night we heard from a neighbor that we had power. I went to the store to get some groceries and started packing up our stuff. Our CRV was packed to the gills when we headed back home the next morning. The drive was smooth sailing and we arrived at home a little after lunch. Cole was great; he slept most of the ride and even took a nap when we got home.

Today was a regular day back at home. Donny went off to work and Cole and I cleaned the house and began pulling everything out of the garage and placing it where it belonged outside. We even got a visit from my best friend, Marianne and her daughter Jasmine. Life is good.

Fishing for Ice

The past couple of days Cole and I have sat outside on our back porch and enjoyed the mild summer days by fishing for ice. We are always looking for something different and fun to do and I got the idea from a friends blog (thanks Michelle!).

A towel, bowl, spoon, ice cubes, water and a little imagination are all you need. Cole played for well over 30 minutes before all of the ice cubes melted and he spilled the water.

Then he played in the puddle for a little while.

This is an activity I will keep in mind for those hot summer days to come.

A Real Commitment

I've delayed writing this post because of it's important nature. I wanted to say things right; clear. I've decided that I've waited long enough and well, here it is:

We are on the far left end.

This past Sunday was a special one for our family. Donny and I publicly announced our commitment to raise Cole in a God honoring way. We along with six other couples stood on the stage in front of our family and church congregation and asked them to hold us accountable to our commitment. We are not taking this task of parenting lightly. God has given us this precious gift and we intend to do the best we can with His help.


This means that Donny and I will strive to be Christ-like models for Cole. Our relationship with Christ needs to be evident; something that I struggle to work on daily. By no means do we have to be "perfect" parents; we just have to show Cole that ultimately God loves him and is the authority.


Some words about child dedication (I think it should be called Parent dedication because it really has little to do with Cole.):


Baby dedication is "an opportunity for you as parents, to publicly commit yourselves to raising your child to know and love Jesus. It is also an opportunity for us as a church family to commit ourselves to do everything we can to support you in one of life's greatest challenges. Dedication is a reminder that you as parents join together with God and the church family to form a team on behalf of your child." (church statement)


Deuteronomy 6:6-7 "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

First Day of MOPS at CBC

Cole and I have been anxiously awaiting this day for a few months now. Our church offers a Mothers Of PreSchoolers (MOPS) program during the school year so Cole and I decided to join. Today was a meet and greet kind of social with a carnival theme. (All the moms had their kiddos with them for the carnival but on a normal meeting day we will be separated. Moms will get to enjoy guest speakers, a feast for breakfast, make a craft and get to know other ladies in a small group setting. The kiddos will be divided up according to their age and play in the nursery.)There were stations for the kids to go to and receive prizes for participating. Even though Cole was not able to enjoy every station due to his young age, he was able to participate in a few and he got all the prizes anyway.

First we went to the tub-o-ducks where you go fishing for little rubber duckies. They were so cute. Cole dove right in and got elbow deep in water to grab a duck for himself. (I didn't get a picture of Cole at this station but I did capture his friend Lyric having fun.)

Next we went to the Thomas the Train Tunnels. At first Cole didn't want to crawl through but after seeing his friend John give it a try he went right in.

After crawling through the tunnel a few times; even if some attempts were not successful, Cole and John played with a miniature basketball. John rolled the ball and Cole chased after him. It was really cute.

All the excitement built up an appetite so we parked the stroller off to the side next to Cole's friend Micah and snacked on some Cheerios and apple juice. The rest and snack gave us the energy we needed to stroll around and watch the "big" kids having fun.

While strolling the carnival we ran into many old friends and met some future friends. We can't wait until the next meeting.

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend was packed to the gills with fun. We are a part of a child care co-op with two other couples. The co-op exists so that each couple can have a date (child free) every now and then. This Saturday was our turn to watch Micah with our dear friends The Littles so that our other friends The McLaughlins could go out on a date. Another friend came over to let her two boys play with the rest of the kiddos. In all we had four boys and one girl at our house. Some running, some crawling and some just watching it all. We all went to the swings and let the kiddos burn off some energy there, ate dinner and hung out the rest of the evening. It was wild but it was so much fun. (Sorry I don't have any pics.)

Sunday morning came early (4:30 am). Cole woke up crying and had a runny/stuffy nose. I too had woken up with the crud. I rocked him, sang to him, held him, sucked his nose out with a bulb, washed his face with warm water and gave him a bottle. By 6:30 am he was back asleep and so was I. We didn't wake up again until a little after eight. Needless to say, we played hookie from church that day.

Monday was a new day but Cole and I were still feeling yucky. We had big plans for the day and made ourselves feel better for the sake of others. Since Gustav was headed straight for Louisiana where some of our extended family lives; they headed for higher ground and sought refuge in Houston. It was bitter sweet because it was so good to get to see them but everyone was glued to the TV waiting to see if their house was going to be in the path of the storm.

Here are some pics from Monday:

Cole learns how to fake a sneeze from his Taunt. He thought that was the funniest thing ever.

Cole gets some smooches from his Aunt Nell. (There was a better pic of this but it was too blurry.)

Cole and Daddy go for a swim.

Nanny talks with Cole's Great-Aunt Maryanne.

Donny talks with his Uncle Larry.

After all the excitement from the weekend, today, we are trying to recoup and get well.