Hurricane Ike: Update

I can't seem to say often enough, "We are blessed."

Darren, Dad, Mom, and I ventured home (Dickinson) yesterday with an empty pit in our stomach not knowing what to expect. Thankfully, we were AMAZED. We pulled into our subdivision to discover a house fully intact. No broken windows, no major water damage in the house. Hurricane Ike's destruction of our property included lifting away a few roof shingles and a few portions of our privacy fence lying on the ground. The missing shingles created a small hole in our roof that led to a little water damage in our utility room (tile not carpet). We are out of electricity. However, when we arrived yesterday, our freezer chest still had ice and the butter in the refrigerator was beginning to soften but still cold to the touch. The estimated time of arrival for power restoration has very from a few days, to a week, to even a month.

Galveston College, from reports, also was spared and very lucky. Initial reports indicate that only a few windows were broken and that there was not, I repeat not, flooding. We are very lucky. There still has to be a complete assessment of the facility. There is no power and power is not anticipated to be available for several days at the very minimum. Limited personnel have been allowed back onto the island at this point. Therefore, faculty, staff, and students are not expected to report back for some time.

And for those of you wondering, the Hellibu survived as well. No damage.

I will keep you posted with updates as I can. We appreciate your prayers and thoughts.

Happy Eight Month Birthday, Miss Emma!

It's hard to believe it's been eight months. And what a wonderful, crazy roller coaster it has been.

This month's milestones:

• Emma's first tooth appeared as of August 30th. I know that has been a long time, but I have been trying to get the elusive picture. Maybe another day...
• Emma does not feel it is necessary for her to remain on a blanket or in one place. She rolls where she needs to go, preferably at the edge of the blanket but on the carpet.
• She is starting to babble a lot more. There is nothing distinguishable, yet. However, the angry babble is certainly too cute.
• The jumperoo is favorite baby "gear" of the moment.
• Favorite toys: pink love bug, soft eeyore, a duck that quacks, and dotty the blanket
• Other cuteness: She had long given up her binky. However, she found a different brand binky and loves to "pop" the binky. Imagine her taking the binky with one hand on each side while it's in her mouth. She then pulls as hard as she can. This results in a "POP" that makes her giggle every time.

I don't have pictures to post. Dial-up connectivity is a little slow. I'll post when I can.

Run from Water, Hide from Wind

Well, we have done so.

For those of you who may not know. I work for Galveston College, the community college on Galveston Island. We live in Dickinson/League City, Texas. (Interesting story there, our mailing address is Dickinson but we pay League City taxes and utilities)

In fear of the nasty, nasty, did I mention, nasty evacuation for Hurricane Rita we left as soon as we absolutely could. During the Rita trip, the normal 2 hour driver turned into 10 almost 11 hours. We left this Wednesday evening and made it to Weimar in 2 hours 45 minutes, thankfully.

We are going to ride out the storm here. It is not looking good for home and work.

It's always an adventure in our household and definitely never boring.

Compromise

When Darren and I started dating, there was an obvious difference between the two of us. A difference so big, the family even asked if I was sure there was no one else. I am, and always have been, an Astros fan. The entire family supports the Houston Astros. I have been to at least one game a season since I can remember. I actually lost count how many games a year I went to when I attended U of H, after all Tuesday was college night. I digress. Needless to say, I am just a little bit of a fan. And well, Darren is not (or was not, still debatable) an Astros fan. And he didn't just like any team. He support the Atlanta Braves. How could I possibly spend the rest of my life with a Braves fan?

Before Emma, we would root our separate ways. However, we didn't feel that it was appropriate to make our daughter choose. Thus came along the compromise. Emma's baseball team of choice is the Houston Astros not Atlanta Braves. Emma's football team of choice is the Dallas Cowboys not the Houston Texans (and really I'm not giving up much there :) ) That is until she is old enough to choose her own teams, but for now anyway is the Astros and the Cowboys.

So, the family attended Emma's first baseball game on . It was a special game beyond Emma's first. It was the day Craig Biggio's jersey was retired. The 'Stros won't be the same. But anyway, Emma had a great time. She fell asleep in the top of the first inning, slept through Ty Wigginton's 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st. Yes, this included her sleeping through the crowd noise, the firework explosion, and the train. However, we did have time for a few pictures. Here's our favorite.

But not to be outdone, here's another. And yes, she is in an Astros outfit as well. In the top picture she's just hiding it.
And another family photo...(thanks Bryant!)

And so, the compromise goes. Emma went to her first 'Stros game. This past Sunday she watched the Cowboys game with Daddy. And so you don't think I am totally picture biased, here are a few pictures.

The Cowboys had scored a touchdown right before I grabbed the camera. And yes, she does have a Dallas Cowboy outfit, it's just a little big. So, according to Daddy, she saving it for the playoffs. We shall see.

So...go 'Stros and go Cowboys!

Goodbye My Friend

Today we lost a special member of the family. Samantha Claire (aka "Sammie"), our Siamese, passed away this morning. She was almost fourteen years old. We knew in our hearts that she wouldn't be with us forever, but somehow it's the same heart that knew that's hurting right now.

Darren corrected me today when I said she was mine. Yes, Darren, you are correct, she was ours. However, she was and always be mine. I am the one who held her inside my letterman jacket when I took her home from the shelter. I am the one she slept next to or on top of. I am the one who argued with her over possession of the "duckie" blanket. And she was the one who knew me and comforted me before you. I've joked but it's the honest truth. I knew you were the man who would be soul mate because Sammie approved.

Sammie was special for so many things. She did back flips for paper balls as a kitten. She was so cross-eyed she would often run into walls, pick herself up, and carry on as nothing happened. Or, when she did venture out of the house which rarely occurred, she would always turn left and make a complete circle. She had the Siamese Texas drawl. She loved the top of the stairs. And, when you combine the drawl and the top of stairs you got an echo that she was so proud of, yet it rattled everyone's last nerve. And, speaking of stairs, of course the bunny hop was the only way to traverse them carefully.

Sammie was intelligent. She considered herself a real human. She knew the phrase, "Go to your room." And though Darren didn't believe me that she said, "Mom" or what sounded really close to "Maaaaaaaaaa," he became a believer during my first trip away from home at approximately 2am in the morning when she was looking for me at the top of the stairs.

I will miss all the little things. But most importantly, I will miss my friend.