Sunday, May 08, 2011
Hand-Me-Downs
About a month ago MiMi was cleaning out a closet and found a box of Aunt Katey's clothes from when she was little. There were a few that were too small for Mae, but a lot that fit her now and will fit her in the future. I love that MiMi sewed and smocked these things! Whenever Mae wears something of Aunt Katey's I try to take pictures because I think it's so special that a second generation is enjoying these!
More Baby Birds
A couple of years ago a robin built a nest on the side of our house. Thomas and I were barely able to see eggs and baby birds in it. Well this year, one built a nest on the the gutter on our front porch. It was the perfect spot to observe. The other day Thomas and I watched (Mae was sleeping. You snooze, you lose.) as the robin searched for worms and brought them to her babies. Amazing!
Friday, May 06, 2011
Bonus Funny
Dr. C: He needs to take Singulair. I have samples.
Thomas: Mom! She has samples for me!
Kim: No, this isn't like Sam's.
Thomas: Oh.
Thomas: Mom! She has samples for me!
Kim: No, this isn't like Sam's.
Thomas: Oh.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Funnies
MiMi: What are your favorite foods?
Thomas: (dramatic sigh) Everything that isn't good for me!
Thomas: Mom! I got a nothing-but-in-the-net-three-pointer.
Kim: You have $15, plus a $10 gift card to Wal-Mart. You're rich!
Thomas: (rolling eyes, which he isn't supposed to do) Mom, I'm a kid. Kids aren't rich!
Thomas: (dramatic sigh) Everything that isn't good for me!
Thomas: Mom! I got a nothing-but-in-the-net-three-pointer.
Kim: You have $15, plus a $10 gift card to Wal-Mart. You're rich!
Thomas: (rolling eyes, which he isn't supposed to do) Mom, I'm a kid. Kids aren't rich!
Days 5 & 6 and after:
On Sunday we got to visit with Areta and Allen. Another couple who we rarely get to see, but always love catching up with. They stayed and ate barbeque with us, and Hanson, Jack and Charlie came too. Thomas got to play tag with Charlie AND Hanson, a huge treat since tag is pretty much his favorite thing.
The boys played at the Bass Pro Shop and then met the girls at the Outlet Mall in the afternoon. We were all exhausted by this point!
On Monday we heard that we probably had power back on. We got packed up and after the kids' nap time we headed home. We chose to go make sure that PaPa and MiMi's power was back on before they came back. The devastation leading into their town was obvious. Trees uprooted everywhere. There were roofs missing, and trees on houses and barns. It was crazy, but leaving their town on the other side was even crazier. A tornado went right through the north side of their town. Part of it is completely obliterated. It's so amazing and terrifying all at the same time!
Our house is completely fine and we are so thankful! There are people all around the state who have lost everything! We're doing what we can to help, but as they say, the cleanup is going to take awhile. We're still only getting certain supplies to certain stores. This is what Wal-Mart's dairy section looked like when I was there yesterday.
Again, we're just so thankful. Losing power, and food is nothing compared with what so many people have lost! It's really unfathomable.
Oh, and I know in the grand scheme of things it's not important, but I was able to watch the Royal Wedding in it's entirety on Monday night. Bliss. It was everything I hoped for.
On Sunday we got to visit with Areta and Allen. Another couple who we rarely get to see, but always love catching up with. They stayed and ate barbeque with us, and Hanson, Jack and Charlie came too. Thomas got to play tag with Charlie AND Hanson, a huge treat since tag is pretty much his favorite thing.
The boys played at the Bass Pro Shop and then met the girls at the Outlet Mall in the afternoon. We were all exhausted by this point!
On Monday we heard that we probably had power back on. We got packed up and after the kids' nap time we headed home. We chose to go make sure that PaPa and MiMi's power was back on before they came back. The devastation leading into their town was obvious. Trees uprooted everywhere. There were roofs missing, and trees on houses and barns. It was crazy, but leaving their town on the other side was even crazier. A tornado went right through the north side of their town. Part of it is completely obliterated. It's so amazing and terrifying all at the same time!
Our house is completely fine and we are so thankful! There are people all around the state who have lost everything! We're doing what we can to help, but as they say, the cleanup is going to take awhile. We're still only getting certain supplies to certain stores. This is what Wal-Mart's dairy section looked like when I was there yesterday.
Again, we're just so thankful. Losing power, and food is nothing compared with what so many people have lost! It's really unfathomable.
Oh, and I know in the grand scheme of things it's not important, but I was able to watch the Royal Wedding in it's entirety on Monday night. Bliss. It was everything I hoped for.
Day 4:
Our friends the Hams and the Pearsons had evacuated to Birmingham also. We all met up at the McWane center for a morning of
Afterwards Brax and I took the kids to The Purple Onion, one of our favorite places in college (mainly because it was open 24 hours). We took them back to Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary's for a much needed quiet time!
As we were in Birmingham we were hearing more and more about the horrible storms that had hit Birmingham and especially Tuscaloosa. The pictures and videos are horrific, and we finally started to understand why people had been checking on us so much to make sure that we were ok.
After I did a little shopping with MiMi on Saturday afternoon we met up with our dear friends the Kings for dinner. We never have enough time to visit with them, but it was fun to see them anyway (missed you Will!). We took the kids home for a late night once again!
After the kids were in bed we continued to watch more Alabama news as well as some of the pomp leading up to the Royal Wedding. (Yes, I missed it!)
Day 3:
We got up, much like we had on Thursday. We had breakfast in the kitchen (which is very dark even in the day). Brax had put batteries in an old radio so we were able to listen to more of the updates. The reports coming in from all over North Alabama were awful to listen to. Reports of people losing homes and lives.
Brax and Thomas left to go to Brax's parents house (they had gone to Birmingham) to empty their fridges/freezers so they wouldn't be completely gross when they got home. While they were gone I washed all our dishes by boiling water on the stove (we have an electric water heater) and adding it to cool water in the sink. I had to boil water twice to get all the dishes clean.
I talked to Brax and we had both heard a report that it would be Monday at the earliest before residential power in our area would start returning. We decided at that point that we would go to Birmingham and join Brax's mom. I cleaned out the fridge (sad!) and freezer and wiped it all down. It honestly did feel like throwing away money!
We packed up and headed out of town. Brax had emptied his gas can into the van to get us under just half a tank. As we drove out of town we were literally praying (out loud) that we would have enough gas to get to Birmingham. We passed several gas stations with cars all the way out on the road taking up a lane of traffic. Thankfully about 30 minutes into our trip we came to a little town, right on the interstate that had power AND gas! We didn't have to wait in line, and Brax was able to breathe a little easier.
The destruction on our way down was obvious. There were trees topped almost everywhere we looked. And HUGE interstate light poles bent in half, with the lights hanging at the ground. We saw a house with it's roof blown off, and buildings with siding blown off.
We were thankful to arrive safely at Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary's house. They were gone for the week, and we were able to spread out in their upstairs. About the first thing I did was take a shower.
Josh, Ann, Emma and Ella picked up Davenport's Pizza, and Katey came after work and we got to eat and play together. And then MiMi, Hanson, Ann and I went to see Water for Elephants.
We went to bed very tired, but with white noise and Cpap whirring!
We got up, much like we had on Thursday. We had breakfast in the kitchen (which is very dark even in the day). Brax had put batteries in an old radio so we were able to listen to more of the updates. The reports coming in from all over North Alabama were awful to listen to. Reports of people losing homes and lives.
Brax and Thomas left to go to Brax's parents house (they had gone to Birmingham) to empty their fridges/freezers so they wouldn't be completely gross when they got home. While they were gone I washed all our dishes by boiling water on the stove (we have an electric water heater) and adding it to cool water in the sink. I had to boil water twice to get all the dishes clean.
I talked to Brax and we had both heard a report that it would be Monday at the earliest before residential power in our area would start returning. We decided at that point that we would go to Birmingham and join Brax's mom. I cleaned out the fridge (sad!) and freezer and wiped it all down. It honestly did feel like throwing away money!
We packed up and headed out of town. Brax had emptied his gas can into the van to get us under just half a tank. As we drove out of town we were literally praying (out loud) that we would have enough gas to get to Birmingham. We passed several gas stations with cars all the way out on the road taking up a lane of traffic. Thankfully about 30 minutes into our trip we came to a little town, right on the interstate that had power AND gas! We didn't have to wait in line, and Brax was able to breathe a little easier.
The destruction on our way down was obvious. There were trees topped almost everywhere we looked. And HUGE interstate light poles bent in half, with the lights hanging at the ground. We saw a house with it's roof blown off, and buildings with siding blown off.
We were thankful to arrive safely at Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary's house. They were gone for the week, and we were able to spread out in their upstairs. About the first thing I did was take a shower.
Josh, Ann, Emma and Ella picked up Davenport's Pizza, and Katey came after work and we got to eat and play together. And then MiMi, Hanson, Ann and I went to see Water for Elephants.
We went to bed very tired, but with white noise and Cpap whirring!
Day 2:
We woke up to an absolutely beautiful day!! It was obvious that the power wasn't coming back on so we pulled our most useful things out of the fridge and freezer and put them in a cooler with all the ice from our ice maker. Brax went out to try to find ice and gas and came back with the report that neither were available. (Remember, you need electricity to pump gas.) I made coffee in my coffee press for the first time, and even had eggs and toast on the stove. I figured they were going to go bad anyway, might as well eat them. It was a lot like camping in our house.
We played outside and in (with ALL the windows thrown open) in the morning and then we noticed that our neighbors accross the street coming home with grocery bags. They yelled to us that Wal-Mart was giving away food, so away we went. By the time we got to Wal-Mart, which is about 1/2 mile away they weren't letting anyone in except those who needed perscriptions filled. They told us that they couldn't open till they got a generator, but Sam's might be open. We went to our Sam's and they said that they weren't, but the Sam's on the other side of town might be open. We went home and got our checkbook (since we literally had about $27 cash) and went to Sam's. They weren't open either, but we heard that Publix was and that they were giving cash back. Thankfully while we were out we were able to go to a battery store, which took checks and get "C" batteries for Thomas's cd player. Publix was open, although dark, and so we were able to get some non-perishable foods to make sure we had enough. They weren't giving cash, but we felt better once we had a little food.
It was surreal to drive around town on a beautifully sunny day and see basically nothing open, and 100-car-long lines at gas stations that had a generator. I really felt like it must have been a little bit like that in a war.
Several people called to check on us (THANKS!) and make sure we were ok, and we checked with friends as well. As people called us from out of town they asked about the damage and the crazy thing was we had no idea. We had no way to check. Even Brax's phone was getting spotty coverage, and the radio was giving a little information, but mostly info about where to go if you needed gas or water.
We grilled hamburgers for lunch, and the kids had a nice quiet time inside while we sat out and enjoyed the weather. Brax worked in the backyard, and let Thomas get up to his knees in one of our mud puddles. He got FILTHY, and then Brax gave him a hose shower.
The kids were wonderful, and didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that there wasn't electricity, although it was a little hard to understand. We sat out on our front porch as the sun set and ate about four popsicles each (they were melting) and waved to all the neighbors that were out and about.
When it got dark (and I mean DARK) we came back inside. The kids went to bed and Brax and I played Sequence by candlelight while he listened to the NFL draft in one ear on his radio, and I listened to music on my iPod in one ear. We charged our phones in the car, and it was SO DARK that we nad to have a flashlight to get from the front door to the car.
The city imposed a dusk to dawn curfew to keep people from looting, and it was strictly enforced! We slept again with the windows open, and it felt like camping. My kind of camping really!
We woke up to an absolutely beautiful day!! It was obvious that the power wasn't coming back on so we pulled our most useful things out of the fridge and freezer and put them in a cooler with all the ice from our ice maker. Brax went out to try to find ice and gas and came back with the report that neither were available. (Remember, you need electricity to pump gas.) I made coffee in my coffee press for the first time, and even had eggs and toast on the stove. I figured they were going to go bad anyway, might as well eat them. It was a lot like camping in our house.
We played outside and in (with ALL the windows thrown open) in the morning and then we noticed that our neighbors accross the street coming home with grocery bags. They yelled to us that Wal-Mart was giving away food, so away we went. By the time we got to Wal-Mart, which is about 1/2 mile away they weren't letting anyone in except those who needed perscriptions filled. They told us that they couldn't open till they got a generator, but Sam's might be open. We went to our Sam's and they said that they weren't, but the Sam's on the other side of town might be open. We went home and got our checkbook (since we literally had about $27 cash) and went to Sam's. They weren't open either, but we heard that Publix was and that they were giving cash back. Thankfully while we were out we were able to go to a battery store, which took checks and get "C" batteries for Thomas's cd player. Publix was open, although dark, and so we were able to get some non-perishable foods to make sure we had enough. They weren't giving cash, but we felt better once we had a little food.
It was surreal to drive around town on a beautifully sunny day and see basically nothing open, and 100-car-long lines at gas stations that had a generator. I really felt like it must have been a little bit like that in a war.
Several people called to check on us (THANKS!) and make sure we were ok, and we checked with friends as well. As people called us from out of town they asked about the damage and the crazy thing was we had no idea. We had no way to check. Even Brax's phone was getting spotty coverage, and the radio was giving a little information, but mostly info about where to go if you needed gas or water.
We grilled hamburgers for lunch, and the kids had a nice quiet time inside while we sat out and enjoyed the weather. Brax worked in the backyard, and let Thomas get up to his knees in one of our mud puddles. He got FILTHY, and then Brax gave him a hose shower.
The kids were wonderful, and didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that there wasn't electricity, although it was a little hard to understand. We sat out on our front porch as the sun set and ate about four popsicles each (they were melting) and waved to all the neighbors that were out and about.
When it got dark (and I mean DARK) we came back inside. The kids went to bed and Brax and I played Sequence by candlelight while he listened to the NFL draft in one ear on his radio, and I listened to music on my iPod in one ear. We charged our phones in the car, and it was SO DARK that we nad to have a flashlight to get from the front door to the car.
The city imposed a dusk to dawn curfew to keep people from looting, and it was strictly enforced! We slept again with the windows open, and it felt like camping. My kind of camping really!
April's Fury
This is going to be LOOOOONG:
Day 1:
Wednesday, April 27 was a crazy day from the beginning. We had anticipated severe weather, and had already seen pictures of tornadoes and heavy flooding in Arkansas and Tennessee, but the sirens started about 5:00am. If you don't know me you might not know that I a) hate tornadoes and b) am a very light sleeper! I woke up with the storm, as usual, turned on the tv and saw that we didn't have anything to worry about and turned the tv off.
Thomas's school was delayed because of the weather and I decided to go ahead and go to the YMCA before I took him to school and just get that out of the way. While I was on the bike at the Y the sirens went off again. I turned my tv to a local channel and saw lots of red and yellow on the radar. Again, I realized that I wasn't in danger where I was, but still kept an eye on things.
When I dropped Thomas off at school at about 10:15 his teacher told me that I needed to be "weather aware." And that the schools would probably close early. Because of this when I went home I was hesitant to take a shower. Thomas's school closes 30 minutes before the City schools so that the teachers are able to leave and go get their kids that are there. I did a few things around the house, and saw at 11:45 that the City schools were closing at 12:15. The skies were looking dark, but I decided I needed to go get Thomas so Mae and I loaded up in the car. Well, 6 minutes later when I pulled into the parking lot at school the sky was basically black. I chose to hang out in the church offices (which are below ground) with the students and teachers for about 25 minutes. After talking to Brax on the phone I decided I needed to make a break for it, or I'd be stuck at Thomas's school until who knows when!
The afternoon was spent with siren after siren. It was raining on and off, but the kids couldn't even watch anything on tv because everytime there's a siren the Emergency Broadcast System breaks in and tell us. Brax left work about 3:30 during a break in the storms. We spent some time in our "shelter" aka the closet under the stairs and then there was a break.
At about 5:00 I thought I probably should really take a shower, so I did and dried my hair. At 5:30 we lost power. After a few minutes I gave the kids a bath in case the power didn't come on till after they were in bed, and it was going to be really dark soon. We made supper by candlelight, and then spent the next few hours in the living room, the lightest room of our house.
We put Mae to bed at about 8:00 because her sound machine takes batteries. Thomas's doesn't, so we kept him up a little longer hoping the power would come back on. Our cell phone coverage was horrible, but we were able to check on Brax's parents and make sure they were ok (three tornadoes went right through their town) and we were able to let my parents know that we were ok. We tried to call our utilities company, but for some reason the number we had wasn't right.
At about 8:30 Brax headed out to get batteries for Thomas's cd player. I read to Thomas by candlelight.
He came back a little later, amidst a few more storms with this information:
1) The main lines leading to our utilities company from our provider had been cut, so NONE of our town had power (Including Walmart. What!?!?!?)
2) Lowe's had completely sold out of big batteries (and generators incidentally) in the first hour of power outage.
3) They were saying on the radio that we might not have power for 5-7 days. WHAT!?!?!
I have to admit when I heard the words 5-7 days I did have a bad attitude for a little while!
We put Thomas to bed at about 9, for maybe the first time in his life without noise or music. He, of course, slept great.
Brax and I went to bed a little later and used the app on his phone for white noise. Thank you Droid! We slept with the windows open, and we survived without Brax's Cpap.
Day 1:
Wednesday, April 27 was a crazy day from the beginning. We had anticipated severe weather, and had already seen pictures of tornadoes and heavy flooding in Arkansas and Tennessee, but the sirens started about 5:00am. If you don't know me you might not know that I a) hate tornadoes and b) am a very light sleeper! I woke up with the storm, as usual, turned on the tv and saw that we didn't have anything to worry about and turned the tv off.
Thomas's school was delayed because of the weather and I decided to go ahead and go to the YMCA before I took him to school and just get that out of the way. While I was on the bike at the Y the sirens went off again. I turned my tv to a local channel and saw lots of red and yellow on the radar. Again, I realized that I wasn't in danger where I was, but still kept an eye on things.
When I dropped Thomas off at school at about 10:15 his teacher told me that I needed to be "weather aware." And that the schools would probably close early. Because of this when I went home I was hesitant to take a shower. Thomas's school closes 30 minutes before the City schools so that the teachers are able to leave and go get their kids that are there. I did a few things around the house, and saw at 11:45 that the City schools were closing at 12:15. The skies were looking dark, but I decided I needed to go get Thomas so Mae and I loaded up in the car. Well, 6 minutes later when I pulled into the parking lot at school the sky was basically black. I chose to hang out in the church offices (which are below ground) with the students and teachers for about 25 minutes. After talking to Brax on the phone I decided I needed to make a break for it, or I'd be stuck at Thomas's school until who knows when!
The afternoon was spent with siren after siren. It was raining on and off, but the kids couldn't even watch anything on tv because everytime there's a siren the Emergency Broadcast System breaks in and tell us. Brax left work about 3:30 during a break in the storms. We spent some time in our "shelter" aka the closet under the stairs and then there was a break.
At about 5:00 I thought I probably should really take a shower, so I did and dried my hair. At 5:30 we lost power. After a few minutes I gave the kids a bath in case the power didn't come on till after they were in bed, and it was going to be really dark soon. We made supper by candlelight, and then spent the next few hours in the living room, the lightest room of our house.
We put Mae to bed at about 8:00 because her sound machine takes batteries. Thomas's doesn't, so we kept him up a little longer hoping the power would come back on. Our cell phone coverage was horrible, but we were able to check on Brax's parents and make sure they were ok (three tornadoes went right through their town) and we were able to let my parents know that we were ok. We tried to call our utilities company, but for some reason the number we had wasn't right.
At about 8:30 Brax headed out to get batteries for Thomas's cd player. I read to Thomas by candlelight.
He came back a little later, amidst a few more storms with this information:
1) The main lines leading to our utilities company from our provider had been cut, so NONE of our town had power (Including Walmart. What!?!?!?)
2) Lowe's had completely sold out of big batteries (and generators incidentally) in the first hour of power outage.
3) They were saying on the radio that we might not have power for 5-7 days. WHAT!?!?!
I have to admit when I heard the words 5-7 days I did have a bad attitude for a little while!
We put Thomas to bed at about 9, for maybe the first time in his life without noise or music. He, of course, slept great.
Brax and I went to bed a little later and used the app on his phone for white noise. Thank you Droid! We slept with the windows open, and we survived without Brax's Cpap.
Nothin' Runs Like a Deere
Last week, Brax's friend Travis let us borrow his tractor for part of Operation Take Back our Backyard. Brax took each of the kids on a ride, and they were so happy to be playing helping him in the dirt!!! And the tractor was a big help! We had the huge storms, and so were able to test some of the new trenches. They definitely made the water go more where it was supposed to!
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