So hurricane Ike was no dud like Gustav. He hit hard, and the strength of his winds were felt all the way up here and into north Texas. Thankfully he didn't bring too much rain, but many homes have been damaged from trees being blown over onto houses, car ports, power lines, even cows. That's right... D was telling me a cow on his lease needed to be put down after having a tree fall on it.
D and I fared very well. We had no damage to our home or vehicles, and the debris strewn about our yard was nothing 3-4 rakers and a couple hours couldn't handle. We lost power again, but only for... drum roll please... 18 hours! We spent one night without AC and lost none of our food. Our neighbors across the street (and I mean literally) didn't fair so well. They suffered no damage to property, but were without power for 7 days.
Darrell and I did our best to share the electric wealth. My friend from the other side of the street came over to blow dry her hair, another friend came to use the hot water in our shower, we became a store house for 2+ families' of food, and we had anywhere from 1-3 extra families over for dinner for several nights. It was actually fun to cook with friends and visit with neighbors. I was glad to have some quiet nights when all was over, but really enjoyed the fellowship as well.
The good thing that came out of all of this for me was that I realized I'd been relying on the TV way too much. Since the hurricane my children have been sitting in front of the box much less, and have been outside or playing with toys more often. I never was big on allowing them a lot of TV time, but had started relying on Sesame Street to occupy everyone while I tried to dress myself, and the boys.
On a different note: Brooks has bounced back from his surgery completely. He actually GAINED 5 pounds in the first two weeks afterward, and is trying desperately to eat us out of house and home. Doesn't he know we're on a budget?! Oh, I probably neglected to mention that as well, D and I have now been 'Gazelle Intense' for 1 month! Thanks Dave Ramsey!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Hurricane a Commin'!
We really got away well when Gustav came through. He watered our grass pretty well and cooled things off for a bit. Two days before we, and the rest of our small town, stocked up on water, batteries, and propane. We didn't end up needing any of it. Our lights never even flickered. Now our neighbors across the street lost their power for a few hours, but we were good to go.
Now Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the gulf coast of Texas and all of SE Houston has been evacuated. Schools and businesses are all closed from the coast all the way up to I20 apparently. Lianna doesn't have school in the morning, and all the public schools are closed as well. Many of the evacuees have headed this way and are taking shelter in churches and schools in town.
D said he should be home tomorrow after lunch. Wow! Thanks for the 1/2 day off work Ike! :D
However, there seems to be a bit more panic this time around too. There was a line at the gas stations today around lunch time... it was 6+ cars long by 6:00 this evening. Glad I filled up this morning before things got so hairy.
I wasn't as fortunate with the grocery shopping though. We always do our shopping on Thursdays. I have been going in the mornings while Lianna is at school, but today I was caring for my friend's 8 week old daughter and decided to wait to shop this afternoon. BIG mistake! The whole town was at Kroger this evening. I drove by at 5:00 and the parking lot was FULL. Um, did all 30,000 people decide to go grocery shopping at the same time? I dropped of the kids, and went by myself to get groceries at 6:15. I was in awe as I grabbed one of only two carts left and looked up to notice the line of people waiting to check out. WOW! The line was literally 25+ people long and all lanes were open. I put my cart back, turned around and walked out. I still have not groceries, but am going to go back late tonight, or early in the morning.
What disturbs me is that I may have to go to Walmart simply because they're more likely to be better stocked after experiencing a 'run on the store'.
Glad I found a sitter for the morning... looks like I'll have one more stop to make. Ugh!
Now Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the gulf coast of Texas and all of SE Houston has been evacuated. Schools and businesses are all closed from the coast all the way up to I20 apparently. Lianna doesn't have school in the morning, and all the public schools are closed as well. Many of the evacuees have headed this way and are taking shelter in churches and schools in town.
D said he should be home tomorrow after lunch. Wow! Thanks for the 1/2 day off work Ike! :D
However, there seems to be a bit more panic this time around too. There was a line at the gas stations today around lunch time... it was 6+ cars long by 6:00 this evening. Glad I filled up this morning before things got so hairy.
I wasn't as fortunate with the grocery shopping though. We always do our shopping on Thursdays. I have been going in the mornings while Lianna is at school, but today I was caring for my friend's 8 week old daughter and decided to wait to shop this afternoon. BIG mistake! The whole town was at Kroger this evening. I drove by at 5:00 and the parking lot was FULL. Um, did all 30,000 people decide to go grocery shopping at the same time? I dropped of the kids, and went by myself to get groceries at 6:15. I was in awe as I grabbed one of only two carts left and looked up to notice the line of people waiting to check out. WOW! The line was literally 25+ people long and all lanes were open. I put my cart back, turned around and walked out. I still have not groceries, but am going to go back late tonight, or early in the morning.
What disturbs me is that I may have to go to Walmart simply because they're more likely to be better stocked after experiencing a 'run on the store'.
Glad I found a sitter for the morning... looks like I'll have one more stop to make. Ugh!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Flying Colors
Well Brooks came out of surgery wonderfully. We arrived at the hospital right at 6:15 a.m. Lianna and Canaan spent the night across the street with their friends. Justin and Heather... Thank you so much for making this way easier on D and I. We are so blessed to have you two for neighbors.
After checking in at the nurses station, Brooks was weighed and measured, then we were shown to a patient room. Here we changed him into his hospital gown (he really didn't want to, but with a little coaxing we got it on). Not long after that a nurse checked his blood pressure and temperature, brought us a little bag of 'goodies' for him to play with, and then we waited. I guess at about 7:00 a nurse came in, gave Brooks a sedative and showed us to the OR holding area.
This is where my stress level and anxiety spiked. I actually had to excuse myself to the ladies room. Brooks was a champ though. We waited there for about an hour. The sedative made him kinda loopy. His eyes were very droopy and he was off balance. A sweet nurse came in and gave him the mouth piece for the anesthesia. It smelled like bubblegum and she explained to Brooks that they'd use it to blow up a balloon. Somehow he got that mixed up and kept talking about blowing bubbles with it. :)
I'm so thankful God brought many familiar faces by that morning. A friend and neighbor from church is a nurse anethesist and happened by while we were in holding. Our next door neighbor's son is a nurse as well, and he actually was the one to carry Brooks off to the OR. The president of the hospital came by as well. His daughter recently graduated high school and was in my bible study for 6 years. We also saw some sweet friends that apparently came by the hospital just to check on us. She was so thoughtful to offer to bring us dinner that night(and it was delicious!)
We waited in the OR waiting for about 30 minutes before the doctor came to give us a report. Everything went smoothly and Brooks was a champ. He said his adenoids were actually growing into his nasal cavity because they were so large. We waited maybe 20 minutes more before a nurse called and said Brooks was calling for me. Imagine me now, bolt out of my chair, leaving purse and bag behind and walk, Speedy Gonzales like, down the hall. I was so glad the nurse chose a quick pace as well (cause I didn't know where I was going).
When I walked in Brooks was crying and coughing and gaging and trying to crawl out of the hospital bed. I scooped him up in my arms, grabbed his blankey from the edge of his bed and sat in the chair a nurse brought for me. I spent the next ten minutes rocking and singing lullabies. Praise God he was consolable. He would cry and pull at his IV at times, but then he'd settle down into my chest and suck his thumb. When he 10 minutes were up, I carried him out of the Recovery Room where I met Darrell (carrying purse and bag... way to go D!) and we went back to the original Patient Room. There, I laid in bed with Brooks, we gave him a sippy cup of water/juice and he downed 1/2 of it in no time. The nurse then said she'd be right back to take out the IV. We hung out there for an hour, watching TV and calling friends and family while Brooks dozed off an on. Then we took our baby home.
He's been eating well and is staying hydrated. After these first two days, the pain should improve and I wont need to wake up at 1:30 a.m. to give him pain meds any more. Please pray he will continue to eat and drink and that I will be creative in finding yummy soft foods he can eat, and that I will be able to find quiet, easy fun things to do to keep him busy during the day. They don't want him running and jumping or over exerting himself for 2 weeks! Yikes! Don't they know what 2 year old kids are like?
After checking in at the nurses station, Brooks was weighed and measured, then we were shown to a patient room. Here we changed him into his hospital gown (he really didn't want to, but with a little coaxing we got it on). Not long after that a nurse checked his blood pressure and temperature, brought us a little bag of 'goodies' for him to play with, and then we waited. I guess at about 7:00 a nurse came in, gave Brooks a sedative and showed us to the OR holding area.
This is where my stress level and anxiety spiked. I actually had to excuse myself to the ladies room. Brooks was a champ though. We waited there for about an hour. The sedative made him kinda loopy. His eyes were very droopy and he was off balance. A sweet nurse came in and gave him the mouth piece for the anesthesia. It smelled like bubblegum and she explained to Brooks that they'd use it to blow up a balloon. Somehow he got that mixed up and kept talking about blowing bubbles with it. :)
I'm so thankful God brought many familiar faces by that morning. A friend and neighbor from church is a nurse anethesist and happened by while we were in holding. Our next door neighbor's son is a nurse as well, and he actually was the one to carry Brooks off to the OR. The president of the hospital came by as well. His daughter recently graduated high school and was in my bible study for 6 years. We also saw some sweet friends that apparently came by the hospital just to check on us. She was so thoughtful to offer to bring us dinner that night(and it was delicious!)
We waited in the OR waiting for about 30 minutes before the doctor came to give us a report. Everything went smoothly and Brooks was a champ. He said his adenoids were actually growing into his nasal cavity because they were so large. We waited maybe 20 minutes more before a nurse called and said Brooks was calling for me. Imagine me now, bolt out of my chair, leaving purse and bag behind and walk, Speedy Gonzales like, down the hall. I was so glad the nurse chose a quick pace as well (cause I didn't know where I was going).
When I walked in Brooks was crying and coughing and gaging and trying to crawl out of the hospital bed. I scooped him up in my arms, grabbed his blankey from the edge of his bed and sat in the chair a nurse brought for me. I spent the next ten minutes rocking and singing lullabies. Praise God he was consolable. He would cry and pull at his IV at times, but then he'd settle down into my chest and suck his thumb. When he 10 minutes were up, I carried him out of the Recovery Room where I met Darrell (carrying purse and bag... way to go D!) and we went back to the original Patient Room. There, I laid in bed with Brooks, we gave him a sippy cup of water/juice and he downed 1/2 of it in no time. The nurse then said she'd be right back to take out the IV. We hung out there for an hour, watching TV and calling friends and family while Brooks dozed off an on. Then we took our baby home.
He's been eating well and is staying hydrated. After these first two days, the pain should improve and I wont need to wake up at 1:30 a.m. to give him pain meds any more. Please pray he will continue to eat and drink and that I will be creative in finding yummy soft foods he can eat, and that I will be able to find quiet, easy fun things to do to keep him busy during the day. They don't want him running and jumping or over exerting himself for 2 weeks! Yikes! Don't they know what 2 year old kids are like?
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