Our Power is Back!

"Run from the water, hide from the wind;" "Hunker Down;" Turn around don't drowned;" "Stay calm and be patient." These are some of the sayings I have heard about how to survive hurricane Ike. We did hunker down Friday night and made it through the storm- we didn't even have to go into our "shelter" under the stairs. We did wake up to no power and some roof damage, but overall we came out pretty well.

One good thing the storm did was bring neighbors together. On Sunday (maybe it was Saturday I forget) when it was still raining people were out and about taking walks and running in the rain. As the rain stopped even more people emerged from their homes. I have never seen so many kids in one place besides a school. It was fun to see.

The storm also forced us away from the computer and TV. Did you know people can survive without those things? Toby and I read and played games by candle light as Elyse slept. We should do that more often.

I am also happy to report that Elyse has done very well. She has been sleeping through the night (although some of them have been hot) and taking her naps. It helps that God has brought a cold front through Texas. Today we were able to open up the windows and let the cool air in.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! We still need them though. We have to find a good contractor to fix our water damage ASAP since we will be leaving for Singapore in less than 2 weeks, which is another thing that we need prayer for. Crazy- by Oct we will be in another country. Anyway, praise God for all the good he has done and will do.

Hunkering Down

As Ike approaches, we are hunkering down. We have food, water, batteries, matches and propane. We will be fine... We just have to wait for it to start so it can be over. As we waited today we gave Elyse the garden hose and sat back and watched. She loved it and it gave us a good laugh. I love watching Elyse discover new things.

We're Really Leaving

We got our tickets yesterday. We will be leaving the US on September 29th. We have a 13 hour flight to Japan and then a 7 hour flight to Singapore.

Trip to Colorado

Well, we are back from our wonderful trip to CO. We got to see friends and family and Toby and I actually went on a couple dates. Many days we would sit outside and enjoy the wonderful CO weather. It was perfect. Elyse would run around in the grass or play with the toys that Grandma and Grandpa had. I loved to just be outside and not sweat. I was even avle to take a nap in the sun on the soft grass one day. It was great. Here are a few picture from our trip.

Cute Pix

Here are some pictures of Elyse that I thought were worth passing along:

I got these sunglasses when I went to the eye doctor. Elyse like wearing them on her head.

Elyse just needing a cuddle with Mommy.

Elyse likes to climb up in her bouncy seat and just hang out.

Here Elyse is trying on Mommy's shoes.

Where's Your Head?

When asked, "Where's your head?" Elyse responds by doing this:

Caught in the Rain

The other day Elyse and I went shopping. Right as we were about to leave the store it began to pour outside and I, of course, left the umbrella in the car. There were two options: wait it out or make a run for it. For those who live in Texas you know that the rain could stop after a minute or go on for a long time. I decided that this was going to be a long storm and didn't want to wait it out. So I grabbed Elyse in one hand and the folded up stroller in the other and went out into the rain.

I got to the car and couldn't open the door. Finally it opened and Elyse and I sat in the back and we both began to laugh. We were soaked! This is the first time Elyse and I laughed together at something (where I wasn't tickling her). She was looking at herself in the mirror and was laughing. I buckled her up and got myself into the front seat and...it stopped raining. Ahhh! Oh, well, the rain allowed a great memory. This picture is of Elyse after we got home.