I have a couple of spots still available for my scrapbooking/project retreat next weekend (October 24-26). It is a working weekend but with lots of fun ladies. Contact me immediately if you are interested. It is at a B&B in the hill country and not too expensive.

Thanks to everyone who has visited this blog. I know it's taking a while to "get cute". But, as of today, I figured out how to get pictures on. Now I need to figure out how to import pictures from my camera without Mike's help so I can stay current. That will come. I also want your permission to post your blog addresses on my friend list. Again, I haven't figured out how to do that, but I want your permission or denial before I try. I have minimal time to visit my site or yours, but I love when I do treat myself to a few minutes of electronically visiting your lives. You are all so amazingly intelligent, creative, interesting, uplifting and fun!!

Last night our family engaged in a tradition we do each October. We went booing. For those of you who are new to this concept: Booing involves creating baskets of goodies, trinkets, a booing poem (found on multiple Halloween websites) and a ghost picture. The children get to choose a family each to Boo. This year Sydney chose two. We load the car (we call our Expedition "Ella") with the overflowing baskets and overexcited children and procede to "drop" the goodies. We left last night about 8:00. This is early enough not to disturb bedtimes but dark enough hopefully not to get caught. So off we go. The first house was Tyler's friend. Koby and Tyler placed the package, rang the doorbell and ran. They hid behind a parked car. They had to knock a second time but reaped the reward. The friend and her mother were a hoot! They laughed and shouted thanks into the dark in case someone was listening- and we were! Their joy made us all laugh and get excited to do more. Off to the second house; Sydney's friend. Sydney and Tyler placed the package, rang the doorbell and ran. They hid behing a hedge. They waited. No one came. Sydney went around the corner and then bolted back to the hedge nearly hurdling it. Out wanders the dad (a policeman). He heads straight to the hedge to expose Sydney and Tyler. Poor Sydney--caught! Off to the third house; Koby and Cayden's friends. All the kids went to place the package, ring the doorbell and run. Mike and I watched from the car as the dad and older brother gathered the treats and looked around a bit. Success. On to the last home; Sydney's other friend. Again all the children went. They placed the package, knocked on the door and ran. They hid behind a van. They waited. No one came. Sydney tried again. And a few minuteds later tried yet again. After the third try and told them to come. Sydney walked back up to the door and her friend opens it right up. Sydney got caught completely red handed. All the kids ran back to the car as Sydney's friend waved and yelled thanks. Sydney was so bummed that she failed two out of two. The rest of us laughed the entire way home. We even told her she could practice on our house a few times to prepare for next year. She wasn't too amused. We love our yearly Boos. And, why did I choose to share this with all of you? Is it because I want to inspire you to get out and give to your neighbors? No. Is it to motivate you to have family memories, fun and traditions? No. It's so that in the future I can go back, read this and remember what a lousy Booer Sydney is and how much fun we had laughing at her expense! What a noble mom am I!

It's been a few days since Ike furied its way through our area. It feels like months. The storm itself was strong for hours and wild for three of those hours. I stepped out on our protected front porch twice during the wild time. I wanted to stand in the actual wind just to say I'd done it. The night was as pitch black as a darkened room with no windows and the noise was like a train in front of you. I could see the trees in my own yard but not beyond. I cowered out on stepping out into it because I couldn't see if something were to fly at me. In the morning came the damage survey. Our house and neighborhood did fine. We lost a couple small branches, tons of leaves and one fence post (of course to the neighbor with two small dogs who can now visit us any time they wish). Our community did not fare so well. Thousands of trees are down. Many were ripped, roots and all, right up and out. The children needed activities since power was down. We hopped on our bikes and went exploring. We helped others clean yards, cut trees, and casually visited friends. Sydney said that night in family prayer how grateful she was for the opportunity to serve. So, I guess all it takes to get an eleven year old to serve is... a natural disaster. Just kidding. She's a great kid! We endured only a couple of days with no power. The water never gave out. The communication, or lack of, was the greatest challenge. Cell phones were absolutely good for nothing and home phones and computers were inaccessable. I felt like a pioneer. Remember the good ole days when nobody carried a cell phone (10 years ago). How did we survive? So, fast forward a couple of days... Now we are filling our extended time out of school with projects. We've replaced pictures, moved furniture around, invited friends to dinner every night, had kid friends most days, finished Sydney's Faith in God, worked on Tyler's scouts, and enjoyed some fantastically, beautiful days. This sounds like all bliss, but there are still hundreds of thousands without power, debri covers the grounds, our beautiful city and parks are in shambles and the econonmy (not to mention education) are at a stand still. In addition, so many homes and lives have been demolished at the fury of Ike. Those of you who prayed for us, please pray for them- the countless thousands who have not had our fortune and blessings.

It's nearly lunch time and we are so bored. Thus we created a blog. How often do you get the gift of an extra day with no school, no activities, and your told not to drive anywhere? It's been great (if you don't pay attention to the news and the monster bearing down in a few hours)! Last night I finished putting the hardware on the kitchen cabinets. I got all the laundry and dishes and stacks of papers cleared out. Every child is fully bathed and and the house is absolutely clean. Even the backyard has nothing in it (Mike just finished disassembling the trampoline). I'm loving this life. But now, we have nothing to do but wait. The mild winds have started. If we had a kite, we'd be going to the park right now. The sky is cloudy but pleasant. The electricity and water is still functioning-almost too well. We turned the air conditioning down to 68 degrees. We figure if the house is freezing, we can maintain a cool environment longer when the electricity goes off. Sydney and I have had blankets around us all morning. Anyone in the mood for hot chocolate?

This is the e-mail I sent out last night to family members:
Dear Family Members,
I wanted to compose a quick e-mail for those curious/concerned about the coming weather. Yes, we have been closely watching Hurricane Ike. These storms are so unpredictable. They tend to have a mind of there own, so we have to keep watching and preparing. We have been asked not to leave our homes unless in a mandatory or voluntary evac area. We do not apply to either. We will be riding this one out at home. It appears that the landfall will be right over Freeport/Surfside (our favorite beach and I hope it is still intact after this event). This is about 50 miles southeast of our home. We live 20 miles southwest of Houston. For anyone watching CNN, they might show Sugar Land- that is our area. By the way, don't believe everything you see on CNN. They are awful about telling it like it REALLY is. The last storm they said we were flooding and I think we saw 1/4" of rain if that. Today is choas around the town but freeways are clear and businesses are normal. Tomorrow the schools are closed and most businesses are finished for the week. The tension is definately real but much calmer than last time. Cayden is very concerned and keeps asking to see the hurricane pictures on the T.V. and computer. He is more in tune with people's emotions than the average child. I'm sure he's sensing the tension without understanding what is really happening. There is still time for the storm to move past Houston like last time. We need the rain so I hope we get at least a little moisture. We'll keep you updated as long as we have power.
Love,
Kahna