Housing Evacuees

Okay, they are evacuees, but they are our relatives.  Danny's dad, sister and her husband have been with us for 3 nights because their power is out.  It has been really nice having them here.  Our little ones are loving the attention.  Our big ones are enjoying playing Skip-Bo with them.

School has been abbreviated with the extra people in the house, but we're getting the basics done.  Maybe next week we can get back on schedule. 

We Survived Rita

Rita came and went.  She was a level 2 hurricane when she came through our town.  We went without power for 24 hours.  We are lucky.  We live across the street from a gas station and grocery store.  They had to get the electricity going for them so the evacuees could buy gas to get home.  We didn't lose any trees, but our large beautiful oak tree in the backyard split down the middle.  I don't know if it will need to be cut down or if it will keep growing.

We had the pleasure to help out some evacuees from Orange.  One of the men in the family (an extended family of 12) had evacuated to Orange from New Orleans and then he had to evacuate here.  Their car broke down in front of the house.  We asked the women and children to come in out of the heat and gave them some food.  There were six little kids.  One of them was a week old baby.  So, I did the only thing a mother of 6 could do.  I sat and held the baby.  She was so sweet.

Have you wondered what there is to do without electricity?  I was amazed.  There was so much to do.  After the hurricane, the weather was cooler.  We opened the windows and I went to work in the little boys' bedroom.  I cleaned it and decluttered it.  It really looks nice.  If we had been without electricity another day, I had big plans for the other boys' room. 

We normally take Monday off from school.  We will get started back tomorrow.  The boys all think we should miss another day like their public school friends.  That's the beauty of home schooling.  We do it our own schedule.

Hurricane Rita Is On Her Way

We cut school a little short today.  We decided we had better make some preparations in case we are out of electricity and/or water.  We live right off of one of the evacuation highways coming from Beaumont.  It finally dawned on me that we might have some people stranded that need assistance in the wee hours of the morning.  So, we got with it, washed all the sheets (in preparation for overnight guests), cooked a brisket, stored some water and cleaned up in general. 

We should receive some hurricane 1 winds.  Around here that means the possibility of trees falling down.  We usually get some flooding in certain areas.  So far, we have never personally been bothered by any of these things.

If I'm still here tomorrow, I'll let you know how it all ended up.

Whew! What A Day!

Will this day ever end?  Actually it's all my fault.  I got started setting up this blog a little late last night.  It took me longer than I intended.  After I was through, I couldn't get my brain to wind down.  It seems that whenever I work on my website (and now apparently this blog) it keys up and I can't get to sleep.  Of course, you should be saying to yourself, “Don't work on it at night”.  Easier said than done.  That's usually the time I can sit down and do some quiet work.

Well, to continue with my day.  I didn't get to bed until early this morning.  I woke up late enough that I've been behind on everything today.  We finally finished school at 3:30 PM.  I need a nap.

I'll try to get to bed earlier tonight.  I don't think it will be too difficult.

The Little Guys With Their New Haircuts

Well, I thought I would join the rest of the world and start blogging.  I've been snooping around my kids blogs and quite frankly I've been entertained very much.  I can't say that I'll be as entertaining. 

Below are my 2 youngest right after their new haircuts.  I really didn't intend to cut their hair that short, but Benjamin (the one on the right), had a really bad hair day Sunday AM.  Apparently no one remembered to wet his hair down before worship that morning.  I looked at him (after I was already sitting in the pew) and realized he had a clown hairdo.  It was sticking up all over.  Danny, my hubby, tried to make it lay flat, but there was no use. So, I cut it off.