Hurricane Gustav

We are about 12 hours from a major hurricane....Gustav. My grandparents, Art and Lyndall Owens are still in Beaumont - planning to leave early Monday morning. The storm is coming in fast and well organized so there is potential for great damage. Our last major storm was "Rita" in September of 2005. Beaumont was hit very hard. We were blest by a long visit from my grandparents but the town they returned to was very different from the one they left. I do not want to see that happen again.

This link is a good one to see all the computer models on one screen: http://www.stormpulse.com/fullscreen/current Just be sure the "models" button is clicked "on".

Our concern here in Tyler is that Gustav is supposed to come on land in Louisiana or Southeast Texas and then slow down and park as a tropical storm right on top of us. While we should not see high winds, there are estimates that we will have 12+inches of rain. The potential for trees coming down on power lines (due to over-soaked roots) and major power outages is frightening for this mom with three young kids. We love our AC (especially in this 95+ degree weather) and depend heavily on our fridge to preserve milk and other foods we live on. Who knows? We may end up evacuating with our evacuees...lukily we have a safe place to go...

Silas and the cat

Taylor, our cat, is getting older. I adopted her in 1996 from the shelter in Waco. Her original purpose was to be a play-mate for the dog while I was busy in law school. Now she is our only pet and her purpose is just to be. She used to be very mean (a product of being the playmate of a rat terrier). Over the years she has mellowed and now lives peacefully with the family. She likes members of our family in the following order: Jeff, Abigail, Silas, Emma and me. I am not offended by this - we have learned to live together without incident.

So last night I was glad to see that Jeff had snapped some good pictures of Silas and Taylor on the fence. Silas loves to climb up our fence and exist high above the backyard. Thanks to some calm weather (and a calm 4 year old), Taylor decided to stay on the pillar as Silas climbed up.

A trip to Nacogdoches

This morning we loaded up in the mini-van and headed to Nacogdoches to see Jeff's mom, Bonnie. The kids call her "Nanne Sue". She has a house with a great back yard. Silas especially loves to run around and swing on the tree swing. Abby prefers to stay inside and "play" the piano.

We went to Fuddruckers to eat lunch then to Marble Slab for ice cream. By the time we got to the butterfly garden (a beautiful place to walk around on the Stephen F Austin campus), all three of my kids were covered in ketchup and ice cream. We had a fabulous time.

Starting Out

This is the second post of my new blog. How exciting! My intent is to post lots of pictures of our family and give you a glimpse into our daily life. Read, enjoy and comment often.

Opening the blinds

During the summer in East Texas, it is so hot that we have to keep the blinds closed to keep the house cool. Now that the "fall" is approaching, it is time to open the blinds.

Starting today, I will also "open the blinds" on our family so you can get a peak into our lives. One thing you will notice is that my girls are together much of the time. They are totally in love with each other and spend tons of time together.