A Christmas Angel

I have to tell you about something that happened this week. It makes me realize there are still good people in this world! A friend came over to bring some goodies that she didn't use in a house she was decorating. That was coool in itself, but she left a gift bag under our tree. When she left I checked it out to see her Christmas card, because she always makes the cutest ones of her boys. There was another envelope in there made out to my DH and myself, so I opened it....there were 2 American Express gift cards in there and it was enough to buy Christmas gifts for all the ones we needed to! I was shocked and kept looking at the envelope making sure it had our name on it! I showed DH and he was like, "Whuuuuuuuuuuuut????" I called my friend and told her I had to get the wrong envelope and she needed to come get it! Of course her phone went straight to voice mail and a few minutes later she called back and was just giggling. She said it was ours to spend on whatever we wanted. She has a client that does this for families every year and she had asked her if she knew of any families affected by Ike and that she wanted to help. I am so moved by people like this and never thought I would be on the receiving end. I am humbled and so appreciative. It was wonderful to get the gifts we needed to and not worry about January bills. She was truly our Christmas angel!

Merry Christmas

Luke 2: 1 – 14
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them at the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men."

It is full on Christmas mode starting this morning and not ending until Saturday. Trey went to bed last night at 7pm, VERY unusual for him, especially with no school. But he wanted today and tomorrow to get here quicker, that's a kid for ya! I hope all of you have a Blessed Christmas! We are, we have so much to be thankful for, our new home being at the top of that list! I got my wish this year and if that is all I get, I'm thrilled! Remember the "Reason for the Season" and have a

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

More snow!

well, in my blog that is.... I got the link from Dawn, you have to see her blog.. it is gorgeous and always uplifting and oh, so funny! I really have missed reading my list of blogs... gonna get back to it! I wanted to find a holiday background, but I'd have to make a new header and I have my background and header just like I like it. Y'all may get tired of looking at it though! Maybe after the holidays I'll spiff it up a bit! So enjoy the falling snow as you read! Will share our decorations soon, have to learn how to get a good pic of lights! See ya!

Snow and Shuttle Fly over!!

Snow one day and the Shuttle the next....what a week!

I hope most of you in the Houston/Clear Lake area were outside yesterday around noon... this is what was circling the city skies... I couldn't take my eyes off of it! Some of the overhead shots are from the NASA site. In one you can see how low the water is in the lake!
It was a perfect gorgeous day for a flyover!! Enjoy!

SNOW~

First off, you Yankees are probably gonna laugh, but we Texans rarely get snow. My son used to ask, "will it snow for Christmas?" and I learned not to say no becuase I was so wrong a few years ago when we had snow on Christmas Eve! Well, it did it again last night. It was sleeting around dinnertime and then turned to big fluffy flakes after dark and kept it up until the wee hours of the morning. It was a perfect night to decorate the tree with the fire going and it snowing outside! Trey had a blast and maybe had a bit of frostbite too! He didn't want to wear gloves because he couldn't feel the snow! Here's his best snowball and a few more pics:

So have a MERRY CHRISTMAS, now I better get to shopping!

Here's me and my snow friend!

Here's hoping....

I signed up for a giveaway on Ellen's website and hoping she pops in to read my blog!
HI ELLEN!!!

Thankful

appreciative, contented, gratified, pleased, relieved, satisfied all these and more.

Looking back on an Ike post I saw I used alot of adjectives that were sad, scared, etc... well, times have changed people and life is great! During this season I have so much to be thankful for and you are one of them! Thanks for stopping in and I promise I'll be better at posting. (since I have my own computer back for the first time in MONTHS!!! ) YAY!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Home pics

OK as promised....pics of the house, thanks for looking and try not to notice the mess and boxes!

front porch

from front door

living room

opposite view

coming in back door

looking at back door thru kitchen

pantry!

laundry room

Nick's office

Dining room

hall to right side

Jack & Jill Bathrooms

Trey's messy room

wanna-be scraproom!

hall to Master

one half of Master

other half of master

our closet

half of master bath

other half of master

music/gameroom

driveway

Nick's favorite part!

Merry staying in from the rain.

cool bowl from MIL.

If you really made it this far, YOU ROCK! Hopefully soon you can come see it IRL!

The Yellow Butterfly

I have to share this "God thing" that happened to me. A few weeks ago when I was feeling really down and worried about our situation I was on the phone trying to get thru to FEMA, sitting outside at our friends house on the patio and in between being on hold and pushing more numbers I was talking to God and just telling Him I knew He had a plan and it'd all work out. I told Him I was frustrated, scared and just so worried, but I was asking for a sign and some peace & patience. This yellow butterfly kept flittering around, never landing but hanging around close. This happened the next few days in a row. Fast forward to finally finding a house and we were taking a break in moving in boxes and I went in the backyard and guess what I saw? Yep, a yellow butterfly! I just let out a little giggle and said outloud, "OK, you got me and thanks!" So the answer may not always be heard, but I knew He was there and just saying to me.... "I handled it, didn't I?" So keep a look out for a Yellow Butterfly, He may be hovering over you too!
Will update with more pics as soon as I find my camera!! Love you all!

HOME

Well, here is our new home. It is in a "Front Porch Community" in Seabrook called Mystic Village. It looks like it shouldn't be on the gulf coast. No houses in this neighborhood had any damage, they all still have trees even! After a storm is a good time to look for a house, you can tell where not to buy if there is a pile of debris on the street. Sorry the blinds are all wonky.. I have been cleaning! We have 4 bedrooms and all the formals, thought they will be empty for a while since I have no furniture!! ;) Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes! God is good and we are on the road back! It'll be good to sleep in my own bed for the first time in over a month! Will have a huge housewarming party in November!! Look out for the invites! Back to moving!

Home Sweet Home

We got a house! Moving now and will put pics up later tonight hopefully! We were so lucky to find something since everyone is looking at the moment, but like I have said before, I was trying to trust God and wait on Him and His timing and He heard us and found us a home. I have been tellling Trey that "home" is wherever we are together as a family and since Ike we have had many "homes" but this will be our real home! The neighborhood is awesome, doesn't look like it should be on the Gulf Coast, none of the houses are damaged or had water, the roofs are great and they are all decorated for Halloween. It is gorgeous and I can't wait to show y'all, but I have to get moving, literally! Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes! Thanks most of all to God....
now just give me strength to get this part done!! ;)

Favorite Song

I love Third Day and today I really listened to the words of this song, and it might be my answer... I've been asking God what to do in our situation and I realized I just have to trust He'll bring us thru. I got a comment from a friend the other day and it is so true,
"The bigger the mess, the bigger the message"

"Revelation"

My life has led me down the road that's so uncertain
Now I am left alone and I am broken
Trying to find my wayTrying to find the faith that's gone
This time I know that you are holding all the answers
I'm tired of losing hope and taking chances
On roads that never seemTo be the ones that bring me home

Give me a revelation
Show me what to do'
Cause I've been trying to find my wayI haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without you
I've got nothing without you

My life has led me down this path that's ever winding
Through every twist and turn, I'm always finding
That I am lost again
Tell me when this road will ever end
I don't know where I can turn
Tell me, when will I learn
Won't you show me where I need to go
Let me follow your lead
I know that it's the only way that I can get back home

Fed Up

Frustrated, anxious, stressed, worried, fearful, man what else... since the day or 2 after the storm I have been all of the above and more. We have moved our belongings all over the place and torn out all the walls that were saturated and moldy. Just in cast they decide to rebuild. My hope is they don't. We would never be able to afford it. Since Katrina, our flood insurance went up $400 and now with a direct hit, we wouldn't be able to get insurance unless it's way high. The complex is over 40 years old and to fix it would cost more than just to tear it down and sell the property. Just say a quick prayer that it will all work out. I know God is in control, and His way is not my way, but I'm getting so impatient and I'm on the verge of tears 24/7. I am trying to be strong but my faith is weak. I know it will all work out, but starting over is scaring me to death. Not having a home is beyond stressful. If you know me, having my stuff scattered from here to Kingdom Come is driving me crazy! I am a neat and organized person and I am not that way at the moment. Waiting on Flippin FEMA to reassess our case file so we can get some cash and get a place. We have a nibble on a house but can't move forward until we have a bit of money. At least Trey had school all week and had some kind of normal. Except that we had to get up at the crack of dawn to get him there since we are 30 minutes from where were were and it's another 30 minutes to school from home. I'm still around, don't have my own computer yet, don't have a plcae to plug it in, so I'm not ignoring you if you have emailed me, I just can't get those yet. You can email me at kstrat33@yahoo.com and I can check those! I miss all of my blog sisters and what is going on in your lives. Hopefully soon I can get back! Hugs from here. Oh and I got a new link for more pics if you're interested. They are from a few days after Ike and taken from the water in Clear Lake . For you out of towners the towns are League City , Clear Lake Shores , Kemah, Seabrook, El Lago... all Texas of course. Clear Lake is one of the top three areas for privately owned yachts and water craft in the nation.
Clear Lake pics

Now I know what HELL looks like

Just to let y'all know we are alive and ok. We won't have power for maybe months... even when the city is back on we won't be since most of our transformers are under water and it'll take so long to remove all the debris. First off, thank you for all the prayers, I know that is the only thing that kept me and all of my loved ones here, it was hell friends, I was beyond terrified and wasn't sure if we'd make it, seriously. We started getting wind around 8:30 pm, not bad just blowing and by 10:30 it was on... and it didn't stop until 8:30 am. It was coming thru like nothing I have heard before and imagine it is what hell sounds like. Nick has stayed at home to put more things up and decided at 11:30 to get a nap and slept thru his phone ringing, thank God the dog, our hero, licked him in the face until he woke up and when he swung his feet off the couch they were under water to his calves. He grabbed the dog and took off, he looked out the front door and my truck was up to the tailpipe in water. He decided to try to start it and it did and he got the heck outta there. But.. this was in the midst of the storm at 3:30 am. He called me and I listened to him drive to my parents and I never want to do that ever again. I was physically ill the whole time. I taked him into the driveway and I could see & feel the rain and wind finally and it stung like a thousand bees, but he had made it. We just collapsed into each others arms and cried. Thank you Jesus. He managed to get some sleep finally, but I could not. I thought the house was going to come apart and I was terrified. I had been thru Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and this was 10X worse. We never got he eye wall so it was 10 hours of 80 mph wind steady and gusting to 100. Thank God my son slept thru it, if he was awake and scared too, I wouldn't have made it. We had TV until midnight and could see what was going on by the news cast. Then when it went it was really scary. We could hear things hitting the house but not see it since all the windows were boarded up. It was the longest night of my life and I have never prayed so hard. When we were able to come out the next morning there was hardly a tree with leaves. Limbs were everywhere, trees uprooted, just trashed, but the roof was fine and all the vehicles made it. Then we went home. I'll keep this short and you can look at the pics, it is undescribable....you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. We were lucky, we had only 10 inches after all, and all of our "stuff" most of it was already upstairs and all the boards held. But our new wood floors are ruined, furniture desks, kitchen, my drawer in my stove was full of water...I could go on, but the valuable scrapbooks and all my scrapping stuff were fine. ;) Our parking lot is supposed to be for cars, but now it is full of boats. Just go take a look at my Shutterfly and see for yourself. These are the places I could get to, I will get more today. The pavilion that sits waterfront was totally underwater and it is harly recognizable and I didn't have my camera yesterday to get pics. We have had news crews from all the local national and even Italy and the UK. I believe NBC Nightly News will be broadcasting from our place sometime, maybe tonight. They were scouting for a dry place to set up yesterday, so keep an eye out. I'm going to go for now, not sure when I can check in again, so keep praying for those we haven't heard from yet. Thanks again friends, I can't stress enough how grateful I am for all the thoughts and prayers.
Go check out the pics, there are lots (157)so beware! I'm a scrapbooker after all! Love from Texas!

Hurricane Ike 1
sorry, you have to sign in, I don't have time to jack with it, so sign in w/my stuff:
sign in txkris at comcast dot net
password 1432

It's been 2 days

Well, the weather guys said on Monday we should know better where Ike was going, well... guess what? they don't!! It is all depending on the HIGH that is floating around. Well, I like to know what I'm gonna do before I have to do it, just A+ like that... sorry. So I'm sitting here acting like it's a normal day, laundry, making muffins, cleaning a bit, scrapping some and watching the tide rise already, that is a bit unsettling. Well, that's all we can do, we're hanging in another day!
All my friends, be safe and check in soon!

Take a hike, Ike!!

I have read this on other Texan friends blogs today too, but I have to put my own on here because I think our luck has run out this year! "They" (the weather guys) say we have to wait 2 more days to kow for sure, but look where Ike is pointing!

and look where I am! (and a few of my friends, we're all labeled in red.)

not liking Ike at the moment, but will wait and see what TPTB say and start batting down the hatches in the next few days. Have plywood, have hurricane kit (thanks, Dad!) and will bug out if need be! So here are some pics from today.

out the back

from the pier by the marina, the bridge in the middle is the Kemah bridge, past that is Galveston Bay.

the pool and clubhouse. This is high tide for today. All I can do today is watch and wait! Prayers for all my Gulf Coast friends! Will post another update in the next day or so!

SITS

OK, found another site to read everyday and they are giving away a CRICUT EXPRESSION!!
Yep, how cool is that? GO check them out and leave some love!
The Secret Is In The Sauce (how cute is that name?) You can also get there by the button on my sidebar ;)

This week I was searching my photo folders and came across my parents trip to the Holy Land last year. There are plenty of critters over there, so here they are! (and my Mom who rode one!)Notice the pageant/parade wave she has going! ;)

New Hair Do's?

nevah!! well, I can't say never... because I have!! I am not worthy! These pics cracked me up, but some of them were a reality and they didn't shock me because somewhere I have pics with big hair! I'll have to find them and scan, you will see what I mean!! I saw this on Rachel's blog a few weeks ago and decided to try it, if you want to see what you look like with 50's or 60's hair, go for it and link me to it! I'd like to laugh too and not just at myself!! Thanks! Here is the direct link: Yearbook Yourself

1960
1966 - year I was born!

1968

1974 - not sure why it's so dark?

1984 - the year I graduated from HS -

this hair made me gain 50 lbs!

1988 - and I have this same do!

1990 - and this one!
1992- seriously, this has to be my Olan Mills photo!! ;)

1994 - lawsy, this one too!

1996 - now this isn't so bad...

so go play and show me your loverly styles!