9.17.08 "The Boardwalk is Broken" said Chase today.

the parking lot as you drive into the boardwalk

the contents of a child’s room (in the boardwalk parking lot)

boardwalk parking lot

a restaurant on the water

what is left of aiden’s favorite ride…the carousel

what is left of our family’s favorite, traditional ride…the century ferris wheel

one of the horses from the carousel

the Landry’s sign

what is left of Starbucks on the boardwalk

the bbq pit…somehow floated or blew into the parking lot

all the boats washed onto nasa rd 1

random sailboat

boats from who knows where

same

the mcdonald’s by NASA…the astronaut still stands!

i am abundantly grateful that our home, my parent’s home, and my grandmother’s home was spared with the exception of a tree and some fences down. a small child prayed the night of the hurricane that “God would send sparkly angels down to surround our house and protect it.” that little boy’s prayer was honored. despite the devastation and magnitude of the storm…the sparkly angels came. our house was spared. in the place of my birth and our home town, however, houses and businesses were destroyed in a way that i have never seen personally. when i left the safety and miracle of my home today to travel to one of our family’s favorite places to go, i was overcome with emotions of sadness and despair. the kemah boardwalk is a tourist attraction for many…but for us it was a traditional family outing. our kids have grown up going there and take for granted that it was a mere 10 minutes from our house. for us…it was as common as mcdonalds. sometimes we would do it up right…eating…riding all the rides…and topping it off with ice cream or coffee. or sometimes, i would take the kids there during the week to stroll around…eat a picnic and play at the playground. sometimes, we would sit and watch the live music on summer nights, and sometimes we would be entertained by “boo on the boardwalk” during the month of october. we would always feel the magic of the sounds and lights of the rides…and would take friends and family there when they would come for a visit…becoming the favorite place for all the kids and adults as well. no one is allowed into the boardwalk now. the carnival music can’t be heard. the lights are out. as we were driving through the area that once elicited screams of excitement from the kids and a childlike joy from their chaperones, chase…who was sadly looking out the window said, “mommy…the boardwalk is broken.”

9.12.08 currently…

9.8.08 thoughts on not alot

so, my dilemma is that i love the feeling of starting the week with all clean laundry that has been folded and put away…as well as a clean house. when i wake up on monday and get the kids off to school, that is what i want. it just feels orderly. controlled. organized. however, that is not really a good plan because in order to do that, i have to spend saturday and sunday doing laundry and cleaning the house. and the weekend is family time. if i do it on friday, then by monday…it is already feeling chaotic again and the laundry is already getting full. but, if i wait until monday to do all the laundry and tuesday to clean the house…then it really never gets all the way finished because then we have homework…taking and dropping off of 3 kids with 2 different schedules…and everything else the week brings. so i find, that no matter how hard i try…the laundry is done, but not put away and the house is always only part of the way clean. i may get the bathrooms done one day, the furniture dusted another, and the floors swept and mopped and vacuumed another. i feel like i’m never “finished”. does anyone out there with kids in school have a workable schedule that they love and are willing to share? if so…please share!!

in other news…this morning, chad was talking about hurricane ike before the kids went to school. we were taking about an evacuation plan and all of that when colton piped in. i figured, with him being in 2nd grade and already studying weather and knowing some about hurricane tracking and evacuation procedures and hearing chad and i along with the rest of the community discuss the destruction and seriousness of these storms that he would have some worries about this one. he has watched the weather channel with us. he has seen the news coverage. he has heard the debates by us and family members on whether we should evacuate or not and has even evacuated a couple of years ago because of hurricane rita. and…he worries. so, it was not a shock to me that he may have some concerns. when chad finished telling me what the latest forecast for ike was, colton asked worried, “so when would it hit?” and chad said, “saturday.” then, i began to feel the mommy urge to comfort him and assure him that we would be ok and that we would take our special things and be out of the city before it hit. he, appearing even more worried than before then stated, “so…we are going to miss our saturday morning donuts????”

at least we know that his evacuation plan has to involve passing a donut shop.

9.5.08 on repeat this week…

i think…that without my music, my mood would always be a little blue. My favorites for this week include…but are not limited to…

Best for Last-Adele
The Beach Boys sounds of Summer
Audience of One-Big Daddy Weave (acoustic version)
Time-Chantal Kreviazuk
Baby Now I-Dan Reed Network
Imagine-David Archuleta (American Idol Performance)
Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova)
I’m Yours-Jason Mraz
Kerosene-Miranda Lambert
Cover Girl-New Kids on the Block
Time after Time-Quietdrive
Don’t Stop the Music-Rihanna
Shut up and Drive-Rihanna
Take a Bow-Rihanna
Heart and Soul-T’Pau
Africa-Toto
Best of Intentions-Travis Tritt
City of Blinding Lights-U2
The Walk-Sawyer Brown
The Continuum Album (John Mayer) really on repeat every week!!
Shining Through-Jill Scott

8.30.08 the man of my dreams…

growing up, i tried to picture the man i’d marry. would he be tall? would he have blond hair or brown? would he be rugged or clean cut? would he be from texas? would he be my age? older? younger? would he be outgoing…matching my sanguine personality? or would he be shy and quite? would he be cute? would he have to grow on me or would i like him right away? would he be someone i knew or would i meet him in college or even after college? would it be love at first site? would i notice him first or would he notice me first? would he make me laugh? would he be gentle, sweet and kind or more of a smart ass…(excuse my language but there is really no better way to call it.) would he be someone i’ve dated? would he be an athlete? after all…i did love athletic guys. you know the kind. not the jock, per say…but the one who is agile and coordinated. one that was strong. one that could take care of me. one that looks good doing whatever it is he is doing. all kinds of questions that would go un-answered. that is…until chad.

tonight, i was thinking about the answers to all of those questions. one jumped out immediately. friday night is family movie and pizza night. the kids have a “sibling sleepover” and watch a movie after we build our own pizzas. aiden and i went to the video store to rent the movie and then to the grocery store to get the stuff for dinner. i decided that i would make the kids their standard pepperoni pizza, but that mine and chad’s would be somewhat special. i don’t know what sparked this, but i ended up buying all kinds of veggies and different cheeses to make it more than just a generic pizza. i even opened a bottle of wine for us to enjoy with it. i got the kids fed and then chad and i sat down for our “special” dinner. when i sat down, i noticed that chad came to the table with his laptop. it was propped open to the side of him as he began to eat. what???? excuse me???? he then started audibly counting down. 5…4…3…2…1!! then he looked like a kid in a very over-priced toy store. he was beginning a fantasy football draft. it wasn’t even for him. it was a draft for his brother because his brother could not do it himself for some reason. my first reaction was, “huuuuuuuuuuuuuh.” “are you kidding me? i’m getting the shaft for something that isn’t even real?” but as i thought about it, i was kinda proud. he loves sports. he is an athlete. he is agile and coordinated. he is strong. he looks good doing whatever it is he is doing. and best of all…over pizza…he talks to me about his brother’s fantasy football draft like i’m one of the guys. and i wouldn’t have it any other way.

8.26.08 Kindergarten Chronicled

the beginning of “the boys”

time flying

the kermit backpack

his cute face

brothers

she misses “her boys” so when they are not with her

pre-tears

commence waterworks

he’s ready to go in. i’m still hanging on.

“i’m ok mom.”

bye.

I can’t begin to describe the sadness that I felt as I walked my 2nd born son to his classroom this morning. Put aside all the speech and occupational therapy we have gone through for the last 4 years for the sole purpose of him being ready for today. The thought of how quickly the last, almost 6 years has gone by is close to unbearable. And the thought of how quickly the next 12 will go is too much for me to take. It’s like time evaporates. The only positive I can think of to date is that it makes me cherish each minute with them. I remember every step with Chase this weekend and this morning. I don’t think I would if I had not had the realization of how futile time is. Again. I had this same experience when Colton started Kindergarten…but managed to forget over time. There it is again. Time. Seemingly the root of all evil right now. Anyhow, Chase chose to go to the beach and to the rainforest cafe for his “starting Kindergarten celebration”. We let him pick…and a great pick he made. We headed down to Galveston around 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. He wanted to play in the sand and body surf, and that is exactly what we did. We had a blast. Uncle Kevin came along to help us celebrate Chase and all his hard work preparing for the monumental start of public school. I didn’t want to take my eyes off of any of the kids. They were so full of life…goodness…joy. They never stopped smiling. (Well, Aiden did briefly when she learned that she was gonna have to pee in the ocean because there were no bathrooms around…but I prefer to think of that as a momentary lapse in time that we won’t really remember down the line.) Anyways, we had to pull Chase in out of the water. He only spent a small amount of time building a sandcastle, which was really more of a sand mound once we looked at the creation. Uncle Kevin did build a sand turtle, to which Chase asked, “Is that a frog?” And then it was back into the water they went. I, of course was constantly telling them to stay by me and to not go out so far and to hold on to our hands and to be careful and always respect the water, etc. etc. etc. We did have a blast. Then, once they realized how hungry they were, we went to dinner at the rainforest cafe…which may rank up there with disney world for Chase. He picked out a frog…not unlike the other 184 frogs that he has and was thrilled with the purchase. We ate and got to experience 3 “rainstorms” in the cafe while we were dining and ordered the volcano for dessert which Chase called a “chocolate, chocolate truffle cake.” It has a sparkler on it and must be had for all celebrations. We drove home as the sun was going down and I sat back and thought about the near perfect day. Fast forward to today…

He woke up…groggily meandered to the couch where it took a little coaxing to get him to get dressed. He wore chocolate brown cargo shorts and a surf t-shirt, green, of course. He was pleased with pancakes for breakfast and his usual ice water. I made his and Colton’s lunches, trying to figure out how to pack them with things that would make a second grader and kindergartener know, magically how much their mother loved them. They each got their favorite sandwich. They each got their favorite drink. They each got an oreo for dessert. They each got a pencil. A frog one for Chase and a football one for Colt. Then…last, but not least…what they call a “love note” from mom. Complete with stickers of batman and a few words letting them know that there was someone at home waiting for them and missing them and thinking that they were the two most special boys in the whole wide world. Would it be enough? I wondered. Then it was time. All of a sudden, it snuck up on me. I had to take the pictures…and then the worst part…….let them go. We took a few at home and hurried out the door. My favorite part of the morning came and it actually didn’t involve me at all. I let them walk ahead of me. And there they were. Brothers. Friends. An older one who had gone before…leading the little one who was heading into the unknown. And they were fine. Because they were together. That is when I cried. We dropped Colton at his classroom first. A simple hug would do. He didn’t need me. And that was ok. We had been down this road before. Then, little Chase…with his big kermit the frog backpack, grabbed my hand. I fought out an “I love you, Chase.” He said, “I love you too, Mom.” I honestly don’t remember what we talked about on that walk to Kindergarten. Probably about how much fun he was going to have…how excited he was…and on several occasions I remember him saying, “It’s ok mom.” The thing I remember most was gripping his little hand and never wanting to let go. That and the welling of tears in my eyes that I was trying to will away. We got to the door and I bent down to hug him. He said, “come here mom.” He wanted help getting his lunchbox in the appropriate place and hanging his backpack up. We did that together and then he lead me to his seat. His classmates were already seated and I said, “Look Chase. Some other Kindergarten friends.” He sat down and looked at me and said, “This is where I live.” (A phrase he uses frequently.) Then I hugged him again. But this time, I held on a little longer. We said I love you’s and then I had to walk out…starting one of the longest walks I have experienced yet as a mom. The walk home. Alone. I turned around at the door and smiled. He gave me a big dimpled grin and then waved. He was fine. I was thankful. I walked my little boy into Kindergarten. Actually, I think he walked me.

8.15.08 UKRAINE at a glance

some of the ukrainian translators (we love them)

leading worship…night 1

some of the citizens of the ocean area of lviv, ukraine
who came to the crusades

orthodox church (in ocean)

alter call after the last crusade night

keri, me and our friend lena…who we met in ukraine last summer and kept in touch with

men in black

taras, lubchic, and andrei (some of our ukrainian partners)

my brother, kevin and one of the ukrainian boys that loved playing baseball with him

leading worship…night 3 (schultzy…the hat is so cool!!)

my little girls that i fell in love with on the first night (they came back every night)

brother and sister…making, yet another memory together!!

8.3.08 projectOCEAN 2008

i am leaving the country today for a mission trip in ukraine. we are going to take things to orphans, and children in hospitals as well as teaching children, youth and adults about Jesus using varioius curriculum from our church (i am in charge of kids ages 4-17). we are also spreading the word about the new church that is launching in the ocean area in l’viv in september. we are putting on a street carnival for kids and doing some various concerts (we are taking a band) to help spread the word. we are also leading worship for a crusade the last 3 days of our trip where Jesus’ message will be shared. please pray for this trip.

7.29.08 stage name

watching the 3 d hannah montana concert on tv

colton would never admit to liking hannah montana…however i feel that this is proof enough. i love watching hannah montana with the kids. it is really a cute and funny show. it keeps us all entertained. the other night, her 3d concert was shown on the disney channel. chad went and got them 3d glasses from blockbuster that ended up not really working…as they were intended for viewing fireworks…but whatever. this was fairly close to the beginning of the concert…before they lost interest and went to play play station in our bedroom. it was at that point, that chad and i looked at each other wondering why 2 adults were sitting alone in the living room, enjoying a hannah montana 3d concert on tv. i thoroughly enjoyed myself though. in fact…i am a part of the band that is headed to ukraine this sunday and will get to sing onstage several times for who knows how many ukrainians. i have decided to change my stage name to mindy indi……….ana!!

7.20.08 hope…ful

chad and i are back in iowa. we got the call at 4:15 am friday morning. you know the one. the one that no one wants to get. the one that makes your heart sink and your stomach sick. it was davey…chad’s sister’s husband on the other end. katie (chad’s sister) had been taken to the er late thursday night with what seemed to be a migraine. several hours later, what appeared to be a drug induced, peaceful and finally pain-free sleep was actually a coma. the doctor said that a test revealed that she had a ruptured brain anuerism. they gave davey a choice. we can let her quietly pass, or we can do a surgery that will most likely not help. davey made the choice. quickly. she was immediately taken in to a 3 hour brain surgery. chad and i left the kids with my parents and and caught the 7:30 am flight from houston to kansas city and then drove a rental car the remaining 2 1/2 hours to iowa methodist hospital in des moines. during our short lay-over in oklahoma city, chad talked to his brother. the doctor had just told the family that the damage was too severe and that they did not anticipate katie ever waking up. hope was lost. when we arrived at the hospital, we were met by nearly all of our family members and close friends. everyone was there for one reason. a miracle. when davey met us in the waiting room, he said that katie had squeezed his hand. she had heard his voice. she knew her husband. she did what he asked her to do. she had fought. God had fought. she showed everyone that hope is never lost. when human knowledge said there was no hope…Jesus said otherwise. katie is continuing to fight. she is fighting to wake up. she is fighting to talk. she is fighting for her life. for her family. through prayers of faith for her life…for her healing…God is fighting too. and i don’t know about you, but i would want no one else fighting for her than Jesus. the ultimate warrior. the ultimate healer. her Father.

it is sunday now. chad remains at the hospital. at his family’s side. at his sister’s side. i am at the house with their 3 children. one of which is their 12 day old baby boy…who everytime i look at his sweet face, i see glimpses of Katie…and miracles…and Jesus.

you can find all the updates and information about Katie and her progress at http://www.confessionsofaslackermom.blogspot.com/

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