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Tiny Drops of Hope

May 23, 2009 By Rachel 7 Comments

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I ran to snap this picture after a brief bit of ran the other day.  We are in a D4 level drought.  They’re calling it an exceptional drought.  Exceptional has such positive connotations, I would call it a devastating drought.

We have had a shade over 1″ of rain in 2009.  Everything is dying, brown and crisp.  Wildfires are claiming land and taxing our resources.  Every highway rimmed with large stretches of blackened, scorched earth.  The grasses so dry they cut you to walk on them, if they don’t crumble like dust beneath your feet first.

Taking pictures of your kids in fields of blue & white bluebonnets is a Texas tradition, you almost aren’t considered a real Texan if your photo albums and walls don’t have pictures of happy children amongst the fields of emerald green and royal blue.  This year, there are no bluebonnets.  The droughts have robbed us of the colors, scents and traditions of years before.

Boat ramps are closing, lake levels dropping and thousands of acres disappearing in hot blazes, leaving charred, scarred earth and shattered lives behind.

These tiny little drops of hope glisten like diamonds in the sun and I hope they aren’t the last that I capture, I pray that there are millions more coming soon.

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Filed Under: Photography, Texas

I Don’t Like Ike

September 9, 2008 By Rachel 44 Comments

I had this whole post planned for today. It was all about how excited I am to go have a chick flick night with my friend on Friday. I never get to see the movies in the theater. The last one I saw in a theater was Transformers.

I have two tickets to go see The Women on Friday night with a good friend of mine. There was gonna be makeup, and non mommy clothes, straightened hair, possibly heels and most likely a drink or two at a place without kids meals and sippy cups.

I was gonna tell y’all about how excited I am for the movie and all the wonderful things that Dove is doing to empower women and young girls.

But you know what I’m doing instead? Boarding up my windows, packing bags, getting all of our important papers together and preparing to evacuate.

Why? Because Ike is a bastard and he’s headed straight for us. Yes, I know I live in a Coastal Community, thank you very much. But still, until you see the satellite showing those huge winds and giant massive big ass storm system headed straight for you. It’s not real.
Until you get 10 calls in a row from your husband demanding that you leave so he can be at Peace and do his job without stressing over your safety and the safety of your kids.
It. is. not. real.

It is now real. Mandatory evacuations are set for Thursday. Voluntary start today and tomorrow.

I choose tomorrow because I don’t drive in the dark. Don’t like it.

I pray to God that Ike moves, that he doesn’t continue this direct course towards Corpus and the surrounding areas, but if Ike does hit here. I pray for the safety of all left behind, my husband included.

I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a home, I have insurance, I have family to flee to. I am a stay at home mom, I have the freedom and flexibility to leave when I wish. I am lucky.

If you are in his path, you have my prayers, for all in Cuba and Haiti, my heart goes out to you.

*If you are not in Ike’s path and want to go see The Women, head over to Dove and enter to win a pair for yourself.

*side note* my son just stuck a piece of bacon into my Diet Dr Pepper. I think that’s his way of trying to lay claim to it, I guess I should be glad he’s not a dog.
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On the lighter side. The new Blissfully Domestic is up and running and I am a contributor for the Blissfully Delish section.

And one of my recipes is being featured there this afternoon! Pop on over and say Hi. There are some amazing women contributing to this magazine and there’s a little bit of something for everyone.
So while I’m running around packing and boarding up windows, you go drool over my food and all the other amazing things over there.

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Filed Under: Food, Texas

They Slide, They Bounce and She Speaks: Haiku Friday

August 1, 2008 By Rachel 29 Comments

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A bouncing Monkey
little feet slipping, sliding
Toddler nirvana

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIKQ8vRigBk&hl=en&fs=1]

In College Station there’s this fabulous place called ‘The Bounce‘. It is 12,500 square feet of Bounce Houses and Inflatable Slides and Rock Walls. In other words, kid Heaven. If you happen to be in that area… Monkey and Princess and I give it a HUGE thumbs up!

Now that you’ve watched my kids at play, why don’t you pop over and take the parenting quiz on the Savvy Source Widget. It’s sponsored by Leapfrog and it is pretty interesting. Come on, you know you want to!

I don’t think that’s actually my voice. I swear in my head it sounds different. Let’s call it cheap Kodak camera distortion, K?

To join in the 5-7-5 party go visit the fabulous Jennifer or the wonderful Christina

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Filed Under: Monkey, Princess, Texas

Princess strikes again or Home Again Home Again, Jiggity Jig

July 26, 2008 By Rachel 12 Comments

Let’s set the scene shall we:

We arrived home around 7:45 P.M. yesterday. Ahhh the sweet glorious bliss that is home. Mom, Dad, I love y’all but it is so good to be home!

Around 9:30 Shut up, I know. It’s going to take me a week to get back to 8:00 bed times.
Nathan read Princess her books and I went in to do her spell then the two of us cuddled on the couch together to watch Bones and enjoy being in each other’s presence.
Cue Princess.
Out prances Princess in her pink satin, dessert covered pajamas, tousled blond hair, big blue eyes and a world class pout on her lips. She crawls into Nathan’s lap and this is what she says.

“Daddy, I have the growing pangs”
Daddy: “Oh honey, where does it hurt?
She lifts up her right leg and rubs it. “Right here Daddy, all up and down.”
We wait for her to acknowledge the other leg…. crickets chirping….. nothing.
I start giggling and rolling my eyes.
Daddy: “Princess, you need to remember the next time you want to fake growing ‘pangs’ to use both legs or arms or the whole body, K?”
She looks up at him with those huge blue eyes, shrugs her shoulders and says: “Okay Daddy, will you carry me back to bed now and read me another book?”
and you know what… He DID it. Sucker!!!
But I love that he’s a sucker for her. There really is nothing quite so sweet as a Daddy and his little girl.
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We’re home! WooHoo! yippity skippity! Yes, I’m 12… deal with it :-)
Everything seems to have survived Dolly fairly well. There are branches lining the streets in my neighborhood, flooded fields all along 77 and about 3 inches of mud and sludge covering my patio, oh and then there are the rats and the bugs. Yes, I said it Rats and Bugs.
The heavy rains and winds chased all the little ‘woodland’ creatures and creepy crawlies scurrying for shelter and that shelter, our attic and house. Yes, I am creeped out to the nth degree.
We have exterminators coming on Monday, the couldn’t come sooner because they are booked solid. Apparently we aren’t the only household suffering from the skittering, scurrying, creepy crawly, multi legged yuckies.
Thank you for all of your sweet notes and e-mails checking on me and my family, and inquiring into Granny and your prayers for her.
Y’all are amazing.
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Filed Under: Family, Nathan, Princess, Texas

Wisdom and Wonder and Dolly

July 23, 2008 By Rachel 25 Comments

Princess is an amazing little creature. I alternate between wanting to pull her hair out and wanting to cuddle her and tell her she’s the most amazing person I’ve ever known.
We’re up here in Bryan visiting my family. Granny, the family matriarch, the heart and wicked humor center of the family is declining. She is still there, lurking behind the drugs and flashing us with the occasional ‘Granny’ smile, especially when she sees the kids. She can’t communicate, she shakes, she’s confined to a wheelchair and her poor feet look ready to split they’re so swollen. If she tries to speak, it’s a whispered word about every 30 seconds and they’re all but unintelligible.
It’s heartbreakingly sad, but it’s life.
In the car yesterday as we pulled up to ‘The Manor’ Princess said: “Mom, I can’t understand Granny when she talks” The confusion and sadness in her 4 1/2 year old voice was heart wrenching. I explained to her to that BeBe and I can’t understand her either but she understands us. I told her to just talk slowly and clearly and let Granny know how much she is loved. Princess nodded her head with wisdom far beyond her years.

Once in the facility we found Granny in the activities room with about 10 other residents. Princess went to get a puzzle and passed a tiny little old woman in a wheelchair. The woman beckoned to Princess with a shaky, whithered arm and proceeded to pat her face, call her Missy and tell her she loved her.
Princess talked to her for a moment, let her hold her hand and allowed her face and hair to be caressed. Then with a Grace and Wisdom beyond her years, she held the woman’s hand, looked into her shrunken face and dulled eyes and said; ” I love you too.” She then gently touched the woman’s shoulder and said: “I’m going to go over there with my Momma now. Ok?” And she walked slowly away.

In that brief instant I saw Grace, Wisdom and a glimpse of the amazing Woman my daughter is destined to become. Led by her heart, filled with compassion and a Grace and Wisdom granted by God. She left me a bit speechless, with tears of wonder in my eyes and a full heart.

I just talked to Nathan. The rain and winds are picking up pretty strong in Corpus and there’s a tornado on the ground 10 miles from where we live, and one forming about 5 miles from our house. Luckily, Dolly stayed South of Brownsville and it seems that we’re not going to be getting the brunt of it. Thank you for all of you who e-mailed me and messaged me to check on us. What wonderful friends y’all are. I’ll try to keep y’all updated.
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Filed Under: Princess, Texas
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