Monday, September 11, 2017

After Hurricane Irma

Clay's dorm today
(photo credit Ethan Behle via Facebook) 

Whew! My prayers were answered, and Clay and the other college students made it through Hurricane Irma just fine last night. He texted me Sunday night around 10 to let me know the power went out. I had another text from him around midnight saying that it was very windy and rainy, but he was just fine. And then we didn't hear from him again until this morning. However, I knew that all was well because I have a couple of friends who live in Tampa who did update on Facebook that all was well. Some wind damage and loss of power, but otherwise doing just fine. I also watched the Tampa local news on my laptop and could tell when the worst of the storm had passed. And then I tried to sleep.

I feel conflicted. I cannot tell you how relieved I am that Clay is ok. That Tampa escaped the worst of the hurricane. However, I feel terribly sad that since the Irma moved away from Tampa, it hit other areas instead. I am so sorry for those people.  Today my prayers were full of thankfulness and for protection, comfort, and healing for those affected by and continuing to be affected by Irma.

Clay's college still has no power, cell service is sporadic, and their classes are cancelled through Tuesday. If power is not restored by Tuesday, then it is my understanding that classes will be cancelled Wednesday too. I am so thankful for the dean of students and others in positions of authority who made all the hard decisions concerning the welfare of the students. I cannot thank them enough for their provisions and updates. The dean even moved his family into one of the dorms for the duration of the storm so he could be with both his family and the students.

Please keep praying for all affected by Hurricane Irma. I will too.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

About Hurricane Irma

Our son, Clay, is a freshman in college in Tampa, Florida. Yes, he is still down there. He is staying on campus with the other students, dorm parents, and staff, and they will be hunkered down.

Jimmy and I have gone over this in our minds and out loud a thousand times.
(Do we tell him to start driving north?--Our home is 12 hours away. Do we leave him down there? Do we let my daddy or Jimmy's uncle go get him?--they offered because we were out of town when the window of opportunity for evacuation was still open.)

The school has been sending us lengthy, detailed email updates twice a day. They have a plan. They have food and water to last an extended period of time. They have safe places (in the basements of the concrete walled dorms) for the students to be in during the storm. Clay has a full tank of gasoline in his car, water and food in his dorm room, and a charged flashlight. The school will be serving meals to the students inside their dorms beginning tomorrow so they can stay put. We have stressed to Clay to follow all directions.

Tampa is not currently in a mandatory evacuation zone. I have some friends who live in Tampa, and they have been making preparations all week, but they are staying home.
I am now following the Tampa weatherman, Denis Phillips, on FB. This is my main source of accurate weather news for the Tampa area.

And we are praying. Lots of praying. Not only for Clay, but for all affected by Irma.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Our May Trip to Denver

It seems like a lifetime ago, before the weddings, before my fabulous beach vacation, and before taking Clay to college (in Tampa, and we are anxiously watching Hurricane Irma!), but way back in May, our then family of seven went on a short vacation to Denver, Colorado. 

To our great surprise, the forecast was SNOW! It began snowing our second day there, and the blizzard continued until the entire area was covered in about three feet of snow! Definitely the most snowfall we have ever seen in our lives. It was beautiful! And so much fun to play in.

Our plan was to spend our days hiking the Rocky Mountains, but due to the snow, we got only one day of hiking in before the snowstorm hit. We tried to venture to the national park on one of the snow days, but it was too dangerous. We tried! And almost got stuck in the snowdrifts! So we headed back to our cabin and let the kids play in the snow there. They built Baymax and another snowman, and Sam built some sort of snow cave. It ended up being a relaxing vacation. We read books, played games, and ate some yummy food. It was a nice to get away before the crazy summer began.



 airport selfie

 We ran into Teri Maxwell of Titus2.com at the park! I recognized her and talked to her for a few minutes. She was so kind!



the weather forecast!


 Julie, Sam, and Clay

 Olivia

 Leah, building her snowman

 the finished snowman

 Of course, Julie and Clay had to go for a run!

 playing in so much snow!

 That's the road behind Sam. That's why we couldn't drive through the park.

 Julie and Leah

 Sam in his snow cave

 Sam, Jimmy, and Leah with Baymax

Moose in the road were a common sight.

It was a wonderful trip!

Monday, September 4, 2017

Chick Fil A 5K

This morning we left at 5:00AM to drive to Memphis for the Chick-Fil-A 5K race. Our family has run this race on and off over the past several years. It is one of our favorite 5K races! It is a large race (over 1200 finishers this year), and the door prizes and post-race refreshments are outstanding.

All four of us met our running goals, and Jimmy placed 2nd in his age group!


 Here we are looking sleepy....we had just gotten out of the car after our 2 hour drive.

 Here we are posing in front of the finish line (before the race). The finish is inside the Auto Zone Park. (Which is the baseball field for the Memphis Redbirds)

 Leah and Sam, enjoying their post-race Chick-Fil-A sandwich!

Jimmy and Me....
tired, but happy!

We hung out at the Bass Pro Shop for a little while before heading home. When we got here, Jimmy mowed the grass, and Leah and Sam did a math and science lesson.
It was a good Labor Day for us.