leaving on a jet plane

did you know that song was originally entitled 'baby, i hate to go' but the producers found it too mushy and changed it to the manly, non-emotive 'leaving on a jet plane'. i mean come on, it's john denver. they can't fool us into thinking he's not sappy. ever heard 'annie's song'? but, that's not the point here...
we leave tomorrow morning for san francisco, to visit my sister. we have to leave the house at 4:30am! argh! i've already reconciled in my head that we will be showing a movie on the airplane to the kids. that's an early start to a long day. so now i pack, make muffins (john already told me that i'm not allowed to check an ice chest full of home made goods...we'll see...), clean, arrange animal and plant care, and try to get past my belly ache.
i am really excited about the this trip. we haven't been out there since way before the kids were born. it will be fun to see the city through their eyes. i've already scoped out the farmer's market near her and planned a trip there to stock up for the week. ah, life in the big city. you actually can choose from several locations on different days of the week!
but what i'm most excited about is seeing my sis. she has been allowing god to make some big changes in her. i sense her passion and transformation- i'm eager to be a part of her new world. we are different on several levels, but it will be incredible to connect on a spiritual level.

ok, no more procrastinating...it seems that those dishes aren't gonna wash themselves!

i am thankful

our town is out of bread. the shelves are empty. houstonions have been wrongly told by the media to come to our little town for gas and food. now we are running out. there is a mild panic here. so as we set to serve those who are taking refuge here, and getting ready to open our house to our 2nd wave of evacuees, i am thankful that i know how to make bread. because to be honest, i didn't even know about the shortage...

I (don't) like Ike

Ike has passed and we are well. Lots of rain and wind, but nothing crazy. We are 'hunkered down' with our evacuees (John's parents), reading, playing, crafting and having a touch of a stomach bug. My parents and John's mom are all still in Houston without electricity, but thankfully safe and dry. We are still awaiting a verdict on my dad's house. They live on the Gulf bay and were expecting storm surges of 25 ft! Rumor has it that all is well, but they haven't been able to get back into the area because of major flooding.

Here are a list of my favorite technical hurricane terms that have emerged this time around:

cone of uncertainty
hunker down (way cooler than 'shelter in place')
cat 2 (category 2 for all of you outside of the 'cone of uncertainty')

These terms have given us lots of laughs. As did the person dressed in a bear costume on the sea wall in Galveston.

So yes, there have been laughs, but worry also as most of our families live near I-45 and close to the coast. We are beyond thankful that they are safe.

napolean complex

i have a confession to make. i am afraid of an eleven inch tall bantam rooster- mr. handsome man. now, before you go and start making judgements, let me make one thing clear; he is ruthless. here is how this morning played out. i went out to feed the chickens the pulp from our carrot juice. i bent over to dump it out and when i righted myself, he was after me. he lunged himself and caught air at the same time coming into my belly region. i, of course, screamed and shielded myself with the juicer attachment i was carrying. he landed and then was back up in no time coming at me again. this time i hit him harder and screamed again. here's the saddest part. after screaming i yelled out for help...from my 4 year old. she is fearless. he attacks her several times a day and she has no qualms about picking that little man up and giving him a talking to ("now listen mr. handsome man, you are a chicken, i am a person. you DO NOT peck people"). so here she comes a running to my rescue, carrying a big stick. and she whacked him once saying "no handsome man". he immediately hid under the coop. she then stood guard as i exited the premises. it is official. I AM A WEENIE.
when we made it back into the house it was my turn for a 'talkin' to'. moonpie informed me that i needed to carry a stick when i entered the chicken run. and then, gently, she stated, "momma, i think it's time to eat handsome man."



so, for all you chicken wranglers our there, can you eat a bantam? (angie, i'm counting on you here!)

my hero!!!