MEET HOPPY

Wes' parents live on 25 acres or so and have 2 or 3 ponds that Colson loves to play around. One of his favorite things to do is take his BB gun, ride down to the pond in the golf cart with his grandpa and shoot frogs. note: please no hate mail on this. you would just be killing the messanger as this is not my activity! Usually he is shooting at very tiny frogs, there are thousands of them in this pond and he's a really good shot. So, on Friday, I come home from a short trip and he's been at his grandpa's all day and has a surprise for me. He's really excited to show me his frog and I was mystified why this one was any different than the other 100 I had seen before. He pulled it out, of course wanting me to hold it, and it took my breath away. It was HUGE. He says he shot it and thought it was dead so he picked it up, admired it for a while (dead he thought), set it next to him in the golf cart, drove off and it hopped. It must have just stunned him, like a frog coma, and he snapped out of it. After he showed me (and I didn't touch it), we released it in our pond so we could go and visit his new friend HOPPY!

DONUTS WITH DAD

Pre-K at P.D.S had donuts with dad this week. A time when a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds get stoked about their daddy's hanging out with them at their school for a little while. Colson was quick to tell his dad before they left that they don't have to go and get the donuts but that the donuts would be at his school. He only knew that because he had asked me the day before how all of the kids and dads would fit in the donut store.

So, here are some thoughts Colson has about his daddy that were compiled prior to the gathering. This was read around the table at their breakfast.

My dad's name is Wes (thank goodness he knew that). My dad weighs 100 pounds (Maybe when he was 12). He is 7 feet tall (if that were the case, he's in the wrong occupation). His favorite thing to do is watch deer hunting on tv (an active guy he sounds huh? Actually they like to do this together). He likes to eat crawfish (random). The thing I like to do most with my dad is go deer hunting (this puts all of those tv hours into practice). I love when my dad takes me fishing (Colson does love to fish with Wes however he prefers the pond where he knows he can catch fish as opposed to the boat which is hit or miss on catching fish). This is a picture of my dad (Van Gogh material huh?):

FROM ONE ADVENTURE TO THE NEXT

I know I am not alone when I shout from the rooftops "Never a dull moment"! You must realize that I say that only after I shout "WE HAVE POWER!!" Our power was restored on Friday evening so that means we lasted SEVEN whole days with no electricity and besides the few extra pounds we gained from eating out of the pantry...all is well!

Calli and I missed our first night with air because we were at a Mother/Daughter retreat at Pine Cove outside of Tyler. What fun! We spent the weekend bonding and implanting spirtual truths in our brains. The speaker was from Houston and she spoke on being princesses of The King and the attributes that true princesses have. We played board games one night and had a pajama party the next complete with toenail painting, some catwalk action and lots of dancing! Us moms were T-I-R-E-D!

We also spent Saturday playing a little kickball (on teams) and painting pillowcases. Of course Calli's favorite part was the zipline that her and I did together. She was terrified at first because as you can see, it was very tall. I finally talked her into it by ignoring her uncertainty (isn't that what good moms do?) and once her spotter let her go...she had a blast!

She also loved this swing which was a HUGE hit among everyone!

We had 2 other mother/daughter pairs in our cabin and Calli became very close to Catherine. She was very cute and was in the 2nd grade from Dallas.

And for all of my XO friends that happen upon this blog every now and then, guess who was there? Lynn Remkey. I had to go introduce myself but she knew me (I think) once I approached her. She looks exactly the same and still the same composed, kind, very lady like person she has always been.

So I come home from an exhausting weekend, stay up late to get everything ready and in order for school to start back on Monday (do I hear an amen?) and try to regain that normalcy. Monday comes, I take the kids to school, head to my office for my in office day, pick the kids up from school, take Calli to piano, drop Colson off with Wes, Calli and I go eat and then head to our first BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) for the year. I have done the day class for the last 2 years but this year I am doing the night so that I can continue to take Calli who has always gone with my mom but my mom isn't going this year. Anyways, finish BSF, get Calli out of her class, head to my car only to find my passenger side window is SHATTERED and my purse is missing! What a headache to have to cancel everything, clean up, get a new window...yada yada yada. Just another adventure in this thing we call life huh?

THE VERDICT IS IN....

AS A COMMUNITY, STATE AND COUNTRY, WE ARE SPOILED AMERICANS.

You've heard the saying of living paycheck to paycheck but for the last 4 days we've been living gas can to gas can. Hurricane Ike made quite an impression around this part of the State and even little old Willis took a beating. We woke Saturday morning at 3:30 am to no electricity. So, we went and started the generator and went back to sleep amazingly. I knew there would be plenty to see in the morning so I thought I'd get my sleep while I could. Wes woke up about 7 am and woke me up to come and see the massive power of this storm that was blowing through. The next 12 hours was met with LOTS of rain, HIGH winds and EXTREME coverage on the television of HURRICANE IKE. I will say that it's not pretty in this area and lots of work will be done in clean up over the next several months but you know what? No harm was done to my family or any of my friends and for that I am thankful. My parents did get a little bit of water in their living room and bedroom but my mom wanted new floors anyway. It could have been SO much worse. And if God wasn't gracious enough he sent a cold front through the next day which made no power bearable.

We are running on a generator and therefore have a fridge, television, hot water and fans. We just have to use things sparingly which is a NEW concept to the Schubert family. We had a lot of clean up in our yard and on the street but hard work never killed anybody right? We had one tree fall down in our front yard and one HUGE tree that fell in the back which then toppled on 6 or 7 trees to where they will have to be taken down as well. But again, we are all fine and it could have been worse with the amount of trees around us.

This was the smaller tree that fell in our front yard.

The crazy thing is the lack of supplies because of the demand and no power. The gas lines are OUTRAGEOUS to those gas stations that have one or two pumps open being run by a generator. The grocery stores are being cleaned out as fast as they can restock with things like bread, milk, soft drinks, etc. The real uneasiness has been running out of fuel for the generator. We drove to College Station on Sunday to fill up our gas cans. My brother in law went to Katy yesterday to fill up and today our neightbor went to Brenham after more gas and milk. It really is an amazing feat to see the organization that has happened with the government and within the community. People can say whatever they want about the lack of supplies but it takes time to get all of that stuff organized, sent to the best places and finding people to help distribute and extend a hand. The government told us to be prepared with supplies to hunker down for 2 to 3 days and sooner than 48 hours we had action by FEMA in our area. So my three day supply worked fine and was adequate until FEMA came in and stores gradually started opening on a cash basis only. You wouldn't believe the amount of lineman we see in every part of the city. These people are working their tales off. A recovery like this is a massive undertaking. Unfortunatly I do think we will be without power for several more days if not weeks because that big tree that fell in the back also snapped our power line in two with several other snaps down the line.

I think this power line should be above me not at my feet huh? This was the big tree that fell across multiple trees in our back yard.

My kids think Hurricane Ike is less of an inconvience and more of an adventure. No school all week and maybe into next week depending on when power can be restored. They sleep on a pallet on mom and dad's floor so that we can all be cool in one room and they have lots of playtime. Things are good for them....aaahhhh to be a child again.

Here are a couple more images to help paint the picture....

This was the tree that fell across our road on one side of our house and another much bigger one fell across the road on the other side of our house. All our neighbor men were out with their power saws (I could feel the testosterone in the air) cutting this up so the road was passable during the later part of the storm when the winds had died down. Not sure why anyone needed to pass then but I didn't ask.


These two images were seen all over Montgomery County. Trees that had fallen down on power lines that maybe hadn't broken the line and then these HUGE trees that had been uprooted and laid on their side. It's crazy stuff I tell you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Notice the candle

Okay so today is my birthday, but really when you turn 35 (Am I really that young :)?) life must go on as usual. There are still kids to get to school, lunches to pack, laundry to be done, work to be completed...so there is no rest for the birthday girl. It is fun to hear from friends wishing me a great day though. Have I ever mentioned what awesome friends I have? If I can get sentimental here for a minute, in my 35 years, God has truly blessed me with so much. I was listening to the radio this morning and a favorite song came on that says "He gives and takes away, He gives and takes away, My heart can truly say, Lord blessed be your name". I feel that God truly just gives and gives and I am the one that takes. Sometimes I take with a heart of gratitude and sometimes with a feeling of I deserve this, none the less, I take. Friendships are definately one of the areas where he has given to me in abundance. I have some amazing friends with whom I love to hang out with and are there to shoulder my burdens and rejoice in my happy times. And for that, I am truly grateful to God for placing them in my life.

Once again, my birthday is overshadowed by a major event...HURRICANE IKE. 7 years ago it was the tragedy at the Twin Towers. I will NEVER forget that day, or the days that followed. Every person that called me had this voice of fear and sorrow as they wished me a happy birthday. This morning as I headed to the gym at 5:30 AM (is it naptime yet?) I approached this monstrous sign that now adorns our Conroe Outlet Mall. It is usually glowing with ads for the stores and rotates every couple of seconds. This morning, this is what was stagnant on the face of the sign.

Seen in both directions as you drive down I-45, this was a touching sight. That day will forever change history and the way we live life moving forward, unfortunately. Today is truly a day to remember those that so innocently lost their lives in such a tragic way. I pray that I never have to live through another day like that again but unfortunatley I know the end of the story, for the world at least and things don't get any better from here. If you believe the Bible and have studied any kind of prophesy or End Times, you know what I say is true. Okay, I think I have been a little depressing for today and I apologize. Even though it is my birthday, this day does come with a bit of sadness for all, or it should.

I was greeted this morning with a big hug from Calli wishing me a happy birthday. Yesterday she wanted to know what I ate for breakfast (I figured out it was so she could make me breakfast in bed, how sweet is my 8 year old?). When I informed her that I was headed to the gym so early, she was discouraged. She was so sweet this morning in trying to be such a helper and reminded everyone that it was my birthday. We celebrated my birthday with my family on Saturday which of course is always fun. Then my sister went into the hospital Monday with pain and had to have her appendix removed Tuesday morning but you'll have to read her blog to get that story as I think I have blogged enough. She's a trooper and Murdock tough!

So, I'll close today with another one of my favorite songs

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!

AAACHOOOO

This morning as we were headed to school Colson sneezes once and looks at Calli and says "I got allergies Cal". Calli looks at him and says "I know, so do I". This tone was one that said, I am not going to let you beat me out on having more allergies. You see they compete about EVERYTHING. One day they were even arguing over who got more spankings and they weren't satisfied unless they were the winner.

So, Colson sneezes again and Calli says "Yuck, Colson just sneezed that stuff." "What stuff?" I say. Calli says "You know that stuff that sometimes comes out when you sneeze?" Colson quickly responds with "That's just water Cal"

I chuckled in my front seat and just turned the radio up.