bloodsuckers

There are many kinds of bloodsuckers. Today, I present to you the top three, in order of annoyance.

#3
"These flies are ferocious biters with a seemingly unsationable thirst for blood...The bite is generally painless, but usually results in a small flat red spot that within 12 hours becomes excruciatingly itchy... Scratching No-see-um bites can double the length of time they require to disappear and can lead to infected sores."
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-see-um)

I may never go to E (sis-in-law)'s again.





#2

"As the larval flea progresses in its development, the tapeworm inside it is also progressing in development. By the time the flea is an adult, the tapeworm is ready to infect a dog or cat...
Inside the host’s stomach, the flea’s body is digested away and the young tapeworm is released. It finds a nice spot to attach and the life cycle begins again. It takes 3 weeks from the time the flea is swallowed to the time tapeworm segments appear on the pet’s rear end or stool." (The Tapeworm Page)

The dog had fleas. The cat now has fleas. And a tapeworm. Lovely. He really really hopes we never give him a bath again.

#1

"Citibank understands the financial challenges you may face after college ends. Therefore, we offer four repayment plans to make managing your monthly budget a little easier." (http://studentloan.citibank.com/slcsite/fr_r_pla.htm)

Definitely the thirstiest bloodsucker of all. grr.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, O God,
I've run for dear life to you.
I say to God, "Be my Lord!"
Without You, nothing makes sense.

And these God-chosen lives all around-
what splendid friends they make!

Don't just go shopping for a god.
Gods are not for sale.
I swear I'll never treat god-names
like brand names.

My choice is You, God, first and only.
And now I find I'm Your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then You made me Your heir!

The wise counsel God gives when I'm awake
is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I'll stick with God;
I've gota good thing going and I'm not letting go.

I'm happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I'm firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell-
that's not my destination!

Now You've got my feet on the life path,
all radient from the shining of Your face.
Ever since You took my hand,
I'm on the right way.

(King David, CEV)

I'm trying to make a habit of reading to the baby every day, ostensibly for his benefit. In reality, I'm finding it just as much to my benefit to read out loud what was written so many years ago. Once I get over to the unit, I'll add some of the classical authors to my repertoire, but for now I'm sticking with the Bible. Grandma gave me the _Message_ for Christmas (thanks!) and I am loving it. It kind of feels like I'd imagine a people group who has never had the scriptures in their own language feels when they can read and understand for the first time God's words to them. It's not quite the same, since I've grown up with bibles in the english language, but this version really does makes me pay attention to what I'm reading instead of skimming words I've skimmed many times before (always a good thing, hehe).

I can't even begin to point out how many of those verses made me stop and go "hmm." Suffice to say, "I've gota good thing going and I'm not letting go."

too bad you can't put smells on the internet;

so this is eddie, the chocolate lab I had for a week. She smelled.so I bathed her
twice

she did some disgusting things on my floor, more than twice. And she was just a little too hyper for me. Of course I didn't realize this until after I gave her to my buddy across the street. That dog needed a little more than a single wide trailer to get her puppyish enthusiasm out. plus she ate E's flipflop.well, overall she was a good dog and we are sad to see her go, but try to move a cat, a dog, a brand new baby, and me to italy... E wasn't having it, so I guess we'll stick with the cat, who bye the way is having an official name change..... Spaz.he won't notice; he doesn't come when he's called anyway.

alertness in the womb

interesting article, if you are so inclined. (3 pages)

G for Goofy?

finally!

I have a bump big enough to show through clothes, lol. Behold the product of 20 weeks time.

Oh, and here's a link to a really neat view of how a baby develops, and how the mom's guts squish to make room for baby. slide the bar back and forth, it's strangely amusing.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Yesterday I had to squish my belly in order to see the scale. I don't know why I bother, I'm pretty sure it's broken, but the fact remains.
Today I found out that babies flying with Airtran must be at least 14 days old. Hmm. I hope that fits in with the other dates we have to abide by...
Tomorrow marks 20 weeks, which makes me half-way there. yay!

want to test your squinting skills?

First is the head. They had a better view on the screen, but the tech couldn't quite catch it on film. All facial features appear to be present and accounted for.













And here we see a very blurry leg and foot kicking my very full bladder. They tech said, "well, you REALLY don't need to drink that much next time." oops. I suppose this is my opportunity to publicly admit that D was right, that much OJ cannot be good for anyone. It did wake the baby up, that's for sure!














and here, if you were looking at the actual picture instead of a picture of a picture, you would see the umbilical cord and the "turtle" that caused D to buy a Green Bay Packers sleeper and matching hat on ebay a few days ago. =)














All in all, we were both surprised at how much we did recognize without needing the technician to point things out. I guess it helped that he was moving around so much, so you could see actual fingers flexing instead of a white blur near the head. If we want to fork over $250, we can have a 4d ultrasound with pictures on disc to take home with us. Alas, we are too cheap. Anyone who wants to take up a fund is welcome to do so ;-) The doc said that everything is normal and in the right places, and the size is consistant with our dates. What fun.

the pregnant brain

is definitely taking over. At least that's my latest excuse. I used to be able to blame the rigors of school and planning a wedding. Then all I had to fall back on was the color of my hair. When D left last year, I had a ready-made excuse to be scatterbrained again. Then he came back, and I was excuse-less once more. Until now.

example number one: this morning, I told D he could have the shower once I finished rinsing the water out of my hair.

example number two:
Last week, I made an appointment with the local WIC office to see if I was eligible for a "grocery supplement." They gave me a short list of what to bring, and told me where to go. I wrote everything down like a good little girl, including directions, and put the paper somewhere safe. So safe, in fact, that I have yet to find it. SO, on Tuesday while I was getting ready for this appointment, I decided to call a few of the WIC offices to confirm my appointment, figuring that once one of them said, "yes, you have an appointment here today," then I would know where to go. Well, they won't confirm appointments over the phone, so I had to trust my intuition. Bad idea.

The first office is located right outside the main gate. Very convenient. Unfortunately, that's not where my appointment was. Too bad, because I would have been 10 whole minutes early! The distribution center was my next destination. Luckily, it turned out to be the right place, and I was only 10 minutes late. Irritating to me, but nobody else seemed to mind.

The appointment went well; I forgot to bring proof of residence, but they let that slide. The second problem was with proof of pregnancy, since our insurance co. took the only doctor's note that I had. I tried to show ultrasound pictures as proof, but I guess that isn't good enough. Luckily, they let that slide as well, provided I brought a note and proof of residence before attempting any more pickups. No problem. Once the paperwork was complete, I was informed that I didn't qualify, since D makes too much (wow! there's a first for everything!). The lady conducting the interview told me to go on to the nutritionist anyway, just in case.

After studying both my list of what I'd eaten for the past 24 hours (including homemade whole wheat bread with real peanut butter, and real pineapple, yum) and my iron count, the nutritionist decided that I did qualify after all. Apparantly, I was missing one serving of fruit and had a low iron count (11.6 out of 12).

Since I was already at the distribution center, they let me make the first package pickup, which was an experience in itself. I never realized that WIC food came with choices! I am now the proud owner of:

*15 quarts of milk (the kind that comes in boxes, like soy milk does. Little bit of an aftertaste, but I think it'll be fine for homemade yogurt)
*24 oz. peach/grape juice (yum!)
*24 oz. orange juice (kinda weird tasting. Like tang, only not)
*24 oz. pineapple juice (haven't dared on this one yet)
*1 lb. black beans (good thing, I couldn't find them in our excuse for a commisary, and I've been craving* cuban black beans and rice for a couple of months now)
*16 oz. montery jack cheese (maybe my new favorite)
*16 oz. cheddar
*48 oz. liquid eggs (good thing I like to bake)
*1 big box of dry milk
*3 boxes of cereal (including a couple of brands I don't buy because they're usually too expensive!)

yay. Our government really does do things right sometimes.
________________
*well, I don't really have cravings so much as I think about foods that I haven't had in awhile, and I keep thinking about them every once in awhile until I have them. For example, I thought about french fries for about 3 months before finally asking D to pick some up on his way home from work. I am currently thinking about a small hot fudge ice cream sundae. I don't think I'll wait 3 months this time.
________________
ps: before anyone (ahem, mom. ahem, Dr. Sam) complains about my diet, I am a VERY healthy eater, overall. Goodness knows I've done enough food diaries for various classes to prove that =)

All the "in" babies know sign language

I'm hungry!












Sorta like Italian Sign Language

This link is actually for children

$69 a night. for the record.

Navy Lodge Sigonella
PSC 824, Box 2620, FPO AE 09627-2620
011-39095-713-0190 - Fax: 011-39095-713-0206
DSN Reservation Line: 624-4082

web site: http://www.navy-lodge.com/overseas/sicily/sigonella.html

Amenities include: Fully equipped kitchenette (dishes, pots, pans, etc.), microwave, dining table, TV/VCP, air conditioning, cribs / high chairs / rollaway, iron/ ironing boards, radio/ clock, hair dryers, ice, snack vending, on-site video rental, mini-mart, and laundry facilities, playground, and complimentary coffee (in lobby).

Within walking: Navy Exchange, commissary, 7-day store, movie theater and hospital.

Short drive to: NAS II.

Attractions: Mt. Etna, beaches, local markets, great cuisine.

Accommodations: 52 units with air conditioning and private baths. Family accommodations. Smoking or Nonsmoking is a request only not a guarantee.

4 months and finally looking a bit pregnant:

AND, we have kickoff! Well, actually it's more like flutter-off, but dan felt a little something last night that he thought was just my stomach, and I was quick to assure him that my stomach does not do that on its own. I felt a couple of bona fide kicks recently, fun fun.

if Gulfport, MS isn't the end of the earth...

then Sigonella, Cicily certainly is! Yup, it's official: we're going to Italy for the last rotation of D's military career (3 yrs). I'm just now starting to research since our internet is on the fritz; so far B knows much more about everything than I do--she would add "what else is new," but I digress. All I know is that this summer is going to be crazy...
Here's their main website, in case you get bored. I'm looking at it for the first time myself as we speak.

as for kid news... I may have felt the first "flutters" a couple of times over the past couple of days. Not sure, because about the time I started paying attention, my stomach would growl. Interesting that my scale says I haven't gained any weight yet. I think it's broken.
Next dr's appointment is next friday, complete with ultrasound...maybe mom'll have to stop calling the kid "little ed" and I'll stop confusing grandma when I alternate between "the kid," "him," and "her." It's a wonder there aren't rumors about triplets going around, haha. My MIL already thinks it's twins, something about I'm fatter than she was at this stage. I'd post a 4 month picture, but our internet is on the fritz, so you'll have to wait just a bit longer. I'm sure you're biting your nails.

what's "see you later" in italian??

14, 15, 16

month 4
week 14: You are now fully into the beginning of the second trimester of your pregnancy. Essentially, for the next 3 months, your baby will grow and grow. It's full system is in place and just needs to expand. The organs are mature by now.
Your baby's heart beats at twice the rate of yours.
The arms continue to develop. The bending of fingers and the clenching of the fists is now possible. Our baby is a whopping 3 1/2 inches long and is 1 to 2 ounces. S/he begins to practice inhaling and exhaling movements. The eyes and ears continue to move and develop, the neck is still getting longer, and the baby's chin no longer rests on his/her chest. The hands are becoming functional, and the baby is beginning to learn to move/use them (probably more reflex than anything). At this point, our little one is receiving all of his/her nourishment from the placenta.
Over the course of this week, a doubling in size takes place!

15 weeks
week 15: If you have an ultrasound now, you may notice your baby sucking his/her thumb. The bones are getting harder each day. The baby's skin is very thin and transparent; you can see blood vessels through the skin. Lanugo, a very fine hair, covers the body and will continue growing on the baby until around the 26th gestational week of pregnancy.
Your baby begins to hear!
The surrounding amniotic liquid helps the external sounds to travel through from you to him/her. It can hear mother's heart, stomach and especially the voice. Some external sounds can also be heard.
On the other hand, the brain is not yet mature enough to interpret this resonant information.
16 weeks
week 16: If you haven't already, you may begin to feel movement as the baby's bones harden. The legs are now longer than the arms, and s/he is moving those arms and legs frequently, especially since there's still lots of room to move within the uterus.
Fingernails and toenails are growing too. In fact, some babies need their nails clipped right after birth!
Your baby now weighs about 2.8 ounces (80 grams) and measures about 4.6 inches (116 millimeters) in length. Although your baby's first muscle movements were involuntary, this week brings the first voluntary muscle movements. Your baby can hold his or her head erect, and the development of facial muscles allows for a variety of expressions such as squinting and frowning.

(copied from several websites. The funniest thing is when they mention size - some are nearly twice the estimate of others!)

my new project

so E was going to post about some yogurt that she made, from scratch, but that ended up on the floor. She was quite proud of herself too, oh well. So we need some sort of something in the works to put on the site. All that to say this is where my extra time and money is going.

yup this is my baby


this is where someone I know quite well hit the side of my car (we won't say who though)

and this would be where an awning support from an rv hit my car during the hurricane, thankfully the rest of the rv landed nowhere near my car. We are also quite thankfull that the Navy paid for the body work needed due to the hurricane. I'll get you some more pictures when it goes to paint (in my friends garage on base) and a completed project shot or something too, don't hold your breath though it'll be a couple of months.

oh yeah here is our other work in progress but this one will take more like 6-7 months

this didn't happen in my friends garage though.

didja hear the one about the pickle?

Now measuring between 2 and 3 inches from crown to rump, the fetus is busily doing his stretching and kicking exercises. All major organs are in place, and her brain, nerves, and muscles are starting to function. Although his gender was determined at conception, external genitalia won't fully develop for another couple of weeks. At that point, a sonogram may be able to show whether you're carrying a boy or a girl--if your baby will cooperate and face the camera!

SOOOOooooo........ :-) Yes, we're quite happy about the whole thing. Especially the timing. If everything works out according to my perfect plan, the moving company will arrive about 2 weeks before the kid (which is so much less offensive than "it" and so much quicker than "him or her") is born and pack up all of our earthly posessions, aside from what fits in our very practical nissan sentra, and transport them to D's next duty station, where they will await our arrival. Though we do not know where this is yet, we will soon. D's a 2nd class now, so he has quite a bit more say in where he goes this time. We're praying for Norfolk.

Then, we'll have the kid on or around July 20, say goodbye to our teeny tiny 32 foot FEMA trailer--which has been an answer to prayer, don't get me wrong--and head north within the week to spend a "relaxing" month at home, showing the kid off and adjusting to being mommy and daddy.

FINALLY, we'll take off and settle into our new apartment. I'm sure that by then I"ll really appreciate having a bathroom of my own that I don't have to back into (pics of the trailer are coming, I promise), and D will appreciate not having to pause his game and move most of his body every time I want to get from the kitchen to anywhere else. On a medical note, I got my referral letter (actually it was a recorded phone call), so I can make an appointment with my OB/GYN today. yay.
~e

Narnia

Yesterday we went to the Chronicles of Narnia. It was funny but the car ride was boring. My dad made me put down my book. My favorite part of the movie was when Lucy holds out her hand to the fawn for a while and then finally says, "You shake it." Then the fawn says "Why?" Lucy says, "I don’t know". My next favorite was when Peter holds out his hand for the beaver to come to him but the beaver says, "I am not going to sniff you if that’s what you want." Then when Edmund says (because the horse is rearing) "Whoa horsie." The horse says "My name is Phillip!." On the car ride home we stopped at Tops to see if they could cook us a pizza but they were closing in a few minutes, 15 exactly, so we went to Mc Donald’s and got 2 things off the dollar menu. I got a double cheeseburger and fries. Tim paid for me and himself and Dad paid for Nick and himself.
by Carolyn

Is it just me, or is there a striking resemblance?

By week 10, all of your baby's vital organs have been formed and are starting to work together. Brain growth increases rapidly by this week - almost 250,000 new neurons are produced every minute in your baby's brain!

This week, your baby graduates from being an embryo and becomes a fetus.

Up to now, your baby's framework has been made up of cartilage. From the 47th day, the first bone cells begin to replace this cartilage. The bones for arms and legs begin to harden and joints begin to form.

The face and jaw is formed, but teeth and facial muscles are only just starting.

All of the vital organs are in place: heart, lungs, brain, intestines. However, they are all still immature and will develop further.

Starting to look like a real human being now. (according to who?)

(due to the strange 38 vs 40 week by week pregnancy calenders online, I mistakenly told the parents to be that their little darling was the size of the pickle ornament I gave them. It will be 7 centimeters in 2 weeks, not now. This week it is only 3 cm. Luckily, s/he still strongly resembles a pickle. They are week 8/38, or 10/40. )

The Weather is Here

wish you were beautiful. . .


welcome(?) back, E and D.

and yes, besides the true outside temperature, that is the true inside temperature this morning. We are doing our part to save gas. Well, at least the type supplied by National Fuel Gas Company.

Whoa! A Spare Minute!!

I know, shocking, isn't it? What is more shocking is that we are actually going to [attempt] sleep in tommorrow!! Taking the weekend off!!! I would say that I won't know what to do with myself, BUT, I think I will finish "moving in" (read: unpacking and putting stuff away) to our "new" house. We have met a wonderful Christian couple down here and they have offered us their four bedroom house RENT FREE to live in until it sells. Works for me. I think D and E are liking this arrangement as well. We will be doing a few minor repairs (fixing a flood light, a window, paint) instead of paying rent. I'll take it! We moved a number of things in Wednesday night and the kids and I did some unpacking and arranging. Oh yeah, and I saw my fist cockroack ever... EWWW.

Things have been AMAZING down here. Very busy, but good. It has been so cool to meet so many people from so many different places who have just come down here to help clean up and rebuild. And the "natives" as some of them like to be referred to are wonderful, too. I am so amazed at the thankfulness I see in them. And what a good lesson for us to be learning... It is just stuff. Stuff is not where the importance lies..... Wow.... It is hard to put much else into words...

Last night we had one AMAZING and powerful service.... It was SOOO good!! It felt like being back at our home chuch worshipping with everyone there and throwing about 300 more people in the mix. There was such an excitement there! And even though it was a little hard to be away from family on Thanksgiving, I can honestly say that I would LOVE to have another Thanksgiving like that! Whew!!!!!

I am putting together TONS of pictures... You will be able to view them if you click my picture link on the side of the page. It is definitely true, though, that pictures do not do any of this justice.....

If you like to shop

I have to ask why???
but here is a coupon to print out for a freebie:
eau de pee-yew
courtesy of E's Aunt Cindy.

We are here!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we have made it to Mississippi! It is warmer and sunnier than home, but a whole lot messier!!

My Official Blog Announcement

I know, it is a little late, but I have heard that I really should post this information. I have no pictures to post at the moment. And no one is killing anyone, so I have NO pictures of that at all.... Sorry.

We are moving! (Temporarily, anyway... We will see what God says later....)

God said, "Go to Mississippi," so we are going to Mississippi. We are leaving on the 24th of this month (that is 11 days away, counting today, not counting the actual day we leave.) The current plan is to head out around noon, make it to Salamanca then actually stop for lunch and make the kids run around the car and trailer three times (Aunt E's idea...). So, we will *sleep in* (what is THAT?!) and have a late breakfast so the kids can actually MAKE it to Salamanca for lunch. Then we will head out and see if we can avoid the first big city rush hour. We might stop right outside and have dinner, take a little break, etc. Then back on the road.... His sister begged us to take her with us, and she is one of those that is always up until 3 or 4 in the morning, so we might give her the night shift for driving. As soon as we get there though, John will have her off that all night schedule and will be working her tail off. Eight o'clock will roll around and she will want to be in bed.

Everyone is probably wondering (the ones who don't already know the story ;) ) what we will be doing down there. J is going to be building roofs down there. We are starting with the parsonage and the church, then moving on to whomever needs it. D and E have told us and reassured us that there is MORE than enough work down there to keep us occupied for a year if we wanted. So has everyone else that has been down there.... J's sister will be working with him. We told her she could come along because he knows he will need help, and D has offered to help on his days off, but that is not every day.

We will be initially staying with D and E, but are looking for alternate arrangements... :) But I am looking forward to being with them!! It has been a couple years since we have really been able to see D and spend a whole lot of time with him. E was just here, but she was bouncing around so much and then at camp, so it was still only once every other week or so.... We talked about how cool it will be when there are done with their "time" and can come home, find a house and all that and how we would be at eachother's houses... Now we get to actually do that for six months or so. :) Yay!

Six months... that is the current plan. We will see what happens from there.... J has taken a six month leave of absense from work and the military (his CO shook his hand and told him he was more than happy to grant it for what we are going to do). I have talked with the principle of the school and will be taking the kids school work and E and I will be "tutoring" them (the Superintendent didn't like the H word - homeschool - there, I said it!!!!). The kids are REALLY looking forward to being with Uncle D and Aunt E. Everyday they ask why we can't leave TODAY. Pretty soon, I will be able to tell them yes. That is about it for now. I will do my best to keep you posted here. :) Just remember. I have LOTS of packing, organizing, sorting, arranging to do. And only 11 days to do it all. J is working on his end and trying to get more wood for his dad so he isn't out in the woods trying to get it himself. J is really starting to get protective over his dad.... He said he doesn't want to be down there worrying that his dad is up here in the woods alone... Understandable. Plus, he is out of town right now, and scheduled to be out of town next week... AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! *sigh* I can relax when we are driving down....

But I do rest in this.... I KNOW that God is the One sending us down... This is not our thing. So I know that it will all be ok. I can get everything done, there will be work, and He is going before us and preparing a place for us. :) When God is in it, it is all good.

Free Ball of Yarn

Free Ball of Yarn

This is the glitzy type which isn't my usual fare BUT it is free so I am going to send for a ball. If you send for it but don't want it, you can give it to me. If you send for it but don't knit (or crochet) I can teach you to knit (not crochet) a scarf with it. If you live nearby, that is. Hmm, on this blog that might narrow the chances.

His First....

John Tylor just wrote and sent out his very first email ever..... He is in second grade.... I was like 20 before I heard of email. Well... ok... I was probably a little younger than that, but still, I know I was at least in double digits age-wise. I tried teaching him the "proper" (read quicker) way to type, but he said he would rather do it with one finger. So, he started this email around 4:00 this afternoon. He JUST hit the send button five minutes ago. It is 6:30. Poor kid. He did a fantastic job, though. If anyone wants this email and you didn't get it yet, let me know - I would be MORE than happy to pass it along..... ;) (My kid WILL get first place yet.......) ;)

Proof

For those that have said that there is not a cuter picture....

I Thought I Could Handle This

Sending John Tylor to school two years ago was a SLIGHTLY emotional time. I misted over when I stuck him on the bus and that was that. We were done. I had alone time with him before Tanara was born so now it was Tanara's turn for alone time while her big brother headed off to the great unknown of SCHOOL. Two years passed and Tanara was finally getting her wish... She was going to school, too. To my suprise (and everyone else's I might add), sending Tanara to school produced no tears, no mist, just "Have a great day, baby! I will see you after school!" Was the amazing control of my emotions too good to be true?

YES! One sunny Sunday afternoon (just the other day, in fact), Tanara came racing into the bedroom and shrieked: "I HAVE A LOOSE TOOTH! I HAVE A LOOSE TOOTH!" We of course did the wiggle test right then and there, and sure enough, she had a very loose tooth. Off she went, slightly concerned that actually losing said tooth would hurt. I lay there and looked at the ceiling and realized that the ceiling in my room is blurry!! Could have been the mist. I looked at John and said, "Is she old enough?" He answered yes. "Honey, school I could do, that was no problem, but I have a really hard time with her losing her teeth! She is just too little to lose her teeth!!" They are so tiny and cute, and I guess they represent my LITTLE girl.

Am I completely messed up???? She just doesn't seem old enough......

Hurray!

He is back in the USA!!

I am sure I will have more to say later, but that about sums it up for now.

All systems go

for Dan to arrive at Gulfport (via Jacksonville then Atlanta - this makes sense?) at 10:00pm on Wednesday the 14th.
Yee Haw!

Yesterday's News

E called me at work* yesterday and said that as of 15 minutes ago (remember, this news is now 24 hours ago PLUS that 15 minutes) it looked like Dan would be flying into Jacksonville on the 14th, then fly out of J to Gulfport later that day or the next. No extended stay in J, it appears, for now.
We'll just see, won't we?




*the place I call work, sometimes

My boy is back in town

The Boys Are Back in Town Lyrics


Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away
Haven't changed, haven't much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy

They were asking if you were around
How you was, where you could be found
Told them you were living downtown
Driving all the old men crazy

The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
I said
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town


okay, the lyrics are plural and dumb but I am pretty pleased that Tim finally made it back tonight, after more last minute flight changes and other annoyances. Thank God. I now have spare space in my brain to worry about something new. Just kidding.

All Ready....

Early risers! I hope the excitement lasts! They were READY long before 8 o'clock.... Will this work tomorrow morning, and the morning after? That would be nice! Less stress on mommy. Bud is headed to second grade... I think I can deal with that.... But does Tanara seem old enough to go to Kindergarten????? Hey, all of you would be SO proud of me! I DID NOT CRY!!







Such serious kids. They really look ready to learn.









By the way, they are both very proud of their backpacks. Dora and Batman, what a great pair.

I will be picking them up from the bus stop a little after 3.... No more quiet house. I am sure that I will have more pictures to add after that. And I will let John Tylor and Tanara recount their first day for you. :)

T'was the Night Before School

T'was the night before School and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The backpacks were hung by the front door with care
In antisipation of seeing their school friends there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of school books danced in their heads;
And mamma in her nightie, and I in my briefs,
Had just settled down for a long autumn's nap,

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away toward the living room I flew like a flash,
Throwing on my bathrobe and tying the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen dew
Gave the luster of mid-day to our living room
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
Two tiny children getting on their school gear....

School starts tomorrow for the kids! They are SO excited!!

Dan, yet another message from your spouse

She-who-must-be-heard says that she is still dilligently trying to contact you via the most recent phone #. SWMBH says that sometimes she has actually gotten through to the apartment, she THINKS, but there are still some technical difficulties, like hang-ups, but that she THINKS at least one phone message was left.
And here is the message:
SWMBH will call every hour on the DSN line until she is, indeed SWHBH*.

That's all for now,
signed,
Katrina's secretary.


*she-who-has-been-heard, duh ;)

Dan, check your email:

Emily must be tired of me airing her dirty* laundry on the blog, because she asked me to send you an email.
(*just a guess. Not sure laundry facilities are available,)

Don't worry, curious folks. It was boring.

Too bad. I could use a nice juicy story right about now. It's been so calm around here. Hardly anything going on.

Clarity for Message left on my machine....

..... I talked with Emily..... twice in one day!!!!!!!
She has heard rumors that they might be sending people to Pensecola, but, she said she is not even going to look into it until Tim goes home. (Probably a smart move since his flight leaves from there, a good jaunt away from Pensecola - that could be a pain.) She also said that she is not actually leaving unless she absolutely has to. Her plan is to stay right there until Dan gets there, then go from there. Basically, she is willing to live in the warehouse as long as neccessary as long as she will not have to be separated from her husband again. Understand that one 100%. She is heading to Kittiwake for church today, so she will be able to see first hand how his guitars have made out.

message left on my machine

Emily called while we were picnicking (what a weird word to spell).
She said that she has been trying and trying to call Dan, but even when she uses up piles of minutes on a phone card she still can't get through. Something about calling internationally is a problem. She has also tried the DSN line (interesting that Erin's post mentions this new phone line) but - no go. So, she says Dan can just keep trying and if worse comes to worse they can communicate through the blog. Just remember kids, less than 2 weeks now.
Also, her parting line on the message says she might go to Pensacola? Why? Is Dan coming in there? She didn't leave details.

CBC Information

We got this from John's chief. It came from the CO down at the base to the CO up here at John's base. I am including the information that seems pertinent to our knowledge of the conditions down there.

Admirals/Chief: I sent a very short message sitrep yesterday evening and will send another more detailed message updayte later this evening. In the interim I wanted to give you all a quick unofficial update on what's happening and send you a few photos since we got limited email connectivity was restored earlier this morning through a DSN phone circuit (thanks to the CNRSE IT folks and EDS). Phone connectivity continues to be problematic - DSN has been reliable but local off base service and long distance is not functional.

Facility Status: We've got Seabees clearing our roads from trees and power poles/lines to make it safe to drive throughout the base. I believe we'll have most of that done today. Assessment teams are working throughout the base to better determine the extent of the damages. We have significant damages that will likely total in the tens of millions of dollars. SOUTHDIV already has gotten CONCAP leadership on board here (thanks CAPT Raines!) and they will be working on the following priorities: power distribution and generation, damage assessment, temporary roofs and lastly debris removal. Mississippi Power is bringing in 4000 people to work the distribution system problems throughout the area. They don't know how long it will take to get power restored but they think it's months. Based on that I asked CAPT Walden this morning to work with NAVFAC to have MUSE units delivered here and we just got word that two 750KW units are on their way and will be here tomorrow (thanks Paul!). We're working alternative power generation/distribution plans now and are planning for a long term temporary solution...

Quality of Life: We have ~ 1277 # ofo people in shelters. Our galley is serving meals as of lunchtime today using paper plates, etc. We've opened the galley to everyone. The Commissary suffered major damamge and will not be operational for many months. NEX doesn't appear to be seriously damaged and we are hoping to open it later this week. There is some family housing damage but our preliminary tour indicates most homes are livable. Showers are being erected in three locations across the base and porta potties placed strategically around housing to allow housing residents to return to their homes later today. We're also establishing laundrys. Because the community has no sewer capacity right now (estimated to be repaired in about a week) we need to not push sewage to them, so we will secure water to family housing and they will use our shower/laundry facilities that outlet to leach fields we are constructing. Once we have the MUSE generators up and running tomorrow we will be able to reopen our barracks. We are working on establishing a disaster assistance center (Legal claims, USAA, Navy & Marine Corps Relief, Red Cross, FFSC counseling, etc) and our goal is to have it open in one of our warehouses beginning tomorrow. NAVHOSP Pensacola is also looking at sending us additional medical staff and medicinals...

Lastly, I want to let you all know that while I have not yet been out to see everything (I plan to do some checks later today) that based on the eyewitness reports I have so far that the Gulf Coast has been hit secerely and the devastation is catastrophic. For those of us familiar with the area, to try to paint a picture of what has happened - most facilities south of the railroad tracks from Bay St. Louis through Biloxi have been destroyed.

Saturday am update

Emily tried to call Erin and Denise this am but got one of those strange messages. She was able to get through to me.
She did try to get Dan but her phone said that she couldn't call internationally. She must have already had his phone #? (because I didn't give it to her)(or, Dan must have left it on his messages). Yes, she got several messages from Dan, though she still hasn't spoken with him post hurricane.
About per diem pay: She is trying to get to the right guy to figure out about this. Evidently getting to the right guy is quite difficult. She is really hoping to just stay put in the warehouse or whatever (on base) until Dan gets there in a week and a half. Part of that time will be spent hanging out with Tim until he gets on his plane (I hope) on Tuesday.
She wasn't in the waiting for base housing line. She was in the Navy Relief Fund line. She got a couple hundred $, a grant, to help her through the coming days. She continues to live and eat on base. The base wasn't too hard hit. There are downed trees, roof damage, windows out, and still no electric or water. But, comparitively light damage. They have generators and hot food and (group) showers. Tim really loves those group showers.
She went down closer to her apartment. Last year's apartment, against odds, still stands. Most of that complex is gone though.
























This year's apartment-to-be is no longer standing, but some of the complex is still there. No rhyme nor reason I guess to what made it and what didn't. I pulled these photos off an apartment site so they are supposed to be the apartments in Pass Christian but who knows.
Her church, and the pastor's house, only got 1.5' of water in them - which was a surprise. But, Dan's guitars were in the water so they didn't make it.
At night time about 2000 helpers, people from across the nation, sleep in the warehouses. During the day they go out and help. Amazing America. Each night, during the briefing, an announcement is made for a prayer service. Each night more attend.
Also during the briefing mention was made of the possibility of an on base school. I'm not sure who all it would serve. You might recall that public schools aren't expected to start for several months. Emily wrote somewhere that she could teach and gave a 1 line resume (wonder what it said!). That might be the ministry that she needs to be involved with this fall. Who knows but God.
Anyway, Dan, I think she really wants to wait for you there. She promises that she is not getting into dangerous places and is safe at the base for now. She really wants to talk with you but I guess we have to wait until all the stars align (or all the towers align)(or something).
Tim says:
The cat is being nice. It's so weird.
He saved a 400 page book to read but finally he succombed and read it. He really wishes he had more books.
He pulled a sandy chair out of the gulf. He is using it and everyone is jealous.
Group showers: still bad.
Hasn't found a fit-in-his-backpack souvenir yet.

That's all I can remember right now. Hopefully she will be able to get through to Dan! and the rest of you before too long.

Message to Emily

If anyone talks to Emily, Dan wants her to call.
His apartment phone # is: 0-115-399-8314. He has a message machine for when he isn't there.
Basically, the question is: Was Emily able to find on base housing? If not, Dan wants her to consider going somewhere else until it is ready. He feels like the base is the only safe place to be right now. She could move to NY or GA or whatever. If she wants to do this (or is willing to), Dan would live in the barracks. Additionally, he wants to apply for separation pay pronto (today).
Well, nothing like airing their private decisions. Please tell her if you are the lucky one she contacts. And don't forget the info about Tim's flight.
Talk among yourselves.

Message from Emily, from Wednesday

Emily's cell phone is sure hit and miss. I tried to call her shortly after we had talked, to tell her Tim's flight plan, and couldn't get through. Oh, well. If anyone does talk to her before I do, you could pass along the info that Tim does have a confirmed flight on September 6, next Tuesday. If you happen to have this page handy, more specific details are:
Delta 1132 leave @7:05am Gulfport
arrive @ Atlanta 9:19am
Delta 1646 leave @10:21am Atlanta
arrive @ Buffalo 12:20am

as a special bonus I am going to try to arrange an orthodontist appointment for Tim while we are in Buffalo so that we don't have to miss any more school to do one later. But you don't have to mention that.

Now on to E's messages:
Indeed, the best (and surprising to me)news was that the storage unit and cars survived. Emily and Tim were allowed off base Wednesday, though they couldn't go far due to the road conditions. Her car was unscathed, though others in the parking lot weren't. For Dan's info, she said that the "bee" on the Grinder in the lot fell on some of the cars, smashing them. Whatever that means. Then they went to the storage unit. The one next to hers had suffered some damage, perhaps by looters or perhaps the owner, but hers, again, all fine. Then they took a little trip towards Pass Christian. They got somewhat close but a "burly" fireman blocked the way. He became teary when he said, "you don't want to go down there." I understand that the national guard is now preventing passage. Emily wonders if she will get her apartment deposit back. I wonder if maintenence will be able to finish getting it ready for today. Ha. I guess not.
She said that galley food is better than MRE's, and the newly functional showers were really appreciated, and that they now have some TV coverage. She says the base is fine, though I read after the conversation that it had sustained damage and had to be evacuated. Someone doesn't have all the facts or something. Maybe they mean the housing?
Dan's car's damage evidently was caused by an camper awning pole. Can't you just see it flying through the air? The small rear passenger window was broken, as well as a dent in that area. I believe she is not complaining about this damage!
The Walmart they lived near is now a cement slab.
The base expects to have electricity in 7-10 days. The surrounding towns expect to have electricity in 2-3 months. Wow. Schools there will not be starting till November or December.
As I was talking with her she was standing in line to sign up for base housing. She had been in line for "hours" and expected to continue to be standing and waiting. I wonder how that worked out.