Update from Ray

The weather got worese in the night. There was a Tornatow warning but my brother and sister did not know a thing about this and just kept on sleeping. In the morning the power went out and all we got to do was play games and color. At 5:00 the power came back on and we were going to spend the night with my grandparents but the power came back on and my mom dad and brother was at home and the kids spent the night with my grandparents just for fun. My other grandparentshad to bring there dog over to our house. It still was very busy!!!

Hallelujah!

We are so very grateful! Thank you God that Ivan wasn't as terrible to us as was predicted. We were without power for only about 9 hours. Our cable TV/phone/internet was off for longer than that. In fact, it only came back very recently.

The popcorn tree in the backyard is missing a couple of limbs now and there is a ton of debris everywhere. The sounds of chainsaws can be heard in the neighborhood. Almost everyone with a Bradford pear tree is doing clean-up of massive limbs or entire trees. They did not withstand this storm well at all.

Things we did while there was no power:
played dominos
played "Trouble"
colored with Color Wonder paper and markers
watched the little bit of weather and news we could pick up on a battery-operated 5 inch b/w
cleaned out too-small clothes from boys' room
straightened kitchen a little bit
ate trail mix
re-heated cold spaghetti on gas stovetop & ate it :)

David REALLY wants me to play Trouble again so I can't concentrate to write much more. Maybe I'll get Shayne to write more later. Off to play...

It is absolutely amazing what has happened to the roadways at the beach because of Ivan. 

Even if our condo is still standing (which we're not sure of right now -- not really OUR condo, just the condo we rent every once in a while), it looks like it's going to be impossible to vacation along our favorite beaches any time soon. 

Kinda doubt we're going to the beach Thursday. 

I decided to let Ray write today's entry :) ********Today was a very busy day. We had to go buy lots of things just incase the power goes out and we have nothing to do. Tomorrow and Friday we have no school. It is very windy and it is rianing a lot! We are talking about Ivan at school and at home. The traffic is VERY bad and we can not even get to school. We have been ready for trees everywhere and power out. I have been checking the wheather channel to see where Ivan is and how fast he is. I am getting one last time to get on the computer cause we will not be able to get on it.(the power) We do not know if we are able to go to the beach next Thursday. We hope that we stay safe. We have lots of trees around our house but none of them has fallen on us before. Our dog Lucy gets very scared sometimes. I was scared at first because I thought it would pick up our house like a tornado but when my Mom said that it's just a lot of wind and rain I wasn't scared that much. God is going to take care of everybody. 

I guess the rain will start tonight. Wind will probably start tonight, too. We could be in for a pretty rough ride. I hope the worst part is during daylight hours. How scary it will be if we have to hunker down at night....They're saying this bad boy is probably going to make landfall as a category 4. Whew. Praise God that He is in control of this. I trust Him. 

You know I don't like to share with strangers exactly where I live because of the 'creep-factor' but I will divulge that I live somewhere in this "cone" (as our weatherman calls it). 

Ivan the Terrible

My kids are really interested in this hurricane stuff. They must be talking about it at school, too because Ray asked me if I wanted her to go outside and bring in the lawn chairs. She said the wind could blow them into our house! Good point....might have to do a little outside-prep-stuff.

I've GOT to share with y'all her creative writing paper she's working on. I'll try to get that typed on here tomorrow. It's entirely too late to worry with it now.

So - - back to the topic of the Hurricane....
I guess it's possible that we're gonna get some pretty serious effects of this sucker. I don't know if it will be severe but it's very possible we'll be without power and could possibly sustain some damage. I wonder how much we should prepare. I need to talk with my parents and in-laws to get their opinions...I think my sister is wanting to evacuate....I haven't heard that from her but it doesn't surprise me. I think her little town is going to be right in the middle of it all but I don't know if it will still be super-strong by the time it gets to her. She'll be heading North to her in-laws if they go anywhere.

We'll be staying here.

Part of me is looking forward to the excitement of watching what this storm does. Is that a morbid fascination or a pretty normal thought? I'm not EVER interested in being anywhere near a tornado, by the way, but this hurricane stuff is different for some reason. I definitely don't want any really strong stuff here but there is a sense of child-like anxiousness waiting for Ivan to get here. Maybe the kids' school will be cancelled for a day or two and we can all kinda hang out together watching the rain and news. Maybe the storm will keep everyone else so occupied that my phone won't ring for a few days. Maybe we can snuggle on the couch and watch some movies together as a family.

Maybe we will never lose our power. Maybe we can watch the trees blowing wildly in the yard. Maybe all branches will remain attached to their trunk. Maybe the thunder will rumble in the far-off distance but never too close to us. Maybe we will not have any tornado warnings.

Hang on tight : changing train of thought...

I have some HUGE potentials in Mannatech on the horizon. I feel confident I will be Presidential Director by the end of the year. That's BIG deal. And if even 1 of the 3 HUGE potentials pans out, amazing things will happen to my business. We are booked for the November cruise! So exciting....hope all of the places we're supposed to be visiting will still be around after this Hurricane Season is over!

Last change of subject --

I miss Granny. Everyone else does, too. It's been an interesting bond we all have now. A different kind of bond than we've ever had before. A regular prayer of the kids is, "please don't let Momma, PaPaul, or GJo be too sad about Granny."

Speaking of kids (and oops -- one more subject-change ) Indie wanted her hair cut short so....I did it. I need a digital camera so I can show you. It's really cute! It needs a little snip around her left ear. I'm not a professional for sure, but it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself :)

Mom and Dad's wedding with Granny & PaPaul. 

Family portrait in 1966. Sorry for cropping y'all out Mom and Johnny, but I wanted to zoom in on Granny and PaPaul in this one. 

Is it time?

Is it time to write about my Granny yet? I have wanted to since Monday but I've been so crunched for time and energy and words that I haven't felt I could do justice. I'm going to start and see where this goes....

(deep breath.....)

My sweet, sweet Granny passed away Monday.

(pause)

This has been a much harder experience than I thought it would be. I always knew it would be sad but I just didn't think it would be so painful. The death of a grandmother is accepted as a natural part of life. We have known this day would come and we've actually prepared for it in the past. But, even with all of the very tragic deaths I've known in years behind us, this is the most painful by far.

Yet I know people are praying for me and my family because I'm not a broken-down-falling-apart-mess either. We have known for several years now that her health was "bad" but it wouldn't have surprised us at all if she lived another 10 years! Her main health concerns have been lack of strength and physical ability since a stroke a few years back. She had fibromyalgia and was on several medications. Pain was a problem for her and she stayed on pain meds for long periods at a time. I don't know what all of her meds were for but she was on a lot.

She moved to a nursing home a couple of months ago. She didn't want to do it but her strength had diminished so much that she just couldn't take care of herself and my PaPaul couldn't do it either.

She did not like being there but knew it was where she needed to be for the time being. She had goals of going home after some rehab.

The family was called together Monday morning. I got to her around noon. I pretty much didn't leave her side for her last 3 hours of life on this earth. I held her hand, wiped her face and forehead, kept her lips and mouth moist with a little ice-water-swab, I stroked her hair, and I talked to her. I was with her, along with the rest of our family, as she peacefully passed away. She wasn't in pain and seemed aware of what was happening. She had just a couple of periods of panic but I think I played a little part in calming her down enough to finally "let go."

The flashes of that memory -- that last breath -- still make my heart stop. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, though. It was a true blessing...

I am extremely grateful that I was with her. I was able to tell her how much I loved her and how much I appreciated everything she did for me. And I know she heard me. I also was able to encourage her to let the Savior take her to His side.

"Please let Jesus save you. Believe and trust in Him. Granny, you're going to live again and you're going to be all better...I'm so sorry you've been sick...Please don't be afraid....please, Granny....trust Jesus....He is real and He loves you.....please don't be afraid."

My heart aches. I really miss her already.