PHASE 1- OUR NEW HOUSE

SCHOOL WILL BE BACK IN

UPDATE:

We should return to school within the next month. After great restoration and cleanup, we had a set back. Some floor tiles starting popping up and there was asbestos. So, the start date has been set back about 10 days. A good thing is, the school will be clean and very healthy for us to return. I am anxiously waiting to start, but really enjoying my time off.

STILL NO SCHOOL

WE STILL DO NOT HAVE SCHOOL! WE HAVE A MEETING TODAY TO WORK OUT LOGISTICS AND GET THE WORD ON WHEN WE MAY START BACK. WE WILL HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO MAKE UP. WE ARE COMBINING TWO SCHOOLS TOGETHER AND WILL BE TEAM TEACHING.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE, I HAVE BEEN ENJOYING MY TIME HOME WITH ANNA AND BEING OFF. I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET THINGS DONE ON OUR NEW HOUSE AND GET THINGS DONE WITH ANNA THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PUT OFF. WE ARE PLANNING HER SECOND BIRTHDAY AND PICTURES. WILL POST LATER...

IKE DAMAGE- THE FLOOD OF OUR LIFETIME

DEBRIS, MUD AND WATER AT HACKBERRY HIGH SCHOOL, CAMERON PARISH
ST. PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCH , COFFINS FLOATED MANY MILES AWAY
WOOD FLOORS TORN AND WARPED, PICTURES CAN'T DESCRIBE THE DESTRUCTION
DAVID'S PARENTS HOUSE- 4-6 FEET OF WATER THRU OUT THE FIRST FLOOR, THEY HAVE NEVER FLOODED, EVER
SITTING ROOM, DAVID'S PARENTS, MUD, DEBRIS, WATER- THE SMELL IS HORRIBLE, SMELLS LIKE SEWAGE AND MARSH MUD, NOTHING IS SALVAGEABLE DOWNSTAIRS, ALL MUST BE GUTTED, POSSIBLY UPSTAIRS DUE TO AIR BORNE BACTERIA
(WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY IT HAS BEEN COOL, BECAUSE IF NOT THE SMELL WOULD BE WORSE AND THE MOSQUITOS WOULD BE DEADLY)
MY CLASSROOM- MUD COVERED THE ENTIRE FLOOR, WATER STILL STANDING 4 DAYS LATER, ONLY A FOOT OF WATER IN MY ROOM
MUD AND DEBRIS IN THE HALLWAYS
GYM FLOOR BUCKLED
WATER LINE OUTSIDE OF MY CLASSROOM
WATER LINE IN THE GYM
LAKE CHARLES' FLOODING
I-1O OVERPASS AT LAKE STREET
BLACK HAWK HELICOPTERS, WE STILL HAVE THEM FLYING OVER TODAY. MANY HUMVEES AND MILITARY IN THE AREA, ESPECIALLY CAMERON PARISH
PRIEN LAKE PARK

HOUSES AND BOAT HOUSES AROUND PRIEN LAKE

WE SURVIVED IKE!

We are still here. Never lost power, but the air conditioner went out. Can not complain. Lake Charles is experiencing the worst storm surge and flooding ever in the city's history. Places that have never flooded have flooded. All of our family south of us is under water. 2-10 feet of water. Very sad to see these people go thru this again. We are not able to get down to Cameron Parish, but once we can I will give an update. I have some pictures that I will download later.

I hope you all are safe and as comfortable as you can be. Please let us know if you need anything.

Stay SAFE!!

ANNA AT HER FINEST

NEW IBERIA TRI ATHALON

HERE IS DAVID AT HIS LAST RACE. HE WAS SO AWESOME. GOOD JOB DADDY!!!

GUSTAVE PICTURES

GO AWAY IKE- GO EAST OR WEST??????

WE ARE STUCK AGAIN. WE HAD RESERVATIONS (FINALLY, AFTER EVERYTHING WAS BOOKED IN LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS, MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA) IN FORT WORTH, BUT WE HAVE CANCELLED. OUR FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO GO WEST, BUT NOW WE ARE GOING EAST. AS OF 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON, WE ARE BACK IN THE "CONE OF UNCERTAINTY". WHICH THIS STORM IS SO UNCERTAIN AND SO HARD TO PREDICT. IT IS ON THE SAME PATH AS HURRICANE RITA AND EVERYONE IS ON EDGE. I WAS HOPING WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO PACK UP AND LEAVE, BUT LOOKS LIKE WE WILL. I PRAY FOR A CHANGE IN PATH, BUT I REALLY HOPE NO ONE GETS IT. STAY TUNED....

ANNA FUNNY

As we are preparing to evacuate last week, my child made us laugh in the midst of a stressful event. Here it goes:


(To set the stage, I am outside readjusting my car to pack in more things while David is inside packing up with Anna. Anna is in her room and David is in the kitchen.)

Anna- Mom
Anna- Mom (Repeat, louder)
Anna- Mom, Come See (Repeat, louder and louder)
Mom- No response, because I am outside and can not hear her.
Anna- Allison (Her new thing, to call me by my first name.)
Anna- Allison, Come here.
Mom- Still no response.
Anna- Allison, 1-2-3-4-5 (She was counting to me like I was in trouble. I have tried the counting technique with her, but it does not work, as you can see.)

Dad- Runs outside to tell me how funny it was to hear her calling for me and then trying to discipline me.

GUSTAV EVACUATION- FINALE

Well, we made it home safe and sound. My sister, Jessica, Anna and I left Wednesday and traveled to Kingwood to visit some friends and pick up my grandmother to bring back to Louisiana. We had a great road trip, no traffic, beautiful weather and only 3 hours. (My family left the night before and a typical 6 hour trip home took 12 hours.) Kingwood was great. It had been the first time I had been back since we moved over a year ago. Everything is the same, except the new Super Target and TJ MAXX, along with other stores. It might be a good thing I don't live so close anymore. (Unfortunaetly, I missed you Lisa, but I might be coming back to Kingwood this Thursday night to make a mass for my Grandfather this Friday morning. This all depends on Hurricane IKE.) It is really sad when a 23 month old wakes up and tells her mom, "Let's go Shopping." Yikes. No wonder I am working.

The evacuation was a mini-vacation that we have named, Hurrications.

Now we have to sit and wait for Hurricane IKE... Looks like it is coming straight at us again. I just don't know how many times I can pack up and leave. All of our stuff is still in storage and our house we are in now is over 50 years old. I just don't trust it during a strong hurricane, so I pack up as much as I can and take everything off the walls. (I do have to say, it had minimal roof damage from Hurrican Rita, but I can not chance it.) Not only do we have to worry about our houses and things, we have to evacuate and move out our classrooms. Since Hurricane Rita, we do not take chances with the schools. So, that is a tiring thing also. Keep us in our prayers, I don't know how much more we can take of this, eventhough we have lived here our entire lives, and would never move away from the Coast. (I know sounds crazy, but worth it, eventhough it sounds like I am complaing.)

PLEASE PRAY- JUDE MICHAEL TRAHAN

Our friends, Mike and Clare Trahan, have a newborn baby, Jude, who is need of our prayers. He has been such a fighter, but had a setback last week. So much has happended to them that my heart goes out to them and their family. They stayed in New Orleans to ride out Hurricane Gustav and while in lock down, Jude needed emergency surgery of his small intestine. All seems to be doing well, day by day, but he is still critical. Please pray and check out his blog.


http://judemichaeltrahan.blogspot.com/

GUSTAV EVACUATION DAY 1 & 2

We made it safely to Fort Worth. Only took us 8 hours, which is great considering the traffic and being in a 5 car caravan. We started our trip thinking we were going to stop at our camp for a night or two and then complete the trip to Fort Worth. We left at 8:20 Saturday night and drove the entire way to Fort Worth. We arrived and in bed at 4:30am. We drove the entire way because there was a mandatory evacuation Beaumont area. We did not want to get stuck in traffic with the kids. Our set up is great, each of us have a hotel/suite room with a kitchenette, bed and couch. Perfect for the kids and grownups. Our house away from home.

Yesterday we tried to get some rest and toured the area. Since we are from Louisiana, it would not be complete if we did not sit outside all night cooking and drinking. This was our Hurricane Party away from home. (We actually all cleaned out our freezers and brought it with us to cook. So, we cooked RABBIT last night with rice and gravy. It was great.)

Today we are taking the kids to the Fort Worth Stock Yards. We are going to ride the train from Fort Worth to Grapevine and back. I'll let you know how it goes. Hope to take some pictures and upload.

We are all safe as of now. Just pray we have a house when we get back...