Evacuating!

We were supposed to have a field trip today at Longue Vue Gardens instead we are evacuating. This morning the seminary announced that campus will close at 3 p.m. today and that all campus families should leave by 12 noon tomorrow. Mandatory evacuation. We decided to get a leg up on traffic (we hope) and pack up and head out today. So we've packed up as much as we can stuff into our suitcases. I've tried to pack all of Jathan and Keeleigh's clothes and our irreplacable pictures. I'm still holding out hope that absolutely nothing will happen...no flooding, no destruction and it very well may not. At this point no one knows where exactly Gustaf is going to hit or how strong it will be but in the back of my mind I wonder. I wonder why God wanted us to come here if we're going to leave 2 months later? I wonder if the hurricane does hit here, if the levies don't hold what condition will our home be when we return?


It's just weird to leave and not know.



But leave we shall! Just as soon as Jackie gets out of the shower. How is it that I'm always waiting on him? = )



Here's the view from around my apartment....I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who decided to pack A LOT.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

Bread, Painting, Boo Boos, Telephones, and Gustav

Here are a few pictures from our bread-making adventures yesterday...

Baby, I knead you. = )

The bread TOTALLY did not rise like it was supposed to. My friend, Sommer, said that wheat bread is hard to get to rise. Plus I noticed the flour was out of date; I'm guessing that makes a difference. Flat as it was, it was good and was eaten up in no time!

While we were waiting on the bread to bake we gathered up some paint brushes and some friends and "painted" with water on the front balcony.


It was fun until they started pouring the water over the balcony. I was afraid they were going to give someone an unexpected shower!

In this next picture that's a cell phone Jathan's holding to (er...behind) his ear and if I had to put a caption with the picture it'd say, "Hello, Doctor?" Can you see the huge knot on his forehead? He was running and fell smack into my baker's rack. I got him to stop crying by letting him play in the fridge then he got interested in my cell phone and stuck it up to his ear for the first time! So cute. He started babbling like he was really talking. I swear Jathan sounds just like an angry little Chinese man when he babbles! He had a heated conversation with an umbrella yesterday and most of his "words" end in strong, harsh sounds like -ong so it's so funny.

Keeleigh and I have also spent some time on the phone. We made a tin can telephone for science class today. We're learning about our sense organs and this week we're all ears.

Check out our cool designs complete with rainbow cord--because in Traci's classroom science is pretty, too:

So the big news today is Gustav and whether or not it's going to hit NOLA or not. There's talk of mandatory evacuations but I get the feeling this is a little like when Alabama meterologists forecast flurries and everyone rushes out to buy milk and bread. I'm going to take the storm seriously; I know it could be disasterous but it's not even in the gulf yet and I'm going to hold off on worrying for now.

How's your week going?

My New Planter

Here's my fabulous new planter! I think it brightens our doorway plus I love having a place for my little gnomes. See the gnome on the right? My neighbor says he's black...I think it's the nose. So now I'm boasting that I have the only culturally diverse planterbox on the whole seminary. All gnomes are welcome regardless of race, color, ethnicity or country of origin. = )

Busy Week

This week has been very busy! On Monday morning my mom called and said that she had talked my dad into traveling to New Orleans for her birthday and that they'd be here that evening. Monday was also our first day of homeschooling! Everything went well and I think we are really going to enjoy this experience. Of course we are fine tuning our schedule and routine and adjusting some attitudes along the way but overall I'm very excited to get to do this. Here are a few pictures from our first day of school...

Jathan liked stickers!

Mom, Dad, and Jeremy arrived on campus at around 6 p.m. just as Jackie was getting home from his first day of work at a local school supply store called the Educator. That night we all went to eat at New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood.

Tuesday Jackie started classes and Mom, Dad, Jeremy, Keeleigh, Jathan, and I all went exploring around town. I attempted to find the 9th ward for them so that they could see the hurricane/levy damage that is still there but I'd only been there once and "9th ward" isn't exactly an option on the GPS guide = ). We ended up driving around a while then heading to the french quarter where we looked in the shops and walked through the St. Louis Cathedral. It was beautiful in there! Since my family is full of the pickiest eaters imaginable, we had pizza at a mall food court. After lunch we went to the new Audubon Insectarium. It was pretty cool...lots of crazy bugs. Plus there was a little movie that you watch and it feels like the things happening on the screen are really happening in the theatre. One of the first things that happened was a feeling like things were crawling in your seat under you and of course everyone gasped/screamed. Jathan was totally shocked and started crying. I don't think he enjoyed the movie too much!

Later that night after we'd picked Jackie up from home he was able to get us to the 9th ward so that everyone could see the damage. Then we drove through a little part of the Garden District...what a difference. From very poor to very rich within just a few miles. All seven of us had crammed ourselves in Mom's 4 Runner so we were very eager to get out somewhere and since it was getting dark and we were starving we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe where I managed to drop my fork numerous times and Jathan spilled a full glass of apple juice all over the floor. Despite the mess that my son and I made, it was delicious. Dad said that was one of the best BBQ sandwiches he'd ever eaten!

Here's a slideshow of my pictures from that day:

On Wednesday my family headed back towards Alabama (to Orange Beach) and we did our second day of school On Thursday we had our first field trip with CHESS, the on-campus homeschool support group. We went to Whole Foods where we sampled lots of foods around the store and ate pizza before leaving to go back home and finish up our school work. I don't have a single picture from Whole Foods because they don't allow photography on their tours. Why, I do not know. Perhaps flash photography would damage the delicate organic fruits and veggies? Perhaps hippies don't want their secret grocery store expeditions revealed? The world may never know.

Today we had a normal day. We woke up, Jackie went to work, we did school and finished right at lunch time and then I washed what seemed like every dish that I own because we've fallen terribly behind over the last busy week.

And that's what I've been doing this week!

Audubon Zoo

Today after church we visited the Audubon Zoo here in New Orleans. I totally loved it and am so glad that we have the season pass so that we can go as often as we want! We spent about four hours there and would have stayed longer but it started raining.

Keeleigh not only got to check out all of the animals but there were interactive play areas. In one she did a "archeological dig" (in the sand with little shovels) for "Mayan artifacts". In another kids could remove their shoes and splash in and climb up a little waterfall at the top of which they would find a pride of lions then walk back through a little jungle-ish pigtrail!

Keeleigh got to feed giraffes up close and personal and we also watched the alligators get fed (not so up close and personal, thank goodness).

As always, Jathan enjoyed being outside and riding in his stroller plus he is getting old enough to actually look at the animals. I know he is going to love going there in the years to come.

Here is a slideshow of our visit...

Friday Fun

Did you know dump trucks make excellent cheerio holders?

Yep, they do!

This week seems like it has flown by. I've been organizing things for homeschool. Two or three books are still on their way but it's nothing we can't live the first few days/weeks without. I ordered them earlier this week and then got an email saying they'd ship within two to three weeks.

I also ordered another present for Jathan with his birthday money. If you gave Jathan money for his birthday, this is what we bought with it:

He totally loves anything he can ride and we thought this would be perfect. He fell in love with it the minute he saw it and begs to get in it whenever he sees it now. We can push him around in it while he's little and when he gets bigger the floorboard lifts out so that he can ride Flintstone style.

Last night we went to the ministry fair in the student center. I really had no purpose for it (except for the free samples of jambalaya and some sort of AWESOME cake ball)...I hate crowds and was having a hard time pushing Jathan around in his stroller through them but Keeleigh LOVED it. All the people set up there were giving away goodies and she got a bag from the Regions booth and loaded up! She got pens and magnets and so much candy. One booth was spray painting kids hair and she got hers done pink...

She's not the only wild one in our house---Jathan knows how to let it all hang out, too.

Today we are headed to Wal-mart to stock up on ingredients for this week's menu. I'm hungry just thinking about it! I'm also going to get some potting soil for the new planter outside my window...pictures of it coming soon!

Lately...

We've just been enjoying ourselves around the apartment lately. Which I'm realizing that I like for various reasons...one being the built-in friends for Keeleigh and two being the way the balcony smells when everyone does their laundry. Sunshine fresh.
I'm not sure if Keeleigh's the evil genius behind organizing lots of the kids in the apartment building into forming a club or not but they have formed a Fun Club. At first they made signs saying they would meet for recreation, food, crafts and games under the oak tree. Then they tried to construct a clubhouse by putting blankets all over the monkey bars. Unfortunately the campus police nixed that idea. I wish the campus police had told them to take the blankets back to their mothers because one of Keeleigh's got left on the playground. During a torrential downpour. Along with papers and a huge box of colored pencils.



They finally set up camp underneath the stairwell on the first floor. Today Keeleigh had me make copies of a sign announcing their first fundraiser--a bake sale. I'm not real sure who's going to be baking but it's taking place Friday and lemonade will be going for 50 cents.

If I had my guess I'm betting Jathan, as much as he loves cookies, is looking forward to the bake sale.


Here he did a very good job eating his dinner and was rewarded with an oreo for dessert.

That night we all did a very good job cleaning our plates. I made hamburger hash, green beans, and fried eggplant with a fresh tomato topping. It was pretty awesome.


Another thing that I'm enjoying about our apartment is the metal front door. At the bottom I've placed some magnetic numbers for Jathan to play with. He carries them from the door to the fridge and back again several times a day. At the top of the door I've displayed a poem that I constructed after finding my Girls Speak Out poetry kit I bought in high school.



And lastly, check out my new rainshower shower head! It's so much better than the one we had when we got here. Also did you notice that I'm apparently on an orange kick when it comes to shower supplies? I didn't do it on purpose at all!



I love that shave cream if you're looking for a good one. It's apricot scented and smells so fabulous!

So that's what's going on around here this week...what's up with you guys?

Audubon Park

Yesterday we visited Audubon Park with our friends and neighbors, Steve and Crystal and their boys, Blaine and Brent. It's a very nice park across from the zoo here in New Orleans. There was a (loooong) walking/bike trail and ducks and geese and turtles to feed. We even saw a celebrity---James Carville from Fox News. Yeah, he's no Brad Pitt but you gotta start small!

Here's a slideshow of our little excursion:

(Almost) On the Road Again.

Yesterday Jackie was telling people we were going to try and leave out at around 7 a.m. I did a mental eye-roll but was still ignorantly hopeful that would actually happen. So I set my alarm for 5:30 but alas, I was the only one getting up and getting ready. Now it's about five til seven and I'm fully dressed, the bed is made, my bag is packed and Jackie just got in the shower. Ah, well. It gave me the chance to goof off online for a few minutes.

I printed out a couple of games to help keep Keeleigh entertained along the way. One was the License Plate game where you check off the states whose license plates you see along the way. I printed a list of the states on one side of paper and on the other side I printed a map of the US. I'm going to have her color in the states that we get checked off and voila! A geography lesson. = )

The other game is a scavenger hunt where we're looking for things like a yellow car and a person riding a bike, etc. Hopefully she'll enjoy them.

Getting on the road again has reminded me of our trip down here. Keeleigh, Jathan, and I rode in one car with me driving and Keeleigh operating the walkie talkie. When she wasn't snoozing (it was her dream to sleep for the 8 hours down here) she was wide awake and taking everything in. At one point, in her usual hilarious fashion, she sat straight up and said, "Mama, look! HOBOS!" Now I didn't see them but apparently there were some guys camping out under a bridge. Coming from a very small town, we don't see many hobos and Keeleigh was all excited. She even radioed Jackie to find out if he'd seen them.

Later she asked me, "What do hobos eat?"

"I guess whatever they can find," I replied.

"Do they eat DIRT?" Keeleigh asked, intrigued.

"Probably not. I meant things that people give them or things that they might find in the
garbage."

"Oh, 'cause sometimes I eat dirt," she said.

Oh, you just never know with her!

I'm hoping the games will keep her entertained but I'm sure she'll keep us entertained as well.

The Pool and an Upcoming Party!

Yesterday we went to the pool where Keeleigh met up with her new friend, Anne Marie. It was HOT out so the pool felt really nice. It's kind of a deep pool...starts at 4 feet and goes to 9 feet and since I'm totally short I kind of just stay in the 4 foot with Jathan. While Keeleigh splashed and swam, Jathan and I socialized meeting a nice lady and her 7 month old, Caroline.
Here are a few pictures from our swim...
Keeleigh and Anne Marie:




Jathan toddling towards the pool! Yep, he's really started getting around and was ready to jump in the pool.

And here's me with my water baby!

Keeleigh also took some time to do a little art yesterday. Check out the Welcome mat she drew for us. I couldn't get Jathan to look at the camera...he was too busy clapping for the kids on the playground which is what he's looking at.

Today it rained all day. Keeleigh went to hang out with some friends that we met at preview weekend back in March. They are actually leaving the seminary on Monday to take a position serving youth and college students in Tennessee. We are totally going to miss them...I was hoping we'd get to spend more time together.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Alabama for Jathan's birthday (which is Sunday). I really, really can't believe my tiny baby is one-year old. This time last year I was laid up in a hospital bed and had never even laid eyes on this little person who is such a huge part of my life now. I don't know how I'm going to get through Sunday without crying. My little boy is growing up!
We'll be home Monday evening so I'll be sure to post pictures of our fabulous party asap! Everyone have a great weekend and if you're in north AL come to Jathan's party!