Thursday, May 26, 2011

There's No Place Like Home

Click your heels together and say it..."There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Well, we aren't in Kansas, but we're not in Oz either. But it sure did feel like we might be going there on Tuesday night!!

Tuesday evening, I put Stella to bed at her normal bed time, and then proceeded to sit on the couch and watch some recorded tv with Setharoni. We were just cuddling, and talking about how his day was when I got a text from my mother. "Are you watching tv?" it said..."There is a tornado coming your way." I looked outside and noticed it did look rather green...and put the tv on channel 5. There was good old David Finfrock talking about the tornado currently on the ground in Saginaw! WHAT? I began to feel a bit of panic. We live in North Fort Worth. We are on the very outskirts of Saginaw. The tornado there was literally just a couple of miles away! It hit the neighborhood right next to our good friends' house! No sooner than I opened the back door to get a better look, and see how green it looked, did the hail begin to pelt the ground. And then, horror upon horrors, the sirens went off!!!!

I ran into the bedroom where Joe was sleeping(he has started working a different schedule), woke him, and told him there was a tornado coming. He looked up at me, groggy, and said, "Huh?" I said, "A tornado is coming right now!!" He jumped up, ran to the back door and opened it, of course. We could hear something. It was loud. I ran upstairs and got Stella out of bed and we threw blankets and pillows into the tub, telling Seth to get in. The poor little guy was petrified. He was literally shaking and saying he didn't want to die. I felt terrible because I was also very scared and could feel the anxiety attack creeping up on me, but I had to stay calm for him. I told him it would not hit us, and we would not die. He asked if I was scared and I lied. I said no. Stella thought it was a fun game to be hanging out in the bathtub with her family. She was laughing and having a great time. We heard the hail pelting the house and we heard the wind swirling loudly outside the house. It sounded very strange. The sirens stopped. Joe went to investigate against Seth's protests. He cried, "Please don't leave us Daddy." It was heartbreaking. But he came back rather quickly. He said it looked ugly outside. We were receiving play by plays through text from my mom and our friend of what the news was saying and it didn't sound good.

It was then that I realized I could hear Daisy, our sweet little dog crying from the laundry room. I went to get her and I couldn't help but go sneak a peak. I went out into the front yard and looked up. I saw rotation. I ran back in and locked the door(like that would help)right as the sirens went off again!! I went back into the bathroom with my family and my dog. We stayed there for a while until we were told the threat was over. The sirens went off twice after we already vacated the bathroom, but according to the news, the tornadoes were all east of us by then. I learned later that the rotation I saw most likely formed the tornado that ripped through Keller and North Richland Hills. My poor Mommy and Daddy had a tornado less than a mile from their house, the one I grew up in. Here is a picture a friend sent me of that tornado. It terrifies me to think of what could have happened on Tuesday night and I feel so blessed that all of my friends and family are safe, with minimal or no damage at all. Seth slept in our bed that night. I'm glad that we are a comfort to him. Although I did feel terrible about how scared he was, I am glad that I did not admit to him that I was scared too.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Mom-mobile

I am now the proud owner of a brand spanking new mini-van and proud of it!!
Growing up, people would probably never expect me to ever drive a mini-van. I was quite the um...shall we say rebellious type...and was pretty free spirited. But ever since the birth of my amazing, beautiful son Seth, I have embraced the title of MOM and I love being one with every beat of my heart. Some would say driving a mini-van is not an exciting venture, but I am so happy to have one! I'm happy to have the room to lug my children around in comfort and excited to have room for any stowaways that may someday begin coming home with our kids. I am proud of being a mom, proud of who I have become and proud to drive my mini-van!!!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

A Poem by Nicholas Gordon:

Before I was myself you made me, me

With love and patience, discipline and tears,

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Allowing me to sail upon my sea,

Though well within the headlands of your fears.

Before I was myself you made me, me



With dreams enough of what I was to be

And hopes that would be sculpted by the years,

Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,



Relinquishing your powers gradually

To let me shape myself among my peers.

Before I was myself you made me, me,



And being good and wise, you gracefully

As dancers when the last sweet cadence nears

Bit by bit stepped back to set me free.



For love inspires learning naturally:

The mind assents to what the heart reveres.

And so it was through love you made me, me

By slowly stepping back to set me free.






Happy Mother's Day to my Mommy! She is my mom, my best friend and the most amazing woman I've ever known.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Coming Home

The picture I posted on my previous post about Seth and his awesome baseball skills was from t-ball. I wanted to show off two pictures from the game when he hit a home run. The first is him hitting the ball and the second is him coming home. Great pictures by a great woman, Detta Owens. She's my Mommy. She takes pictures. So I Smile...