Blessings

Our pilot for the trip to Fredricksburg, TX. Yes, his head is touching the roof of the plane, which hurt during the moments of turbulence.

Micheala and I trying to stay occupied on the hour flight. Micheala did GREAT! I was worried since she wasn't wearing a headset.

Micheala and I at one of the lookout point for a old railroad tunnel, which is now home to bats. We returned later that night to watch them come out of the tunnel! It was pretty cool! Micheala didn't seem to care one way or the other though.

This is were we stayed in Fredricksburg, right above the bar section of the brewery. It was neat stepping right out on Main Street though.

Poor, tired Daddy and his little girl. We tried to take her out and keep her occupied, but she just wasn't feeling well, and you can see how much sleep Josh and I got the night before. (1 hour)

Ike was a pretty nasty storm for Texas. Galveston is almost completely destroyed from what I've seen on TV and heard from others. Houston fared much better, but wasn't without its issues. There are still many many people with no power, and some with no homes because of falling trees. My parent's home was safe, and not a single shingle was missing. I was completely shocked! There were flooded roads, and some homes flooded as well. Again, we didn't fit into this category.

Josh's passengers to Fredricksburg, ended up deciding to stay in Houston because they couldn't fit their golf clubs into the plane. Again, another blessing because Micheala and I got to go with him. Micheala was pretty sick the whole weekend, and the accommodations that were set up for us was above a bar, BUT we had power, and a safe place to sleep. No air and power with a sick baby wouldn't not have been a lot of fun. We tried to fly back on Sunday but there was a flight restriction for Houston, but we were able to fly into College Station. My little brothers and their sweet girls were GREAT hosts, and we enjoyed our time with them. We stayed until power was up, Thursday.

Mom and Dad were fine, a little stressed with trying to find ice, food, and a generator. They never were able to find a generator, but their neighbors across the street had power so they kept some items over there. Mom said they had a party almost every night in the driveway, mostly because they wanted everyone to know that they were indeed home. (***Looting has been a problem in the area.***)

Thank you for all of your prayers. I know that there were many many people praying for Houston and Galveston this past weekend.

Vacate

So, I guess Micheala is going to get her first ride in an airplane. As Ike approaches, The Woodlands citizens begin to freak out a little bit. The grocery stores are completely out of bread, water, propane, and ice. Maneuvering around the store was quite a challenge and the lines were pretty long. It took Micheala and I an hour to get through the store, and we only bought $50 worth of supplies. (Not much.) Many gas stations are out of gas completely and the ones that aren't have HUGE lines. Luckily, my family decided to fill up on gas yesterday when we thought that Ike might be a problem. As far as food and water, we made sure to get all of that stuff when we thought another hurricane was on our way. Unfortunately/fortunately, that storm moved somewhere else.
The school that Josh works at has an investor that is asking someone to fly his plane away from the storm. Josh volunteered for the task. It is a six seater plane, and should have plenty of room for Micheala, Josh, and I. It is also air conditioned, which is definitely a plus. I'm not sure that Micheala will keep her headset on in the plane, but Josh assures me that we won't damage her ears. *Really that is my only concern about this whole volunteer mission.
I'm hoping that everything goes well, and that this hurricane will leave minimal damage on Houston. Stuff is just stuff, but it still hurts knowing that we could lose a lot of important stuff.
I'll let everyone know how we fair the storm later. Please be in prayer for us here in Texas.


SOOOOOOO, just kidding about leaving with Josh. It looks like Micheala and I will be staying in Houston and braving the storm. Josh will be flying the investor's friends out to Fredricksburg, TX. Josh will be gone and away, and I will be hanging tight with Micheala. Hmmm....which position would you rather be in?

Yikes Ike!

We all thought we missed the big one just a few weeks ago. And although we genuinly felt sorry for Mississippi and Lousiana, we were very very very grateful that we were not the ones dealing with the wind and lots of rain. It doesn't sound like we are going to be as lucky with this one. We will have to see how this all pans out. I am nervous about this being the BIGGEST storm that Micheala has ever been through. I'm praying that God will give me patience and show me how to comfort Micheala when she gets scared. (If she gets scared.)

On a brighter note, today went a lot better at preschool! I was grateful that they all seemed to follow our routines. I still had some hiccups and breakdowns. Luckily no one peed on anyone else. We had some tinkle showers on our first day. Mommies were none to pleased when they picked them up in different clothes. My kids dress way cutier than I do for preschool.

I managed to beg someone to take a picture of Micheala and I at school. AND I didn't cry when I dropped her off this morning. The picture is a bit blurry and Micheala isn't looking at me, but at least I have a picture of her during her first week of school.

It Begins....Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I finally begin teaching, again! I'm so nervous and a little leery after meeting my students last week. They all seem to be very sweet little boys and girls, mostly boys, but WOW. Tomorrow and most of the week is going to be all about routines and expectations. I pray I can hang in there long enough to see everything fall into place.
Tomorrow is Micheala's first day at school. :( I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I'm comforted knowing that she is right down the hall from me, and that she'll only be in the class for half of the day. Once two o'clock hits we get to go home. Fridays she'll spend with her daddy or with her grandma.
Soooo, obviously there isn't a lot going on in our life right now. However, if anyone knows anyone that wants to buy a house in Avalon Lakes let me know! Our renters broke their lease and our house is officially up for sale. We are hoping to short sale it.

12 Boys!!

I'm starting to wonder what I've gotten myself into by deciding to teach and work at the YMCA. What I am grateful for is the short hours and the chance to spend a huge portion of my day with my little girl. Preschool is only a few weeks away, and I don't feel ready. My room is coming along, but it is hard to set up with an active 19 month old running around. Luckily, Josh was able to stay home yesterday and help me. (Despite the fact that not flying means not earning money.)
I have 12 boys and only 4 girls this year in my room...which scares me to death. I hear only good things from everyone about the group, and most of them have been to preschool before. I only have a handful that have never had a school experience. I hope that I can figure out what level to meet them ALL at. :)
My baby is going to school soon too. I think I might cry. It is hard to imagine her in school already...she's still in diapers.
Josh is doing well at High Tech Aviation. He has three full time students, and is usually pretty busy. This week has been really really really rainy and he hasn't flown a lot. We always get nervous because then we think about what will happen when December comes. (Apparently, it is difficult to fly VFR, visual flight rules, in December because of all of the limitations.) We've been praying, but not enough that God will help us to be patient and continue to provide for us.
Please pray for patience for Josh and I. That we will allow God to work and provide in our lives.
Please pray that we find a buyer for our home. Our house is up for sale and we are looking to short sale it soon. Our renters just gave us notice this week that they are leaving by September 2nd. (*Not exactly 30 days, but he's going back into the airforce.)
Please pray for good health for Micheala as we go back into school.

Expecting?!

We are expecting....another niece or nephew!!! Hehe...thought it might be fun to mess around and tease everyone a little bit. My brother in law and sister in law, Justin and Lori, are expecting a little baby in April. Jace, my soon to be kindergarten nephew, would like a little boy. ;) The Green Family is grown quite a bit, and we certainly didn't expect anyone to have any more...except maybe Josh and I. Which, there are days when I think another one would be sweet, and then she gets up from her nap and tears the house apart. Maybe when she becomes a little more independent we'll consider it.
Otherwise, things are going well. Josh has been flying consistently, and today he'll have flown close to 8 hours. God has been good in providing for us...I keep praying for patience for Joshua.
I start teaching preschool in a few short weeks. I'm excited and scared. It will be the first time that Micheala will be away from me or family for more that a few hours, but I'm not worried about her. I'm more worried that I'm going to have separation anxiety. I'm really excited about reading with kids again!!! I LOVE TO READ!!!

Michael Callin

Michael's namesakes, Micheala
and Micah on a bench dedicated
to him by his family.

Its hard to believe that only a little over two years ago I was watching Josh and Michael cut up a lake with jet ski's. They were seeing how long the other could hold on. You could hear Michael laughing from across the lake! (A sound that I will NEVER forget.) Vicki and I sat on a swing admiring and laughing at our silly men. The jokes that only really they understood at the time. Its hard to believe that only a few weeks after that Michael was gone! Unbelieveable. At only 26, he was gone.

I think we all were living in a dream. A dream where you hoped someone would pinch you and you would wake up. A nightmare, to watch your best friend deal with the death of her husband, your friend. The same friend that inspired laughter and new adventures...motorcycles, car rebuilding, "moonlighting" in Chuluota.


Now, I'm a little jealous. Michael doesn't have to live with the stress of deciding which bills to pay first. Worrying over if he can't work enough to pay for those bills. He doesn't have to worrry about his body falling apart because he has a new body. He can dance as crazy and silly as he wants to and no one is going to say anything! He's dancing with David!!!


We still miss him terribly, but we have something to look forward to. A WONDERFUL REUNION IN PARADISE!!


Josh and I love you Michael!