Today marks the nine year anniversary of Rachael going to be with Jesus. I have so many emotions running through me right now--jealousy, sadness, joy, compassion.
I'm jealous that Rachael gets to experience the joys of heaven and the splendor of God's presence. The sadness is self-explanatory. The joy is because Katrina and I have become closer and have been able to share more with each other spiritually and emotionally. Tonight we drove out to the grave side and sat talking about how adjusting over the years has been and how it has changed our lives.
The compassion is for the driver who hit our car. I can't imagine how this has impacted his life and I wonder how often he thinks about us. So often, I want to contact him to make sure he knows that I have forgiven him and to share God's grace with him. I don't know anything about this man other than his name but I hope that if he wasn't a Christian before the accident, that God used the situation to draw him to Himself.

Today's program is made possible by....

Rainboots! My roomie and I woke this morning to a crazy storm with intense lightning and monsoon type showers. I looked outside after about 30 minutes into the storm and saw that our cars were about to be flooded so I ran to grab our keys (my roomie was showering so I said I would move both of them). I had to move them 4 blocks to an empty lot then trudge back through the river that was once our streets. 

Church was cancelled because you couldn't get around unless you had an air boat. I was praying the entire time that I was moving our cars that I would make it. If we had waited any longer, our cars would have been ruined.

It's a blur but this is me conquering the monsoon. I was too wet and cold to let my roommate try to get a clear picture.

In front of my house:

Then to add insult to injury, I was attacked by one of those damn stinging caterpillars that live in the tree in front of our house. Ugh! I'm taking benadryl and curling up in bed with a book. Let me know when the sun comes out again.

Christmas In May

Thanks Casey for my fabulous Christmas gift! It only took what, like 3 1/2 years to finish? Haha! I love it!

More Bugs! Eek!

So, if anyone knows me they know that I am not an outdoorsy kinda girl. I prefer my environment to be air conditioned and bug free (unless I am laying on the beech reading a book--then I'll tolerate the heat and bugs).

Last night my friend Sarah and I ventured to a nearby park that overlooks the Mississippi river to hang out and watch the sun set. The swarms of what I thought were flying ants had other plans and chased us back to the car. This morning I checked facebook and saw that my pastor had posted a note about termite swarms in New Orleans. Apparently they come out in swarms between 7 and 9pm in order to mate. They are harmless but very annoying and have no respect for your personal space. How rude!

A new beginning, a new mayor

My favorite part of current Mayor, Mitch Landrieu's speech: "The first step is to declare that we are no longer recovering no longer rebuilding. Now we are creating. Let's stop thinking about rebuilding the city we were and start dreaming about the city we want to become. The world deserves a better New Orleans.People of New Orleans hear this - today is a new day, today is a new time."

I can't wait to see what the future holds for New Orleans!

Bug Season

It is official! The bugs have invaded New Orleans! I walked out the door this morning to a swarm of pesky mosquitoes chasing me and stinging caterpillars dive bombing from the trees. Now, I have experience with mosquitoes (can we say 100% deet...) but these caterpillars are another story. Apparently they invade every year too. No lie---we have hundreds maybe as much as 1,000 of these stinging caterpillars in the tree in front of my house. They have also found their way onto our cars, porch, and fence. I make a mad dash to my car whenever I step out my front door. Yikes!

When I had free time....

I enjoy being creative by coming up with crafts for kiddos to do or by doing my own crafting. One of my favorite things is to take something that has been tossed aside and use it to make into something interesting or useful. Here are my latest works:

Shotgun house made from door panel, sliding lock, door hinge, and stained glass.

Lighthouses made from painted door hinges.

Shotgun house made from granite piece, wood scraps, old watch, and belt buckle.