Mercado's Restaurant

If you you in Texas or Louisiana and have a Mercado's Restaurant or Posada's, I suggest you try it out! We ate at Mercado's today, and all I have to say is, "Move over Pappasito's. Mercado's just took your #1 spot!" The home-made tortillas were mouth-watering! Oh! We can't forget the salsa! Wow!!! I'm so stuffed I feel like that little girl on Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that blew up like a big, fat blueberry!

We Are Evacuating!

I awoke at 5:30 A.M. in order to watch our local news stations for any hurricane updates. What I found out was that there was a voluntary evacuation under effect and a mandatory evacuation would be called at 6 A.M. tomorrow, so I had to get our house in order. I didn't do anything yesterday. I just procrastinated, but today I had no choice. Then we were off to Troup, TX where my Aunt Crystal lives, at least some of us were anyway. I left Skylar with Kenneth so he could play with our neighbor's kids. Kenneth waited on my Pops because FedEx made them work! They finally arrived with the RV about 2 A.M. This evacuation trip was much more pleasant but can you imagine 8 people kooked up in an RV? I love my parents and all, but there is a reason I don't live at home anymore besides the fact that I'm married!

To Pack, Or Not To Pack?

That IS the question our family is pondering. Yes, we have to make a judgement call by tomorrow because we have a soccer tournament in Houston this weekend. Those that hold those tournaments do NOT want to lose money, so they could care less if our team might be subject to an evacuation. Three years ago we evacuated for Hurricane Rita. We drove to my aunt's house about 3 hours north of us. It took us over 7 hours to get there. My husband who stayed in town a few more hours to get someone to cover his hospital patients suffered from a 12 hour drive! You just wouldn't understand unless you've actually been in this situation. Him, my father, and my uncle also drove back the day after Rita hit to clean out our refrigerators and freezers. Just think of the people that didn't return for a couple of weeks what they found in their refrigerators and freezers... YUK! We also returned home a week later and lived in 90 degree Texas heat with no electricity for two more weeks. Just imagine the devastation we encountered as we got closer to home. Trees down everywhere! The landscape as you knew it was forever changed. And we didn't suffer as badly as others...

Oh the Joy!

Oh the joy I get in hearing snipets of info on Maritu! Yesterday Nikko asked, "Holly, did you see the video clip I took of Maritu on our YouTube site?"

(Maritu was a sleeping angel...)

Today, Lisa W. sent me a pic of the little angel sitting up so big! She said, "Maritu looks GREAT, she is a cutie pie... they put her in the corner crib nearest the window which was Zaela's!"

Chris, my friend from San Antonio said this: "Hi Holly!!

I just have to say, it's a good thing our hands were full with Sof and
Helena, because Maritu is a keeper!!! She is so sweet and looks so
healthy!!! She is absolutely beautiful. Her eyes are truly captivating!!!
I snuggled with her right before she went down for a nap! You are going to
be in heaven with her!!! I have a picture of her and I will upload it
soon!! You have been in my thougths and prayers!!! I will call you when we
are settled for sure!!

Hugs,

Chris"


(I am amazed at how fast she is growing. Just one more month of court closure to endure, then hopefully I'll get a court date!)

Back To School

Not only do I have 3 of my 4 kids back in school, I received the most awesome pic of Maritu today from one of the Hopesters. I wish I could post it, but it's not worth the risk of losing my ability to adopt from Ethiopia... but as soon as we pass court, her pic will be plastered all over my blog!

BYSC Kick-Off Classic Champions

Good thing I'm feeling better! I couldn't miss my child's soccer tournament... Though I don't think it was such a good thing to be outside in that heat. Curran's team won the U-12/13 age division. They won all of their games except for one that ended in a tie. She even won a game where some of her old teammates were on the opposing team! She played awesome. She's gaining so much confidence with her amazing new coach and team!

This Doesn't Happen To Me...

I've had an eventful two days! That headache that started Sunday progressed into a full-blown nightmare on Thursday. Kenneth brought me to the office to x-ray my head. We were thinking it was my sinuses, but low and behold, the x-ray was clear. He then had my Mom bring me to the chiropractor. He stretched my neck and did accupuncture on me. I looked like the pin head guy off of the B-movie Hellraiser! I couldn't even open my eyes because my head hurt so badly. I never take medicine, but I took everything and anything that day that I could get my hands on. Still, nothing touched the pain. In fact, I took a migraine med incase that was causing my pain. Later in the day, the pain was so bad that I thought death was my best option. I was losing control. Kenneth thought I needed to go to the ER, so off we went. This just doesn't happen to me. So, I got a CAT scan and blood work, but still nothing. The ER doc said I needed a spinal tap... Oh my!!! I hate needles! I said no... For anyone reading this, that was not very smart of me. I took a 10% chance of having a bleed in my brain go undiagnosed... I wouldn't have done that if it hadn't been for having a husband that is a doctor and has practiced emergency medicine. He even thought I should bite the bullet... I got Reglan for nausea and Toradol for the pain. Kenneth gave me Ambien when I got home. That did the trick! I slept all night!!! Yea! I only had a slight headache when I awoke this morning but I'm going to be a couch potatoe all day!!!

Oh My Head!

I woke up this morning with a slight headache that got worse as the day progressed. I'm so glad the hubby came home! He gave me some Tylenol, and now I'm going to bed!!!

Did I say that?

Did I make some comment about having a relaxing weekend? God must be laughing at me! I stayed up until the Olympics were over (1AM), then I woke up Friday morning at 4AM to watch soccer. Well, I don't know what kind of bright idea I had because Sheridan started vomiting at 1AM Saturday! So, what do you do when the hubby is gone but call good 'ole Mom to the rescue! I'm glad she loves me... She hopped right on over so I could get harrassed at Wal-mart. You see, Sheridan needed some Sprite to drink, and there was nada in the frig. I cruised to Wal-mart, and the total at the check-out was $8.49. I hand the clerk a $20 bill and proceeded to pull out the change. She handed me my receipt with $2. I told her I gave her a $20, but she claimed it was a $10. I just knew my husband had only given me $20s, so I asked her to double check. She called her manager, who counted down the clerk's drawer after "huffing" about it. The clerk was short, but it wasn't exactly $10, so she said there was nothing she could do. I got in my car, and looked at my receipt where I noticed that the clerk punched in that I had given her correct change! Very strange! So, beware of Wal-mart clerks after dark!!! And by the way, the hubby confirmed today that he had given me five $20s...

Peaceful Weekend In Sight

I think I'm in for a peaceful weekend without the hubby. I guess if you call a weekend with 4 kids peaceful... He is flying to St.Louis to meet Mark and the band. From there they are traveling to meet his Mom, Dad, and Sister at Mark's concert at some county fair in South Dakota. I think we've only been apart on 3 occasions in the many years we've been married, so I can't complain. Anyway, I'm looking forward to sleeping in the middle of the bed!

Word From Ethiopia

I heard from Jaclyn today. Hear is what she said," I held Maritu for a long time the other day. The boys had taken off with my camera and so I didn't get a picture of me hugging on her yet but she was so lovey. She loved the snuggles and when I had to put her down she burst into tears. It broke my heart. You will be snuggling her soon. Maybe we will be coming at the same time to get our babies!!"

She's craving attention... We'll be there soon Maritu!

Okay, I have to admit that the selfish side of me cried for several days because of my bad news, but I'm done now. I should have gone to Hope's First Annual Reunion this past weekend. One of our fellow Hopesters put it all together, and I'm sorry I missed all the children, the Ethiopian food, and the church service at an Ethiopian Orthodox church... What fun! Next year they've talked about bringing it to Texas where everything is bigger, right?

What T.S. Eduoard Brought Us

Weather-wise, Tropical Storm Edouard was a dud. We only got a couple inches of rain and some wind. A year ago, Hurricane Humberto brought us Prince William, our baby squirrel that we nursed, but this year Eduoard brought us bad news. I opened an email early this morning from an adoptive mother with my agency. (She's in Ethiopia picking up one of her sons.) She told me that Abeti had gone home with his grandmother. I was prepared for this to happen several weeks ago when Grace told me she was coming to visit. Although just about last week she told me that she hadn't shown up, but even after she told me that I had a feeling. The very next day, another Hope parent posted pics to our private board, and he was in none of them... I'm heartbroken, but I know that he should be raised by his family first if they are able to care for him. I will pray for him and think about him often...

Hurricane Preparations

Today we prepare for Tropical Storm Edouard, which might develop into a category 1 hurricane. We won't evacuate, but we are definitely prepared for power outtages with our generator (if it starts up...), batteries, non-perishable foods, and water. I made a trip to Sam's Club to stock up, along with many other people. What a mad house! Yikes! We will definitely need that generator because we will want to power an A/C unit in this Texas heat! However, if you looked at the sky right now, it's beautiful! It's hard to believe that things can change in the next 24 hours.

Houston Dynamo Camp

Curran has been at a soccer camp for competitive players this week given by the Houston Dynamo. This pic is Curran with Bobby Bosworth.

Pitfalls of Procrastination

So, I've finally decided to update my blog thanks to my sister in Hawaii that keeps reminding me that I haven't posted in a long time. I guess I've just fallen into the pitfalls of procrastination! I don't really have any new news anyway, but in case anyone wants to know what Sheridan has been up to, then have I got a story for you! You see, I got stuck in traffic today on the freeway, and the drive from Beaumont to Vidor usually is about 20 minutes but it took me an hour. So, what's the big deal? The big deal is that we are finding out that Sheridan gets car sick, and today while we were stuck in traffic, it happened. She vomits all over herself, and there was not a napkin to be found in my car, nor could I get off the freeway. Cullen says, "I'll never eat cottage cheese again!" (It wasn't cottage cheese. It was curddled milk.) The smell was so bad! I tried to flag a few cars to ask if anyone had napkins, paper towels, anything, but several people wouldn't acknowledge me. I felt so helpless. Then, this man in a big truck rolled down his window, and he happened to have those really absorbant blue towels that mechanics have. May God bless that man...

My Amazing "Hope" Family

Wow! My husband came home at noon and told me to pack my bags. lol! No, he didn't kick me out, although with all the madness surrounding our adoption, I wouldn't blame him. We went to San Antonio to watch a friend of ours who had a gig at Cowboy's Dancehall and Saloon. I had the most amazing night, but it was before the concert. I called Chris and Renee from my agency, and them and their families met us at a restaurant for dinner. We talked and shared stories for over 2 hours! Our poor husbands! These women are absolutely as beautiful on the outside as on the inside. We didn't do much eating since our mouths were moving the entire time. I can't believe I didn't have my camera. That's so unlike me! Thanks ladies for making time for me!

Another child gone!

I sent another child away to camp, but this time it was to Texas A&M University for soccer camp. Curran just loves going there! Anything that will keep her focused into furthering her education is good for me! So, since our drive was through Houston, Kenneth and I decided to stop for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. We ate at Addisaba our first time, so this time we wanted to try out Nazereth Cafe. I wasn't the greatest sign when we drove up and the restaurant droor was propped open. We do live in Texas, mind you! I made the comment to my husband that they were preparing us for our trip to Ethiopia. However, we soon learned that they were closed because of the AC problems. I asked him if he could sell us some injera because we were having trouble making it, but we could make everything else. I think he was surprised by our request and started asking me questions which led to the adoption discussion. He seemed very pleased that we chose his country, but I actually think his country chose us! Needless to say, we left with plenty of free injera! We didn't give up on the meal though. We drove a couple of miles further to Addisaba for dinner. We even surprised our waitress with some Amharic...

BigStuf Camp

I sent my teen off to BigStuf camp in Panama City, Florida this morning at 4am! BigStuf is designed to creatively communicate the refreshing Spirit of Christ, the truth of His word, and the difference living for Him can make in our lives. I've heard so many positive things from parents whose children have gone to this camp. It seems teens these days need all the help they can get, and I'm so glad that Netcasters attends this camp! Netcasters happens to be an interdenominational youth ministry that was started by a man that was the youth pastor in my former church. He had a vision for a ministry whose purpose is to impact students by raising them up to be totally devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. Netcasters is not a substitute for the kid's church, but works in conjunction with local churches.