The Mississippi Squall

Well, last night was eventful, but, then again, it was also incredibly peaceful and just what our little family needed. In case you can’t tell from the drought of blog posts, we have been pretty busy these days. I saw a notepad that I need; it said, “someone stop me before I volunteer for something else.” With Jonathan being in the midst of harvest season and the kids being back in school after a really fun and wonderful summer we have been doing our best to keep our heads above water. I have a to do list a mile long and several items on that list seem rather urgent with the newest Fortner’s arrival a mere four weeks away. I have on more than one occasion during the past month lying in bed at the end of the day feeling like everything was a blur and that neither Jonathan or the kids were getting the best of me. I’ve been praying for peace and patience. Who knew my prayers would be answered in the midst of a tornado, yes the literal kind, with the winds and rain and purple skies.

Last night, dinner done and dishes soaking, kids gearing up for the winding down, I was trying to figure out what kind of homework Holt had left to do and what chores were going to have to be done before I could crawl into bed. I could feel my blood-pressure climbing with each whine from the kids rooms and text message beep from Jonathan’s phone. It was in the midst of this storm that Jonathan called us all to our bedroom to watch the actual storm line making its way toward Cleveland (Jonathan is a bit of a weather freaker-outer, which is good since I tend to be a little too mellow about weather). Not two minutes later we heard the sirens and headed to our “safespot” - an interior hall with no windows. We piled a beanbag two armfuls of pillow and four and 3/4 of Fortners into the little hallway and waited for the storm to pass. We had a flashlight a portable dvd player that was conveniently out of power and two cell phones in there as well. Holt and Harper Ann immediately began giggling and talking about camping in the hallway. When the lights flickered and then went dark the giggling only increased and Harper Ann kept saying “Oooh, its dark.” Holt had the flashlight on a string around his neck and in a scene that was repeated one to many times throughout the night Harper Ann would try to grab the flashlight followed shortly by a gag and cough from Holt. Sadly, Jonathan was responsible for this move a time or three as well. Neither of them ever freaked out, and when we were sure the worst was past us we crept out of our little bunker to assess any damage.

Aside from a little water in the floor of the kitchen all seemed just fine. It was really dark since the majority of power on our street was out, but in our living room you could see some lights on at the corner, so we made our way in there and opened the windows. After Harper Ann ran into her fifth piece of furniture I decided to pull out some candles and we sat in the candlelight and talked about the rain and all the trees that were down. It was about that time that we started getting texts from friends around Cleveland with storm damage updates. Turns out we got off lucky. A subdivision not far from us saw heavy damage and a friend not two blocks from us had a tree through his house. Our neighbors had a tree down on their fence and about fifty yards from our front door the episcopal church barely missed having a tree through the sanctuary (who says the episcopals aren’t right with God? - This is clearly a joke). Several businesses were damaged along 61. Jonathan took the kids riding and they came back telling me about driving through the river, so it’s fair to say there was a bit of flooding too.

Harper Ann kept singing happy birthday and wasn’t very happy that she didn’t get to blow the candles out. Other than that little issue, we had no drama, no whining, no urgency to our night. Harper Ann and I cuddled on the loveseat while Jonathan and Holt stretched out on the couch. With a few candles flickering and cuddled with kids we talked and laughed and enjoyed being unplugged and unstressed. I sang a few RUF numbers that I’ve never had trouble remembering the words to, throwing twinkle twinkle little star in every few songs to pacify Harper Ann. We moved the kids to their beds and we went to ours. It was really quiet and nice, until about 3 this morning when the power came back on and the silence was interrupted by a blaring weather channel and bright lights. Neither child woke up and we dashed around the house turning all the lights off. I was glad to have my fan going again and the air-conditioner cooling things off, but I thoroughly enjoyed the night of no power. I pray all our friends with damage recover quickly, but I’m very thankful for a break in the storm that has been our lives lately.

Houston's Dedication

This is long overdue (like everything I suppose), but on March 6, 2011, Shane and Anjanette dedicated Houston Scott Powers to Christ at Sumner Baptist Church. I know its been over 6 months since then, but it is too special an event not to make a note of it.

But the loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children. - Psalm 103:17

For I have chosen him in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. - Genesis 18:19

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift - not from works, so that none can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

Jonathan and I have prayed for this sweet child since we first knew he was being carried in Anjanette’s womb. We pray that God uses us in his life to draw Houston closer to Christ and that we will encourage his faith as he grows physically.

Well, someone was not happy

Sweet cousins and their Aunt Nana.

I thought of one of my favorite Hymns while writing this post, "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go"

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Goodbye Baby Hair: March 5, 2011

Well, Harper Ann suffered with a mullet long enough. She, like most babies rolled all her infant hair off the top portion of her head before she could sit up leaving a reverse monks ring. This lends itself to what Jonathan and I have termed the baby-mullet. So, we decided that 20 months was the appropriate time to shape up her do.

It's a little sad to think about your baby having the very first hair she ever had trimmed away. Holt's first haircut was more emotional for me than Harper Ann's. We all made the trip to the barber camera in tow, to capture every difficult moment of the first trim. Harper Ann was skeptical at first, but one our lovely beautician offered her a dum-dum bribe she was good to go. I had the difficult task of keeping her still and keeping the sticky out of her hair. We all did our part and now have a mulletless child.

You want to do what to my head?

Busily unwrapping the sucker

Anyone, who objects to behavior modification by bribery either has no children or, in my professional opinion, is a Nazi.

Do what you will. That sucker isn't going to last all morning.

Goodbye baby hair

Don't let the face fool you, he's a mischievous one.

Mound Sledding

We had a very snowy winter in Cleveland. We had two really big snows, one of which we came home to from Colorado. Well, the second snow was in early February and dumped a lot of snow and a good bit of ice on those of us not so used to driving in frozen precipitation. Jonathan and I both realized that it would probably be years before the kids saw another snow like this, so when our friends Charlsie and Coyt asked us if we wanted to drive out to the Indian Mound and sled we bundled up and headed out. Icy roads and all. We were thinking about heading over to the levee for some elevation, but this turned out better. Holt had a blast and Harper Ann, well, lets just say that Harper Ann isn't really a fan of the cold.

This pretty much encapsulates Harper Ann's opinion of our little expedition.

I got her to go down on the Kayak (well, really did you expect anyone to have a toboggan lying around?) once for good measure, then she and I headed to the truck.

My lone regret of the morning was that I wasn't around to see this ^ or v this happen.

Heeheehee.

All better.

The pink gloves really make the outfit. In all seriousness thanks to Coyt for including us in all the fun.

Watch out for the...

Stump

You would think they would have learned

Trace was the lone survivor

Where was that stump again?

Happy

Cold

It was nice and toasty in the truck. Harper Ann recovered from her frostbite rather quickly.

Those silly kids, don't they know how cold it is out there.

We had a great time. Thanks to Charlsie and Coyt for including us and to Libbi and Roane for the pictures. Also, a belated thanks to y'all for befriending us when we were new to Cleveland and making us feel so at home in the town and at Covenant.

Colorado

Okay, I am really behind, but since I don't keep scrapbooks or babybooks (I do have a box of important mementos) this is our little family's little diary and I have to share Holt's first ski trip. This year we decided to bite the bullet and make the trip a family affair. Confident that our four year old was potty trained and coordinated enough that we could bundle him up and send him down the slopes (or to ski school with highly trained and efficient instructors with way more patience than either of us). Thanks to Grandmama who kept our girl while we went off in search of snow. Jonathan and I were more excited about Holt's first real snow experience than he was. By now, Holt is a pro at air travel and got me out of walking through the body scanner at the Memphis airport (I was quite seriously fretting this and prepared for the groping I was sure I would encounter when I refused the radiation/humiliation of the scanners - really was prepared to videotape the experience and end up on drudge, but it was quite uneventful). We were staying in Snowmass Village at the Silvertree Hotel. Ski-In/Ski-Out makes me feel like a queen.

Preparing for Holt's first day of Ski School and his first Gondola ride (the Gondola ride was his favorite part of the whole trip).

Happy Boys!

Adorable (adj) : (1) worthy of being adored (2) extremely charming

Examples of adorable: Four year olds in ski suits

That's Holt just before he ran into the instructor. I think they are used to it.

This was Holt's favorite part of Ski School, the Magic Carpet Ride.

Our first day of ski school looks to have been a success.

On day two, Holt went to ski school in the morning and then we took the shuttle into Aspen after lunch to check out the rec center, which we heard had an indoor pool and a hill for sledding. Well, it was not unlike being invited over for dinner and expecting burgers and chips and instead getting prime rib. You see, the pool had a three story water slide, giant water guns and a lazy river. To say Holt was in heaven would be an understatement.

You can see the slide in the background

Jonathan and Holt were two happy tired boys when we left the rec. center

This would be the lazy river. Holt spent a good half hour just floating around in this part of the pool.

We also did some sledding at the rec center. This was my favorite part. Although it is a whole lot of work climbing the hill, especially for folks used to levelland, for about 15 seconds of wind in your face. It was worth the wheezing and wooziness this out of shape mama experienced to hear Holt's howls of laughter as he and Jonathan raced me down the hill.

He was born ready.

The key is to get to the highest point on the hill

Much easier this way. I needed this kind of assistance.

It really is beautiful up there. Cold, but beautiful.

I wish I had caught the look on Holt's face just as they were picking up speed. His eyes were so wide I thought the wind might damage them in some way.

He's so brave he can manage a wave while on his way downhill.

They hadn't even come to a complete stop before Holt said, "Let's go again."

When I count my blessings at night, this memory is among them.

We were wearing down.

Jonathan, I mean.

Day 3 he was ready for ski school.

Jonathan and I got to do some skiing too.

Jenna was trying to talk Robert and Jonathan into going down the "hard" way.

Yep, that would be Jonathan behind that cloud of snow. I guess she talked him into it.

All the lifts had "reasons" why you should take ski school on them as advertisements. This one was inspired by Jonathan and Me: reason #6: Lessons are expensive: if the alternative is learning from your spouse, remember that our rates are really cheap compared to divorce (we've saved more relationships than most counselors)

The only fall I took the whole trip and it was captured in digital form. The worst part was losing my skis at the top and having to climb up to get them. Fortunately a good Samaritan came to my rescue. Jonathan fell out of sympathy, who says he's not a gentleman.

Can you tell we took ski school our first time on the slopes.

Another day in the books! All's well that end's well!

Meanwhile, back in Cleveland...it took my mom 3 days to figure out that when Harper Ann brings her little bassinet to you it's because she wants to get in it and be carried around. Sorry I didn't share this info before we left.

Holt, his DS and Keebler cookies, what more could a boy ask for?

Headed out for a day of exploration or to rob a bank.

Silly boys.

Our last afternoon in Colorado (or so we thought), we took the shuttle into Aspen and went shopping and did some ice skating at the town rink. Holt's practice at the Memphis zoo seems to have helped.

All smiles. He even took the falls like a champ. He was one happy kid.

I'm not sure who is doing the holding and who is doing the falling.

Thank goodness for giant yellow cones.

Holt saw this and had to take a picture with it for Wiffie (Lovey/Cindy). At first he thought we should buy it for her, but when I explained it would be a little hard to get it onto the airplane, he said he understood and that we would just take a picture instead.

Aspen at night. It was only a few moments later that Holt was sound asleep on the bus on the way back to Snowmass.

Holt had fun exploring the historic Hotel Jerome.

Our last morning in Colorado (or so we thought). Holt is a pretty great photographer, no?

The trip went off without a hitch, that is until we got ready to leave. Our flight home was supposed to leave aspen at 8:00 Sunday morning. We had heard that there was a chance of snow at home and were hoping that the Memphis' airport wouldn't cause any delays. We packed up Saturday night. Sunday morning Jonathan and I were up at 4:30 showering and getting ready to go. We let Holt sleep until 5:30 then we caught the bus to the airport. It was snowing some on the way there, but by the time we were ready to board the plane it was an all out blizzard.

Jonathan and Holt walking to our snowed in plane. Little did I know when taking this picture that we would be deplaning 30 minutes later because there "weren't going to be any planes leaving for a very long time."

We deplaned and headed back to the terminal. For a long time our flight status was delayed, but as we watched more and more flights getting canceled, we realized that we would have to come up with a plan b. After hours of changing flights only to have them canceled or at one point having Holt on one flight while we were on another (I'm still not sure how this one happened), we and two of Jonathan's co-workers and their families decided to rent a shuttle from Aspen to Denver and catch a flight out the next morning at 6. The earliest flight we could get into Memphis was by way of Phoenix, AZ. The shuttle ride was pretty terrifying, made more so by the shuttle driver who came up to me during a gas station break handing me a five hour energy saying, "could you tell my if the directions say if I can have more than one at a time, I can't see well enough to read that fine print?" Because of the snow on the roads lots of passes were closed down and driving was slow, so it took about 8 hours to get to Denver from Aspen. Around 12:30 Monday morning we rolled into the redroof inn at the airport. Holt fell asleep just as we were pulling into Denver and I ended up carrying him into the hotel. It's been awhile since I have carried a sleeping Holt. It was actually kind of nice. We had to be up at 4 to catch the shuttle to the airport. The whole experience, although tiring, is actually a sweet memory. The best part of our little detour was while we were re-arranging flights in Aspen. Holt couldn't have been more of a trooper, or had a better attitude about the whole ordeal and he sure did enjoy playing in the 3 feet of newly fallen snow at the airport.

The snowball maker we purchased our last day sure came in handy

We made a stop in Phoenix, on the date of the National Championship game between Oregon and Auburn (boo hiss). In the airport there was lots of talk of all the Auburn fans who had purchased tickets but were unable to get to the game because of snow in the southeast. Poor, poor, poor Auburn fans. This somehow made our ordeal seem not so bad. When we finally landed in Memphis mid-afternoon on Monday we had spent 36 hours in the same clothes and gone the same amount of time without showers, we had slept a total of 3 hours, and had been in airports a total of 24 hours. We arrived to a thick blanket of newly fallen snow. I enjoyed our little adventure and detour, but it sure was nice to be back in the south (even a wintry south). And, boy did it feel good to hug and kiss that sweet little girl waiting in the driveway for us.

We may have been a little haggard from our experience as road warriors, but we caught our second wind when we saw Harper Ann.

Holt told us on the plane, "I sure do miss our little girl." I'm glad they have each other to miss.

She wasn't so sure about the snowman

To borrow a line from Dorothy, "There's no place like home."
If only I had packed my ruby slippers perhaps we would have been a little less stinky when we got home. Oh well, our adventure was sweet in its own right.