Yikes, Ike!

On Sunday, after hurricane Ike had already given it's worst to folks down South, we heard that the forecast for us was lots of rain and strong winds. It didn't sound like anything out of the ordinary from what we're used to, but when we saw the storm system on the radar and saw how huge it still was, even though it hadn't quite reached us yet, we felt like we should stay home from church instead of being out driving in any sudden strong winds. (It takes 20-30 minutes to drive to church) Well, I'm glad we did, because sure enough, our area got hit by some pretty strong wind gusts. Our house is fine, no damage, but look what happened in our backyard- our trampoline was lifted up and flipped over onto the other side of our yard, right on top of our tomato patch!




I'm just glad that it did not get flipped into our house! Good thing we had it far away from the house. The trampoline is now bent into a slight curve, because it landed hard on the edge of the ditch that runs through our property. Our kids and the neighborhood kids were sad when they saw what happened, because everyone loves to jump on it, but hopefully Matt can figure out how to get it usable again!

I'm sad about losing several tomato plants, because fresh, salted tomatoes actually have been the #1 food I have craved this pregnancy, but luckily, at least half of the tomato plants survived, along with the jalapeno plant, so Matt can keep making his delicious homemade salsa!

Update-

Well, I have not done much blogging as of late and... I haven't done much of anything to be honest. I have had THE worst morning sickness for quite awhile. I will spare the details. I am feeling better than I was before, but still not great. This is totally different than any other pregnancy was. I did not know I could feel so sick for so long! Matt has taken over doing dishes and sorting the laundry because those smells are unbearable for me. Poor guy, this is the most of those chores he has ever done since I've known him. And we have been using lots of paper plates, plastic cups and spoons, etc... and he is doing most of the cooking lately...

He did have a small grease fire that got out of hand when I was resting upstairs. He now knows (and I'm sure he will never forget this) that a little baking soda will put that right out, rather than running to get the fire extinguisher and coming back to a much larger fire that chars the cabinets above the stove. I had a rude awakening by the smoke alarms. All I can say is, what an adventure! I'm just thankful that it wasn't any worse. Our next door neighbors were so kind, they just came right over and helped clean up that same night. I felt so bad because I was so sick I really couldn't help with it.

I am now 11-12 weeks pregnant. The kids are very exited and are always asking about their baby brother or sister... How big is the baby today? Is it a boy or a girl? Can I name the baby? Is there really a baby in there?... I'm glad they haven't asked any questions about how the baby got in there or about how the baby will get out!

Three Little Kittens

2 days ago, we were very surprised to find 3 kittens in our garage! Their mama had moved them in there because the garage was left open about 5 inches and the weather has been getting colder with more rain lately, so she must have thought it seemed like a safe place. We found out later that day that our next door neighbors had seen her take them under their deck a few days before. We got the mama cat and we are keeping them in a bathroom for now. We had seen her around our cats food dish in the back sneaking food before, and now we know why she was so hungry!
I took her to the vet today because she had a wound on her back, and I had her tested for feline HIV and Leukemia. She is negative, so we know she won't be spreading diseases to our 2 other cats. We think we already found homes for the kittens to go to when they're big enough, because the vet knows a farmer who's been looking for some mouser cats since his very old cat died, and another lady there said she'd take one also. We are going to get the mama spayed and maybe keep her, unless she'd rather stay outside. She sure is a pretty cat with 3 very cute kittens! But, with me being pregnant, Matt has litter box duty, so it is really up to him to decide if he's up to keeping her. The vet said the kittens look around a month old! Poor cat, she has been taking care of them outside all this time. She is now very relaxed and content.

And of course, the kids adore them and are so happy that we have kittens!