Yellow Hair

When our last child was born, we were surprised to see that she had blonde hair. Over the last 5 years, the blonde has turned into brown. She still thinks of herself as a blonde, even though it really isn't that blonde anymore.

Friday Ellie Grace was "Queen" at school. When you are the queen, you tell about your family, your favorite colors, activities, etc. The other children listen and draw a picture about you and something you have told them and the teacher compiles it into a book. Ellie Grace LOVED being queen. Matter of fact, she was still wearing her tiara this afternoon. She was so excited to get her book on Monday. We talked about it all weekend. When she came home she said "Mommy, everyone in my class colored me with brown hair. Isn't that silly? They don't know I have yellow hair!" Don't worry, Ellie Grace, we will get that yellow hair back when you are older!!!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Sometime in the middle of the night, a burning hot Abby climbed in bed with us. Now, if you are a Mom, you know I didn't get much sleep. I finally got out of bed, took her temperature, gave her some motrin and settled her back in her own bed. An hour and a half later when the alarm went off, I was exhausted. I put some breakfast in the oven, went upstairs to wake the other 2 girls, made lunches and climbed back in bed. My sweet, darling husband made sure they got off to school safely while Abby and I slept. You can imagine my surprise when a friend called to tell me that she had forgotten picture day. Oh my!! How could I not remember?? I don't even know what my kids looked like when they left for school. I called Daniel and asked him, but he's a guy...he doesn't know. I wish I had taken a picture after school. The clothes were fine, not picture worthy clothes, but at least they matched. However, Ellie Grace's hair was priceless. I asked her if anyone helped her with her hair before pictures and she said, "no, I fixed my own hair today!" (as if I couldn't guess) I wonder when retakes are???

Sooner Football

One of the hardest things about moving to Texas is missing OU football. We LOVE it (and that's an understatement)! We have season tickets, we tailgate, we have watch parties...we plan our Saturdays around OU football. Daniel's younger brother lives in Katy and he assures us that he has seen every OU game since 2000. "Don't worry, they are all televised". Well, the first one, on Labor Day Weekend, was pay per view and Comcast had issues with their feed so we missed that one. The second game we saw, but after 2nd quarter the local station here switched to a different game. The third game we were really excited for. It had national coverage on ESPN. What could go wrong? Well, maybe a little thing called "Ike". No power, no cable, no OU game. Bummer! This weekend, the game was scheduled to be on Fox Sports. We had a wedding reception to go to and my parents were in town. So, being the loyal fans that we are, we DVRd the game and turned off our cell phones. We decided we would watch it in "real time" after the party and we didn't want to have any score updates so we could enjoy the game. We came home, got in our comfy clothes, pressed start and watched the Astros play baseball....are you kidding me? The local station pre-empted the OU game for the Astros game. The OU gods must have it out for us. They did replay the game later that night so at least we got to see part of it, but this has been a bummer of a season for us. We are taking the kids to Waco this weekend to watch OU play Baylor....wonder if we will actually get to watch the game???

Back in the Saddle Again

We are back in Houston and back to the grind. We walked in last night to find that we did have water damage and mold growing on a wall in the master closet. We have cut out the sheetrock and are trying to dry out the wall while we wait for an inspector to get around to us. The city is starting to look back to normal, although reminds me more and more of the ice storm we had last year in Tulsa. There are bundles of branches waiting to be picked up on curbs, people still without power and schools and offices still closed. Daniel's office building sustained quite a bit of water damage...he said his hallway just looks crazy, although his office is in good shape.

We had a great week, and one of the highlights was that we were able to sign a lease on our house in Tulsa that hasn't sold. There were 19 houses for sale in our neighborhood and the ones that were selling were taking such a hit. we feel so blessed that we were able to find the perfect family who wants to live there for a year. I know this lifts a great burden off the CEO of the Herrold family!!!

The Bucket List Part 2

I was supposed to stop eating when we moved. I was supposed to be lonely and depressed and workout all the time. Instead, I meet wonderful people who take me to lunch or set up lunches to introduce me to people. Along comes Ike, and no power, so out to eat again. And, now I am back to Tulsa only to eat out again and again and again with friends and family. 6 weeks straight of pure eating pleasure. God bless elastic!

Evacuees

Yes, that's what we are--hurricane evacuees. You know, I had been begging God to bring me back to Tulsa, but this wasn't quite what I had in mind. :) Nonetheless, we had a great day today. Daniel was productive in the Tulsa office. He honestly wouldn't have gotten one thing accomplished in Houston. His office was closed due to no water, cell service was rare and no power at our house. The kids had a great time visiting old friends. I was driving them all around, just like old times. Hannah and Abby are spending the night out and Ellie Grace was so tired she passed out here. Daniel and I stopped by to see some great friends tonight. Linda (remember, my BFF that is 20 years my senior) ran errands with me today.

We still have no power at home, no school through at least Wednesday so we are in our new favorite vacation spot.

Oh, and this is the funniest story. We put our dogs in our backyard of our Tulsa house that we still own. Somone showed the house today and she called me frantic and said "Amanda, you have 2 very big dogs in this yard"!!!! I laughed hard. I guess I should have warned people we were back and so were the dogs!!!!

We're Alive!

Yes, PTL we survived. It was a LONG scary night during Ike. The kids all slept in our room, but around 2 .m. the winds were so strong we were afraid something would fly through the window and if glass hit any of our precious babies we would never forgive ourselves. So, we moved the to the closet at 2:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. We lost power at 2:15 and of course the girls were scared so I was in the very small, hot closet with them. We truly are so blessed. Our house didn't sustain any damage, but we lost our fence..completely gone except for 1 section and we lost one tree. The power has yet to be restored so yesterday afternoon we decided enough was enough and we headed for T-town. We made it home at 1:30 a.m. One of the problems with staying was that we were running out of food, and even if you were lucky enough to find a grocery store that was open, they were virtually out of food. It will be days before they restock the shelves. Our neighborhood looked like a war zone. I wish I would have taken pictures to show you, but you are probably seeing enough on tv. I will never forgot the roaring sound of the wind for hours on end. We will not be staying through one of those again. I can't imagine if it had been a Category 4.

As we left town last night, we noticed all the small towns without power. It took us 2 hours out of Houston before we even stumbled on a town with power. 2 hours! That's amazing. When we saw gas stations that were open the cars were lined up 75 deep to get gas. We had filled up before the storm so we had enough gas to make it to Dallas, thankfully.

We brought the dogs with us and dropped them off at our "winter home" last night. It was very bittersweet. I miss my house. I miss my neighborhood. I miss my Tulsa life. But, no tears!!!! Daniel was able to go into the Tulsa office today, so he will actually be more productive in Tulsa than in Houston. The girls school is cancelled for the next few days so we will be here indefinitely.

Thanks for all the texts, calls and e-mails during the storm. We really appreciate all of the prayers for safety.

12:45 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 13

The winds are now in the 50 to 60 mph range...consistently. We now are experiencing bands of rain. The kids all woke up, but have gone back to sleep. Snoring hubby is awake. My cousins in Houstin lost power about 45 minutes ago. We still have power and cable, which is a miracle. I am so tired, but don't know if I can actually fall asleep while in the middle of a hurricane! The worst part for us is supposed to be at 5 a.m.

11:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12th

We have 40 mph sustained winds and 50 mph gusts. It is SUPER windy and constant. It is hard to even describe. Kids are asleep. Hubby is snoring. Dogs are scared. Mom is awake. Still have power...stay tuned!

10:00 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12th

Still no rain. Wind is getting stronger. Daniel is outside reinforcing the tarps with duct tape (he would not participate in another Geraldo skit) and I am inside, in my robe (we are keeping it cold so when we lose power...) with a glass of white wine in one hand and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. Kids are sound asleep in our bed. Oh, and if you are going to keep checking the blog the LEAST you could do is check out some of my google ads and make me some money. I may need it to rebuild! JK. We still have power and I'll update again in an hour if I do....

8:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12th

Ok, we had a request from a friend in Tulsa to see the girls...so by popular demand here they are. Fort Bend County is under curfew from 8 p.m. tonight until 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. They don't need to worry, we aren't going out for donuts during a hurricane. Oh, and the weatherman just said for the Houston area the worst of the storm will be from midnight tonight until noon tomorrow....yIKEs..that's 12 hours!!!! The power is now blinking as I publish this post so this might be the last one. I will post again in 30 minutes to an hour if electricity is on.

8:05 P.M., Friday, Sept. 12

We still have power. We have not had rain. The winds are 28 mph with 41 mph gusts. Residents in Katy and a section of Houston known as Bellaire have lost power. They say we will lose power for at least a week....Stay tuned

New Video on Ike

We decided to do a little of our own reporting on the Hurricane...turn the volume up on your computer so you can hear the sound of the wind...

Ike Update

The wind is 20 mph right now with 30 mph gusts and I have attached a video from our backyard for you to see. We are supposed to get up to 100 mph so see what 20 looks like and imagine 100 mph. The electricity has blinked a couple of times and we don't even have rain yet. The dogs are now safely inside. The laundry is all clean and the dishwasher is running. This Mom is trying to be as organized as possible!

The Wise Man...

Well, the storm is coming. I went to bed last night praying it would dissipate or head a different direction, but that didn't happen. It's starting to get windy outside. The rain has not started, but neighbors are boarding up, and quite frankly, it's nerve racking to watch them hang plywood and for us not to even have any. So, we decided to cover our windows with tarps. Our wind is supposed to come from the North, which is the back of our house. Daniel has been working on nailing tarps up just to help prevent rain from pouring in our house in case our windows break. Some people are doing more and some are doing less. We decided we wanted to be like the wise man in Proverbs who was ready when the wind and rain came. It would be really difficult to cover our windows AFTER they break when the wind is blowing 100 mph. I wanted to show you a picture of the back of our house. This is just so surreal. The kids don't have a clue. Our windows are covered and they are just busy playing, which is great. We did open the door earlier and EG said "oh, it's windy". We will be having a big slumber party in our room tonight. I want everyone nearby. I will post pictures later, as long as we keep power. PLEASE continue to pray for our safety and for a sense of peace. (oh, and don't worry, the dogs will be inside when the rain comes!)

Ike

Today I experienced a first...preparing for a hurricane. Hurricane Ike is now headed towards Galveston which is just about an hour from us. Gas in the car- check, withdraw cash- check, water bottles- check, bread- check. Wait a minute, I have done this before, only never in shorts. This feels strangely like preparing for a big ice or snowstorm.

I have no idea what to expect...I'm guessing lots of rain and wind. I probably should be more concerned than I am. Right now we are feeling concerned we might lose cable and therefore not be able to watch the OU game Saturday. Seriously, I am somewhat concerned. I guess if it's bad it will provide lots of good blogging material!!!

Blind Date

I feel like I am dating. Only, I'm not looking for a boyfriend, I'm looking for girlfriends...and lots of 'em. Seriously, I work up the nerve to call someone, get their voicemail and then wonder if they will call back. Honestly, it's like waiting for a boy to call.

A mutal friend "hooked me up" with 2 ladies that live here in Sugar Land. She "hooked" them up 3 years ago and now we were all getting together. We met for lunch. Oh, and big news, when I walked in the door, I saw another friend that I have made here. God is so good! He knows how much I need friends and is providing abundantly. I miss my friends from Tulsa terribly, but I am so thankful to have lunch plans and dinner dates. Valerie and Barbara are dolls. They are each married to pastors. (from different churches) They both have great stories to share and I had a great time. I am looking forward to beautiful friendships with each.

Thanks, Jan for the hook up!

My Sugar Land Mentor

Over Labor Day weekend I received the sweetest voicemail. I was so stunned I even had Mom and Daniel listen to it. On the message was a girl I had never met, but she had heard that I was new to Sugar Land and wanted to introduce herself and just see if there was anything I needed. How thoughtful!!! I called her back and she was so friendly and we planned to meet at a PTA event at the school. (I feel like I should add that EVERYONE here is so friendly and has been so warm...it just so happens Leslie is the one I am posting about today!). I asked her if she was going to a Ladies' Event at the Club and she said yes and offered to pick me up. She sat next to me and made notes for me the whole lunch: hairdresser, doctors, restaurants, you name it. There was a whole 'nother side to town I had been missing out on. She invited our family to dinner with her family so our husbands could meet. I seriously feel like she has taken me under her wing. Behind her back, I have fondly been referring to her as "my Sugar Land mentor" because she is showing me the ropes. She now knows about my blog so I guess she now knows her new nickname. I downloaded a picture from our luncheon so you could see how darling she is. She is the brunette and the blonde is my neighbor across the street, Pam, who is also a doll! Thanks, Leslie! (oh, oops, I'm not supposed to thank you anymore!)

Family Song

So, today, my precious Hannah was reading my blog when she came flying down the stairs and said "Mommy, there's music on your blog." And I said, "yes, I know, I put it there." And she said, "you should put our family song on there". What a great suggestion. One thing you should know about our family is we LOVE to sing. Now, we aren't talented singers, we just all LOVE to sing. When our kids have friends over they laugh because someone is always singing. A few years ago one of my friends told us that they had a family chant. I thought it was so cute. They would do it and all cheer. So, we came up with a family song. Our song is to the tune of "We are the Champions" only it's "We are the Herrolds". We love to sing it, especially when there are friends in the car because it can really embarrass the girls.

This summer, when I was at camp with Hannah, I was talking with another counselor who was musing about how much her family loves to sing. And the conversation went something like this:
"We love singing so much".
"No, we love to sing".
"No, really, our family loves to sing."
"Well, do you have a family theme song?"
STUMPED HER!!! When we left town they were working on their family song!!! Every time you hear We are the Champions (and you will hear it often if you listen to Radio Disney), think of us and sing loud and proud!

Labor Day

We had a fun cookout this weekend. Ali and Scott and the kids were here, along with Mom and Dad and we invited my Aunt and cousins over too. Dad and Mom worked like dogs to help get everything ready. Mom spent hours in the kitchen. One upside to the move is that I am scoring new items in the kitchen. Every time Mom cooks something she decides my kitchen items aren't up to par and replaces them...one by one. Thanks, Mom. Dad smoked brisket and turkey and gave me a little training session on the smoker. It was delicious! Jacque even surprised me with a birthday cake!

Yesterday, after the Foster crew left, we headed to Galleria. This was my first time to get to shop since the move. Although Daniel was a pretty good sport, next time I plan to leave him behind. We finished the day with some Mexican food from Pappasito's.

The kids were not thrilled about getting out of bed for school this morning, but I am looking forward to a routine. I'm looking forward to watching the new 90210 tonight and watching the Republican National Convention! I'm easy to please!!!