Ever Have That Feeling ?

Have you ever had that feeling when you wake up in the morning that a cold front has blown in and fall has arrived ? That's exactly how I felt when I got up this morning. I am so ready for some cool, crisp weather. I love to go outside when its cool and take a deep breath. It makes me feel so good. Not to mention, drinking coffee and hot tea makes more sense. I was so looking forward to sitting on the back porch this year with my husband and drinking our favorite hot teas. Of course, we will be under construction by then. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for our house to be back in working order by Christmas though. This is our first Christmas, it has to be fixed !!! Enough whining, I know. My inkling this morning was partly correct. It was pretty cool outside, but its going to warm up to the usual Africa hot stickyness, I'm sure. Cooler days are ahead for us and I can't wait !

I've Got The Power !!

Who knew getting the power restored at our house would be such a
monumental event ! We stayed at my parents house again last night, but James took the dog home this morning and sent me a message on my phone that just said "power!". I was so excited ! I really wanted to take the day off from work and spend time cleaning the house, doing laundry, deodorizing everything, and of course who could forget, stare at the big hole in our roof ! That's still another story yet to come I'm sure. I'm so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight and taking the biggest candle lit bubble bath you've ever seen. Emma said this morning that she can't wait to sleep in her bed too. She had to go back to school this morning and it was such a rush. Since the hurricane, she hasn't been to sleep until 10 or 11 every night. This morning was very hard on her getting up. Not to mention, we both needed showers and had to get ready and we still had to go by the house and get clothes etc, etc......So, after a long 14 days away from home, I'm very thankful to be getting to go home tonight to our smelly house with no food ! We are so blessed with what we have and are so grateful to God. We will continue to pray for those who have yet to receive power and the families who will not have a home to go home to. God bless.

Tales of a Blimp

What is it about a hurricane that makes people want to really junk out ? I've gone on a junk food eating binge in all this and I can't stop. I've eaten chips by the handful, I've had Cokes like they are going out of style, and I've eaten more Pop Tarts than I know what to do with ! Even amidst all of this, I'm craving Mexican food like crazy ! Who wouldn't want a big cheesy plate of enchiladas.....Needless to say, once our power is restored and our fridge is restocked, we are going on a diet ! Maybe not a diet, but we will get back to our regular eating habits of "real people" food. I told James that we are going to live on salad and grilled chicken for a while....Thankfully, he agrees :) What a man !!!

Weathering The Storm

Well....Ike came and went, but he left alot of nastiness behind. The devastation left by the storm is so unreal and the images that are circulating are heart breaking. The storm has proven to us all how small we really are on this earth and how little control we have over our lives. We were so blessed to have our lives after a storm like this. As many of you know, Emma and I stayed at my parents house during the storm since James had to work. We had some friends staying in our house and they got the scare of their life during the first half of the storm. A tree invited its way into our breakfast area and caused a lot of damage. The insurance adjuster came to the house yesterday and the breakfast area, a good chunk of the kitchen, half of the living room, the entire back porch, and half of our roof will all have to be replaced. Oh well. We still have our home and have been so blessed through all of this. We have had more family and friends offer help to us. It's really been amazing. I've had such a peace through all of this and I know its because I'm trusting God to carry us through. Here are a couple of pictures of some of the damage.

This is our fancy new sky light....People pay good money for these !!!

God is good, ALL the time and in the midst of everything I keep thanking God for His blessings.

The Essentials

All this hurricane business has made me start nesting. I haven't stopped cleaning for 2 days now! Even Emma has been on a roll. I asked her earlier to get her suitcase so we could get some things together for an "over-nighter" at Nonni and Grandpa's. She was madly dashing around the house and I really wasn't paying much attention to what she was packing. All I knew was her suitcase runneth over. I decided to fix her suitcase so we could actually zip it and here's what I found: 8 pairs of panties, 7 DVD's, 1 mylar bell cat toy thingy, 1 large stuffed Shamu from Sea World, 1 small werewolf/dog stuffed animal that I have no clue where it came from, 1 pair of shorts, 1 silky nightgown and a pair of High School Musical house shoes. James and I just had to laugh. These were her essentials and who could really blame her for wanting to lounge around in shorts and "Troy" house shoes !!

Bring On The Rain!

Amber has been having all the fun posting so i figured i should give it a shot myself. After all it is a family blogspot right? It certainly looks like we will take a direct hit from Ike! I wish I had Tinas phone number so I could get some advice. (i know thats wrong) We will be fine I'm sure. God has blessed us with many resources and options that many people don't have. We pray for the safety of our friends, family and community. At the same time I am a little excited to see this thing. I hope you all stay safe and dry.

James

Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy

I decided to sing a song this morning instead of freaking out about the storm ! I'm sitting here at work and its already like a deserted town with the lack of employees and customers. There have been a lot of mandatory evacuations for the area. I'm trying not to obsess over this storm, but I keep finding myself staring at the hurricane tracker every 10 minutes, and this last time I squinted my eyes really hard and I really think I actually pushed the storm away from us with my amazing mind powers....yes, my brain is fried. I've gotten several emails about Emma getting out of school early today. Hopefully she'll think its fun and not be too nervous about what's going on. She already told me this morning that she is NOT happy about losing power because she likes to watch her shows ! Me, being the vain one that I am, I'm not happy about losing power because my hair will be a mess. Bad bad, I know.....So for now, with my eyes closed, I will sing a happy song, as I try to find a calmer place in my mind....

The Cone Of Uncertainty

Ah yes....that dreaded "cone of uncertainty" the media keeps talking about. In other words, "we have no idea, we just work here". We don't know yet if we are in for a direct hit frome hurricane Ike, and it could very well turn even more, and probably will, at the last minute. Either way, we are still going to take a good licking from this bad boy. I pray for safety and protection for everyone. I am going to try to stay positive as best I can and take it all in stride...I'm not ready for the flying monkeys yet !

Nail Biter....

Hurricane Ike, turn away from me !! Don't you just love knowing that the weather men will be sure to tell us at the very last minute whether or not we will get hammered by a huge storm ?? Gotta love it. In all fairness, I realize that they just really don't know what Mother Nature is going to do, but GEEZ.....the angst is killing me !!! Wait....and see.....

The Funktastic Photo Voyage

Ok, so...not really a voyage, but I would like to share a few pictures of our family...

They are too cute for words in this picture...

One of the prettiest days of my life......

I know this isn't much, but Emma has hollered for me from the other room about a million times, I have a kitten on my shoulder, and the dish washer is making a horrendous noise...I should investigate !

Sadness and Happiness

Well, I guess you could say we are a little "weird" some times. Back in March I decided that I was going to get a new pet. There are plenty of specialty breeds of dogs that I'd love to have but I was never "wowed" by anything, nor was I sold on the idea of shelling out big $$$ for something that is going to eat, sleep, poop and who knows what else !!! Wait....isn't that a kid ??!! Just joshing....So anyhow...I got the bright idea of getting a pig. NO, not the giant mud wallowing, slop eating swine, but the cute little pot-bellied kind. Alas, Priscilla Rose was born into our family in June. Now I know what some of you are thinking, but let me say, this was one of the neatest animals I've ever been around. She was so smart and sweet. I thought she was a genious because after 2 days with us she was already doing tricks ! Little did I know that pigs are the 4th smartest mammal on the totem pole. Even still, very cool. We had Priscilla up until a few weeks ago when something awful happened. To this day we really aren't sure exactly what took place, but we know that she was somehow poisoned in our back yard and we lost her. This was so sad to me and I'm still a little in shock. Our dog was the most affected by this and was seemingly very depressed. James and I threw around some ideas on getting another animal to help with the dogs sadness, and I guess ours too........

......Here comes the happiness !!! We are loco !! We decided that we would get a kitten for Emma. Cats are fun and easy to take care of, so this was a perfect idea. I had 2 rules about getting a kitten. Short hair. Female. Well, my birthday rolls around and we are headed to Target because I REALLY wanted something, but half way to Target I looked at James and said "I have no clue what it was I wanted from Target?" (turning the car around)...arrive at the pet store. Let me just say, pet stores are obviously a dying breed. I've been in very few "nice" pet stores in my life and this one was about as creepy as they come. Cages stacked everywhere with strange animals in them. Filth on the floor. I won't even go into some of the patrons that graced this place. We rounded a "cage" corner and found a 3 story cage full of cats. They were all so cute and cuddly and I was tempted to just let them all out. I proceeded to get information on the cats (remember my 2 rules), and before I know it, James has fallen in love with one and Emma has fallen in love with the other. They were the 2 fluffy brothers hanging on the side of the cage that wanted out the most. At this point, I was out-numbered in the decision making process and Clyde and Ringo were headed home with us. We have all fallen in love with these clowns and although there is still sadness over the loss of Priscilla, Clyde and Ringo are a nice addition to the Asbill household. The dog is even happy again. =)

Welcome !

As you can see, our family blog is brand new and a work in progress ! We are so excited to share with others what is going on in our lives. I had a very difficult time coming up with a name for our site, but somehow managed to think up "Asbill Soup". Over time, I think thats just want you'll see on here. "Soup". Basically, a melting pot of totally random thoughts and ideas that we find intriguing. Once we get rolling on our little project, I hope you will enjoy what we have to offer !