The Scene at LSU'S Campus

On the way back to the PMAC in a cart, it looked like the scene in the movie Outbreak. FEMA officials, U.S. Marshalls, National Guard, and of course the survivors. Black Hawks were carrying in victims who were stranded on roofs. Buses rolled in from N.O. with other survivors. As Michael and I rode back to the PMAC, a lady fell out of her wheelchair and we scrambled to help her up.We met Coach Miles and Coach Moffiit in the PMAC to see all the survivors and it was the view of a hospital. Stretchers rolled in constantly and for the first time in my life I saw someone die right in front of me. A man rolled in from New Orleans and was badly injured on his head. 5 minutes later he was dead. And that was the scene all night. What did we do, we started hauling in supplies. And thousands of boxes of supplies. The CDC from Atlanta arrived directing us what to do. One of the U.S. Marshalls was on hand so the supplies could not become loot. I asked him what his primary job was. He serves on the committee of counter terrorism, but once he saw of the disaster, he donated his forces to come help. He said the death toll could be nearing 10,000. It was sickening to hear that. After unloading supplies, I started putting together baby cribs and then IV poles. Several of our fball players and Big Baby and Tasmin Mitchell helped us. At the same time, families and people strolled in. Mothers were giving birth in the locker rooms. The auxiliary gym "Dungeon" was being used as a morgue. I couldn't take myself down there to see it. I worked from 8 pm until 2:45 am. Before I left three more buses rolled in and they were almost out of room. People were standing outside, the lowest of the low from NO. The smells, the sights were hard to take.

A man lying down on a cot asked me to come see him. He said,"I just need someone to talk to, to tell my story because I have nobody and nothing left. He turned out to be a retired military veteran. His story was what everybody was saying. He thought he survived the worst, woke up this morning and the levees broke. Within minutes water rushed into his house. He climbed to the attic, smashed his way through the roof and sat there for hours. He was completely sunburned and exhausted. Nearly 12 hours later a chopper rescued him and here he was.

We finished the night hauling boxes of body bags and more were on the way. As we left, a man was strolled in on a stretcher and scarily enough he suffered gunshots. The paramedic said he was shot several times because a looter or a convict needed his boat and he wouldn't give it to him. Another man with him said it was "an uncivilized society no better than Iraq down there right now." A few minutes later he was unconcious and later pronounced dead. I then left as they were strolling a 3 year old kid in on a stretcher. I couldn't take it anymore. That was the scene at the PMAC and it gives me a new perspective on things. For those of you who I haven't been able to get in touch with because of phone service, I pray you are safe. Send me an email to let me know. God bless.
Bill Martin
LSU Sports Information--

Katrina

Bill and I are glued this evening to the disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi. Natural Disasters usually don't rate very high on the emotion scale for me, not that I'm uncaring, just that I never can comprehend the impact on a place I've never seen. 9-11 was an entirely different story. In this case, however, I have been there. I have family in Baton Rouge who are without power, and who have felt some minor effects of this disaster. I imagine myself in the situations some of these poor folks have found themselves in, and my heart aches for them. The parents in the Super Dome trying to explain to their children why they haven't eaten, the folks wondering if there will be a home left that's worth salvaging, the old and sick being carried out in helicopters, people stuck in attics and on roofs, people trying to hitchhike a ride out, as cars pass already loaded down with the desperate.

Lord, come to their aid.

Thought I'd post a few pics of our happy day in New Orleans, in rememberance of a beautiful city, and in hopes that the water will soon recede and the city will be restored.
Towns and Adria at Cafe du Monde
Bill and Bo gazing at the Mighty Mississip'
Emma and Honey strolling in the French Quarter
Cousins on a happy day.

Put on a happy face!

I am in a foul mood this morning, for no apparent reason (though if you give me enough time, I'm sure I could come up with a few!) Heading out to work, when I remembered a tiny event from yesterday. I was emailing a doctor for work, and Emkins was standing next to me, REALLY encouraging me to put a "fmiwee face" on the email. I told her that I couldn't do it on g-mail, and she said "It's easy!" Then she went and got paper and a crayon and proceded to do a step by step demonstration of how to draw a "fmiwee face." Her creativity got the better of her and she ended up drawing this:

"It's a Fmiwee Face Pwincess, and she has a bwue fparkles in her cwown, because we wuv bwue, and pink, and wed. She has ba-yootiful haiw and bows and wipgwoss."

Well, that cheered me up! Off to work.

Give me Liberty or Give me Death.

I did it again on Saturday. I went looking for answers- for the verse or quote- for the song- for the word. I re-heally wanted something. I looked harder than I usually do, reading Galatians, Ephesians, my old songbooks....nothing. No epiphany.

Then I remembered Him.

And there He was, His sudden nearness filling me with a warm contentedness. Oh yes! You. You are the answer. So much so, that I forgot the questions. In this moment, You are all there is.

There is grace for all who come.

When the warmth faded with the onslaught of daily living, I had one idea ringing as a result of that weighty moment: Freedom.

We've been chosen to walk in Freedom- crucified and raised inside of Him! He is freedom. Outside of Him there are only shadows of liberty. Freedom is roaming about inside the fellowship of the Father and Son, and reveling with Him in the utter glory of who He is!

He says "Come anytime!" and He means it!

I KNEW it!!!!

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and a little sassy, you were meant for Paris.
The art, the fashion, the wine, the men!
Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park...
You'll love living in the most chic place on earth
What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Five Random Facts

This has been floating around the scrappers blogs, and since the likelihood that any of those fantastic divas will tag me, I am going to start the game in our little corner of the www! I am listing 5 random facts about myself, and then will "tag" the next person, who has to (if they want to be good sports!) put 5 facts about themselves in their blog.

So about moi:

1) I am still somewhat scared of the dark. I have made great strides in my "fear factor," but I still have those nights when I am just sure someone is trying to get in, and the tree branch shadows in my window are altogether too sinister.

2) I love meat and cheese sandwhiches. No tomato, no lettuce. Just Miracle Whip, meat and cheese. Add tortilla chips with ranch dressing, and I'm in lunch heaven.

3) I cannot comprehend "Clay Aiken Mania." I know he's gifted, and a really nice guy, but somehow, *shiver* no thanks. Too much bad contemporary Christian music in my past. I totally expect him to sing "Thank You" by Ray X. Boltz on his next album.

3.5) I hate the song "Thank You" by Ray X. Boltz.

4) I really think I'm going to be famous for something someday.

5) I went to my first and only prom as a freshman in college with a guy I barely knew. Poor thing. He deserved far better.

Your turn! If you've read it, post your five facts in the comment section!

Luh-ya.

Ps. -> Virginia, you're IT!!

Come in! Come in!

To all who are weary...come.
I did this page for a dare on 2ps, but in the creating process, I found I myself thinking of this verse, and the way the Lord is. I was wondering if I wanted to use this poem, because of the "liar, pretender, magic bean buyer" bits, but I realized that it is exactly what the Lord says to us.

All who are thirsty, come. All who are weary, come. All who have burdens, come. All who are needy, come.
I am Supply. I am Rest. I am Water. Come, little ones, come and live inside peace and happiness. Come into a fabulous world of wonder and delight! Come and know the mysteries of eternity! Come and experience the love that sparked creation! Come in and know me better!!

Some Things I'm Rather Fond of at Present...

The Sweetest Thing

This morning, Bo woke up to an alarm clock for the first time. He came in the office, and sat down on the couch, smiling, fuzzy headed and warm from bed. I asked him, "Are you excited about school?" "Eh...Not really, Mama. Why are you asking me that?" "Because you're smiling!" He leaned up against me and said "I'm smiling because I love you. Whenever I smile, it's because I love you."

Sunday, Sunday. I just don't like Sundays! I really am all about anticipation, so for me, it might as well be Monday! That's why Thursday nights are great, and Fridays are wonderful, Saturdays wane, and Sundays completely stink. Isn't that kinda sad? I need to change my thinking. I'll do it in three simple steps:

1) Decide what my negative thinking patterns are.
2) Decide what I want my positive thoughts to be.
3) Completely change my entire personality.

Easy as pie.

Bo starts first grade tommorrow, and his Darth Vader back pack is completely loaded and ready. He has given up the train table for a sleeker, cooler, and more lego/space friendly IKEA set. We haven't gotten the shelves yet (long boring story, all about how it's an hours drive to get there, and when we call, they say they have them in, but when we get there after driving ALL THAT WAY, they don't actually have them, or are using them for display....well, I guess the story is not that long, but still very boring.) but the rest of it is in! Oh, how I love IKEA!!!!!

We have moved the smaller desk next to his bed, and added a taller desk, that he can use for homework or writing. He's been doing alot of reading these days.
Well, I need to be a good parent and follow up with Emma to make sure she cleaned her room. She has a hard time when she pours all of her clips, ponytail holders, puzzle pieces, ribbons, My Little Pony brushes, and jewelry all over the floor. It is a bit intimidating.
The dryer has sounded it's psychotic buzzer, reinforcing the need to get off the computer.
Ciao, bella.

Contentment

You know what's great? A CLEAN HOUSE. I am high on the delicious odors of ammonia and windex! (Not really high, you know, just happy!) I have spent the morning cleaning, promising myself that I would not touch the computer until I finished and only partly believing that I could do it. I did!

I am blogging ergo I am finished cleaning.

When I truly enter into the activity of cleaning house, I can enjoy it. Approaching it they way I was raised to, I find fascination in the idea that there is some quirk in my cleaning methods that was probably a quirk for my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmothers. The use of a knife to scrape the scum off the bottoms of the chairs as the overture to the entire task. Wiping the floors around the toilets before scrubbing them. I shake out the dust rags, although they are now Super Absorbant, Electrically Charged, New and Improved Dustomatics that no earthquake could shake out! Still, I lean out the front door in my grungies to announce to the neighborhood and the surrounding world that: I, Sarah, am DUSTING!

Cleaning gives me time to appreciate what I have. I am grateful that I have two bathrooms to clean, and a kitchen to mess up, and a lovely bedroom to sleep in! My children each have their own rooms, reflecting their own personalities. What a blessing. I know it's trite, and there are people out there who are living in utter hell, but if I can't be grateful for what I've got, and enjoy what I've been given, well, then it's all moot anyway, isn't it? On the other hand, there are people who don't have to clean their houses, and have the delight of hiring someone to do it for them. (To those of you who do, I would never take that away from you. I think help is something all women deserve!)

Now, having said all this, you should know that I don't always, or even usually have such a blissful attitude regarding cleaning. Truly, I hate it. But that is when I am only partly committed to the task, and have about a million other things to do. We have had company like crazy this summer, but now, no one is coming this weekend, and there are no meetings or work (for me) so I could embrace the task this morning. Over breakfast I wrote the Unnecessary List (vital for my cooperation with myself) and announced to the children that there would be "chores" this morning. As they responded with eager, happy activity, I flashed-back to my own early responses.

Mom: "OK, Sarah, you dust the den and clean your room."

Sarah: "Ung. I don't like to dust! It's too hard to clean my room! Why do we always have to do chores on Saturday?" And, of course, the phrase heard 'round the world: "It's not faaaaaaiiiiir!"

And those were the GOOD days. Yet, looking back, my recollections are of the sensations: the smell of the furniture polish, the light shining on all the clean surfaces, the roar of the vacuum, and the smell of burning dust from that old pea green behemoth, the feel of warm laundry out of the dryer. (And of course the shouts of my mom: "DON'T GO IN THE KITCHEN OR THE HALL!!!!!! I'VE JUST MOPPED AND YOU'LL LEAVE FOOTPRINTS!!!!"

At home, the signal that we were almost done was the sound of the dust cloth across the piano keys. It indicated that lunch was near, and that the afternoon was looming in which I could play (preferably outside, to prevent any messing-up of the house), knowing my tasks were complete. As I finished up the dusting today in my piano-less den, with my children happily engrossed in a game on the floor, I heard the sound in my head, and felt content.

I'm just exhausted.

I have spent the entire evening reformatting this blog for your viewing pleasure. Note the new addition of the "blogs" list, which is very exciting to me, because I figured out how to do it all by myself! I'm a smartie today! (hopefully they will actually link...mumblegrumblemumble)

A huge day tommorrow. Many visits, and a meeting at the office. So I should to bed, and rest my weary bones in anticipation. But the good thing about a busy Thursday, is it makes you appreciate the Friday at home!

I remembered something today. His arms are always open. He is strong. I don't have to be. On that note- Sleep well, dear ones, sweet sleep. Good Night.

One Song!

One song! I have but One Song! One Song only for You One heart, tenderly beating, softly entreating, constant and true! One love that has possessed me, one love thrilling me through. One song my heart keeps singing, of one Love only for You!
Lord, you are my song, my heart, my yearning, my constancy, my faith, my life, my happiness! You are everything, Lord!

Two New Pages

Hey all. I did these two pages in response to a dare on 2P's. Getting along with that Destin book! I love all these photos of my dear family at the beach.

I"ll call it "The Tumbler"

Having invested ridiculous amounts of money we don't actually have- in a car we don't really drive that much, we decided to sell the van. Not that this breaks my heart, mind you. I never wanted to be in the mini-van driving class of women, but the gas mileage is killer, and we discovered we could save money by getting a different car. (If you read "different" as "older" you read that correctly.) Well, Bill went out yesterday and found this Toyota Camry and brought it home to me. I really like it! I know it's a 1992 model, but When I Was in High School, I thought this was one of the coolest cars ever, (I was/am a dork) and I have to say, I love the squareness of it more than the newer "used bar of soap" shape.
Now shout with me, ladies...it has a SUNROOF! All I have to do is open up that sucker, play some Spindoctors, Smiths or Cranberries, and I will feel like the coolest 17 year old ever, although in actuality, I will be the cheesiest 30 year old EVER. Ah me. Life is so much more fun in my head.
The fragrance they put in it is not "new car smell." It apparently is something coconutty, which should be called "Eau de Tanning Salon." I feel like putting on the blinders, rubbing on the lotion, and crashing on those cold creaking lights that warm up so nicely. I think that could be hazardous to the other people on the road, so I stay in my head for that one too.
The interior is black and grey, and feels very batmobile, so I can pretend that Christian Bale is with me too! Then I REALLY feel 17! (B understands- I had a terrible crush in High School, and he is, after all, the best Batman EVER.) Now, even in my head-that fantasy cannot possibly stand, so I'll just stick with the music and the smell.

So, I'm happy! I'm not 17, but I'm happy. I'm driving the 30 year old mother's version of this: Can't you see the resemblance?

Bless his heart...he was trying

I asked him to run to the grocery store today, and he did get most of the items I requested, plus chips and a pizza, and ...wait for it...a banana tree.
Now, I have to say that I think the banana tree is one of the singularly most unappealing decorative items you can place on a counter top, next to a fly swatter wearing an apron, but I know he was just trying to help. And he bought bananas! What can I say? He's a wonderful guy. Some wives have husbands who won't darken the door of the grocery store, and some wives have husbands who dominate the food selection process, and SOME wives have husbands who bring flowers or chocolates home from the grocery store. But not this wife! I have a husband who in the process of making my life a little easier, tries just a little harder to make it even a little more...easier...yeah. So, thanks, dear. You a'ite.