Zachary, Ophelia, and Helena 

Deven's soccer game 

A growing Cubs fan 

Long and Martin-Weber kids + 1 eating dinner 

Helena and Rosie in the car 

Dang, it's HOT in Houston

We're back in Houston it's really HOT! The trip back was much shorter but the girls had a bit of a harder time. When we started the drive back Ophelia told us "we want to do as good on the trip back as we did on the way here." It was so sweet. They tried and really did pretty well just not as well as before. The biggest problem? They didn't want to go back to Texas, they wanted to stay with their friends, Deven and Zachary.

Our time at the Long's was wonderful. We forgot we had evacuated for a storm and felt more like we had never even left IL. The only part that reminded us that there was a three year gap were the ages of our children and that the Long's are in a new town that we don't know at all. We were very well cared for, the Long's church put us up in an extra parsonage they had prepared as a temporary shelter for evacuees, provided us with some basic food supplies, treated us like old friends or family instead of the strangers we were, and the Long's put up with us at their house all day for sharing all our meals together. My favorite part was when we got to share some time worshiping together playing through music we used to do and introducing some new songs to each other. That was so cool. They even allowed us to share a worship offering with the congregation and Becky, Don, Jeremy and I got to sing and play together again for the first time in a very long time. We stayed longer than we planned just because we could and we were having too good of a time to leave! It was great to get to spend so much time with them and we're already talking about our next visit- the girls can't wait.

I'll post some pictures soon! We're doing great- the only real evidence of the storm was the smell of our refrigerator (not as bad as I thought it would be) and the stores being out of dairy, meat and produce. Otherwise everything's great but dang, Houston is HOT! Let us know how you all are doing too!

Jessica

2 Adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs, 1,000 miles, 26 hours

It's funny really. Hurricane Rita psyched everyone out. At one point it was forecasted as a historic event, headed towards Galveston/Houston area as a category 5 storm... even a category 6 if there was such a thing. What ended up being the historic event was the 2.5 million people that evacuated for a category 3 hurricane. Don't laugh too hard. But hey, at least we get to visit the Longs!

We were part of those 2.5 million people and a now resting comfortably in southern Illinois now. There were moments along the way when we thought we were crazy, that we should have stayed in Houston but that wasn't possible. When we went to get supplies to be able to stay we discovered that there wasn't a store in Houston with the most basic of supplies. Water, batteries, non-perishable food was all gone and so it was decided, we'd be leaving. We weren't sure where we'd go. To my parents was considered but then we'd have to take I-10 through New Orleans so that was out. Jeremy's family in Colorado was briefly considered but his mom is out of the country on a mission trip and that seemed like a really long drive. We thought of friends in Dallas and then heard reports of I-45 being closed to new traffic as all of Galveston headed up that way. Our friends in IL whom we haven't seen in 3 years was the only real option we had- and we're thrilled to death to be here. We've been saying for so long now that we wanted to drive up here and visit with old and very dear friends, friends that were a very important part in shaping our lives and us embracing the call to ministry. Hurricane Rita may be a devastating hurricane but we're grateful for her forcing us to do what we'd only talked about for 3 years. So, with 2 adults, 3 kids (ages 2, 4, and 6), 2 dogs, a Honda Accord, 1,000 miles ahead of us, and a full tank of gas (THANK YOU GOD! We filled up Monday before we even really knew the storm was headed our way!) we began what ended up being a 26+ hour trip. As we started out on I-59 we initially thought we got lucky with the minimal traffic on the road but that was short lived and the first leg of our trip took 12 hours to go a misley 230 miles and finished our first tank of gas. It was depressing to realize that in the time our entire trip should have taken (15 hours or so) we weren't even 400 miles from home. When we finally broke free of the evacuation traffic we started making good time but by the time we were able to actually lay down and sleep Jeremy and I had gone over 44 hours with just a few cat naps in the car. We arrived alive and unharmed only by the grace of God. The girls did absolutely wonderful in the car all that time. Near bed time the second night in the car emotions and patience was running thin but that was the first time we had tears of frustration and general crabbiness and, truth be told, I think I was the first one. We're really proud of how the girls handled themselves and cared for one another on our trip up here. Now they having a wonderful time with Deven and Zachary and have asked if we could stay here all the time.

We're here for a bit, have no idea when we'll be able to get back into Houston so we're enjoying our vacation!

Friends and Family

As hurricane Rita turns her attention towards the Texas Gulf Coast we've decided to go ahead and leave. Our home isn't in the flood plain but there have already been runs on the supplies and we don't think we want to stick around for more panic. We're headed to southern Illinois to spend some much over-due time with some good friends we haven't seen in three years, sounds like way more fun than sitting through a storm. Our house and area should come through the storm just fine and we plan on coming back Monday depending on the reports from the area. My parents have our contact information and I'm sure I'll be able to get to internet at some point as well. We're doing great (it's only Wed, but hey, at least you know!) and ask for your prayers for all of the Texas Gulf Coast facing this storm.

Peace.

Mommy, I Funny You!

We're staying at the shelter again tonight, I'm on the office computer as I write this. It's hot but everyone is in good spirits and having fun and the girls are excited they get to stay up late. Jeremy made us cookies and one of the guests here cooked a fabulous dinner. Fridays are normally our family night, we've just expanded our family I guess.

Helena's sense of humor is developing and it's precious. Last night when we were putting the girls to bed, I went in for my usual good night kiss from Helena. She dodged me and then pretended to be asleep, complete with snoring. "Hey! Where's my kiss? You can't go to sleep without giving me a kiss!" I exclaimed as I moved in to smoother her in kisses. After the giggles settled down Helena looked at me with that content and loving look that two year olds have and said "Mommy, I funny you!" and gave me a big kiss and hug. Those little chubby arms wrapped around my neck and her soft cheek pressed against mine and then she whispered "I love you mommy." My chest tightened as my eyes misted and my hug lingered a little longer and a little tighter as I whispered back "I love you Helena." I wouldn't trade this for the world, not for the world.

Ophelia, Katrina, Family Night and Sleeping Bags

The girls are completely fascinated by the fact that there is a storm out there called "Ophelia." We've tried to explain to Ophelia that it's not really "her" storm just a name that the storm was given. Still, she was concerned that the storm that shares her name will destroy people's homes like Katrina did- of biggest concern was that she'd somehow be responsible if something happened to Grandparents Martin or their house. I think we kind of understand that it wouldn't be her fault and she does like hearing her name on the news!

Tomorrow evening all of us are spending the night at Communica de Gracia, a local mission/community center turned shelter. They have about 35 evacuees staying there. We'll be available to the residents in the case of emergency, be the responsible person who can make a decision in case of emergency, answer the phone, help guests find stuff they need, clean up/close up after everyone else leaves and simply hang out. Friday evenings are usually our family night so we're all going along. The girls are pretty pumped that they'll get to sleep in their sleeping bags away from home, it's quite an adventure to them. It's a great opportunity for all us and I'm glad the girls can be involved too. Hope all of you are doing ok, leave us a comment and let us know!

The Artist 

Discovering a new technique 

Fear Factor

"You have 60 seconds to eat all of that. Now, if you drop any of it, spit it out, or feed it to the dogs you are disqualified. If you should succeed... You're on your way to a scoop of ice cream and the first one to finish gets chocolate syrup too." The two contestants finish together and show their empty mouth and hear the words "congratulations! Obviously, fear is not a factor for you!" You are reading- "FEAR FACTOR, the Martin-Weber edition." The stunt? Eat all of the gross, disgusting, cooked veggies on your plate, usually such repulsive delicacies as green beans (those are now a favorite actually), asparagus (another favorite now), beans, mushrooms (still by far the most disgusting challenge), and summer squash and zucchini- that was today. The girls have never really seen fear factor but for some reason this trick works. My latest thought, when do you stop playing games to get them to eat their food? But this is SO much better than the "you're not leaving the table until you finish that" bit and they eat all of it this way over the obligatory "eat as many bites as you are old" line. You may call this bribing and tricking, we call it "creative parenting."

Here's a pic of Ophelia painting, she's being nominated for the gifted and talented program at school. She's turning into quite the artist and doing great at school. We're so proud of our girls!

By the way, if you want to comment (and please do, we love it) you're going to have to go through a word verification. We're tired of comment spam- I had to hide our the comments on one of our latest post as the comment spam we received led to a very inappropriate site.

Hmmmm... what's this? Opening presents 

With a Microphone and a guitar a new girl group is formed... looking for bass, drums, and back up vocals... 

We LOVE the Pom-poms! 

Helena and the cake- Can't wait for a fork mom... 

The party crowd 

The Cake 

The Birthday Girl blowing out her candles 

This past week

Things have been a little crazy around here this past week. Work was really involved this week, we had a special worship gathering, raised some money for victims of Katrina, very belated birthday party for Lavinia (yes, we're talking nearly 6 months...), I got sick, and volunteering at an area shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees. With the exception of the sick part and the Hurricane devastation part, I enjoyed most of it. We had a neat experience yesterday as a family spending time in a shelter. Most of the evacuees were gone during the day, running errands, registering with FEMA and searching for missing loved ones. Still, with those that were there we had plenty of work to do. A crew prepared food, another organized donations (mom, I folded clothes ALL DAY), others did some cleaning, and still others bookmarked helpful websites for the evacuees to collect important information. We all got to spend some time with the evacuees that were still there during the day and heard their disturbing stories. One man is missing his children, he is overwhelmed with concern, grief and fear. He believes his children were sent to Dallas while he is here in Houston and he's certain they have no idea what happened to him. Another young man told us stories and showed us pictures of his flooded house and neighborhood and the woman that lived across the street from him being unwilling to leave her pets and as far as he knows is still there. There are many, many more. Jeremy and I plan to use as much of our time as possible to serve with the Red Cross feeling that's the least we can do. If you want to know how you can help get in touch with the Red Cross or Volunteer Houston. If you are out of state I can't encourage you enough to give what money you can. Material donations are helpful but there are so many specific needs that are just so huge that money is really what's needed. I for one can tell you that clothes are great but it would be best if these people in need of clothing can personally go get the kind of clothing they really need themselves.

Lavinia's birthday party was great! We had a blast (even as I was starting to feel bad) and Carina and Lavinia were so excited to see each other. Enjoy the pictures above.

Jess