We're Back!!

Can you belive it!??? By the time I got home from the library, our power was on. Not only that, but our cable and internet are working just fine! Looks like we'll be hosting lots of power-less friends for a few days! No school for me until Monday. Matt goes back tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers - they worked!!!

Surviving Ike

So we made it through our first hurricane. I am going to give you more details on this post than you ever cared to know, but somehow, it's calming for me to write out all of our adventures from the past few days.
I am currently writing this from Matt's school's library. Clearly, we, along with 69% of the rest of Houston, are still without power. We do have water though!
So here's how it all went down:
Thursday: So I came home from school and immediately ran a load of dishes and did ALL the laundry in the house while Matt was braving the grocery store. He came back with the craziest assortment of whatnots, but it has helped us survive! We cooked up some chili and had lots of leftovers. We then went to Home Depot for plywood, a new drill, screws, etc. We came home and our wonderful neighbor, Eli, who is a contractor, came over and taught Matt how to put plywood up on windows with brick frames. He and Matt worked on our two houses for HOURS, but got us safe. We learned that Cori and Trent, Matt and Sara, and Nichole and Cody all decided to leave. We'd be braving this one solol
Friday: We woke up to the news of the crashing waves of Galveston and decided we'd venture out to look for a third flashlight or lantern. After our 3rd store, we went to Target, which was hilariously empty (the shelves I mean), but we did manage to get another gallon of water and some awesome glow sticks (Ocean's Eleven style!). We went to four or five restaurants before we found our beloved Cyclone Anayas was still open - a delicious lunch.
Getting closer to landfall, we got all candles out and ready and filled the bath tub with water. Summers and Chris lost power early - about 7ish - so they came over. Chris carried a case of beer and laptop and Summers came with wedding albums and her Prada shoes. The sight was hysterical. We sat watching the news for a long time. Summers went to sleep around midnight and the lights went out about 1am. The wind had been really strong, but it got crazy at this point until 7am. We watched the wind whipping for a long time. The coolest thing was the sky. It kept on lightning all morning long, but we never heard thunder b/c the wind was blowing so hard. But the weird part was the colors. When the lightning happened, the sky was TEAL, ORANGE, and PURPLE. It was so crazy. It was pretty scary, but kind of cool from then on out.
Saturday: The wind finally stopped blowing SO hard around 10am and we followed Chris and Summers to their house to check things out. Our complex did well. We only lost our very back fence and part of car port awnings. We did lose MANY limbs and leaves. We drove very slowly b/c of the wind and got to see how torn up the city was and FINALLY hear some news. Their neighborhood looked pretty bad. They lost part of their fence and many limbs. We all worked to clean up their yard as best we could, and then we grilled brauts and had ourselves a little garage feast. After a rainy walk to the Buffalo Bayou to see the flooding, Matt and I went back home and took down the plywood, etc. It was SWELTERING. You've NEVER felt such humidity. It was horrible for the rest of the day. It was so humid my carpet, couches, towels, clothes, pillows, and blankets were all damp. Soooooo gross. We decided we'd try to bathe. I called dibs on first! I got in the freezing cold bath water we had saved (we had NO water at this point) and stood. I lathered up, and then would use a tea pitcher to dump FREEZING colod water all over. It was horrible. Then Matt had to do the same using the water I just bathed in. Poor guy. That evening we heard that water was being sold for $35 a bottle nearby. Can you believe that? We heated our leftover chili on the grill's burner and used already cooked chicken to grill quesadillas. It was delicious, but I was so hot and emotional that night, I didn't eat much. We sweated the night away and a huge rain storm came in. That was the worst. The rain was coming in our open doors and windows (p.s. a roach flew at my head that night- not fun), Missy was soo hot and couldn't calm down b/c of the thunder. I took her in the rain to the car at 4am for A/C. It was so scary b/c it was sooooooo dark everywhere. We came back in and got back on our floor palate. We didn't get much sleep. That was the worst night.
Sunday: We did another round of showers, but this time got to use fresh water b/c a trickle had returned. Then we went to Fox Sports Grill with Summers and Chris for A/C (the Galleria never lost power) and food and football. It was nice. The line was insane! We were lucky to get a table. We stayed there until about 4 and then went back home. It was a little cooler so we sat outside with half the neighborhood and ate peanut butter and honey/jelly sandwiches. Then we got back on the floor (3rd night at this point - it's way hotter upstairs) and slept much better b/c of the cool front. We did have to sleep wearing Off b/c of all the bugs in the house by now. We all woke up cold.
Monday: Nichole and Cody had come back Sunday to find they didn't lose power, so they invited us over. We had WONDERFUL hot showers, watched the news, and Nichole cooked amazing chicken spaghetti for us. We just soaked up their A/C till about 3, then went home and played cards. Cori and Trent came over (they returned Monday afternoon) and we grilled the steaks we had in a cooler (by now the fridge had to be cleaned out) and wine by candlelight. It was pretty fun, but of course they had to leave at 8:30 to make it home before the city-wide curfew. We slept on the floor again, but didn't have to sleep with the door open finally. We woke up freezing.
Tuesday: We went over to the Agnews for hot showers (they have hot water but no power), and we're now at STCL mooching A/C and internet. I'm hoping for a yummy Mexican lunch if we can find someplace with power.

All in all, Matt and I have learned SO much this past weekend. We are tired of relying on people from other cities to tell us the news in our own, we're shocked that our church, less than a mile from our home, is a FEMA pod (and we actually needed the FEMA help), and we're blessed that we have some places of refuge and that we still have our home. We have many more stories to tell than I shared here. I hope I didn't bore you all to death, but it makes me feel better to release the emotions we've felt.

Thank you all for continually checking on us! We'll let you know as soon as we have power again. Keep praying!

Living in Houston...

I must say, last summer when I moved here, it was very odd to me to see the digital billboards that say "hurricane forming in the gulf, fill your tanks with gas."  It is even more strange to be expecting a hurricane.  I mean, I know it may not even be a hurricane, but wouldn't you be concerned if you'd lived in Dallas all your life and the possibility occurred?  It's odd.  I'm not really worried too much, just anxious.  As for now, it's very sunny.  As for tomorrow?  You can find all three of us staying home and waiting out the massive rain... cleaning house!  I can at least brag it's only going to be 87 tomorrow here - have fun in Dallas with the 108s guys!!

Sorry for the delay!

So, I know, I've been terrible about blogging, and you've all let me know. Haha! Oh well! So I will try to recap the last month as quickly as possible.
First, Missy did heal from her injury, only to re-injure herself last week. She is fine again, but I told her if she's going to have to keep going to the doctor she's going to need to get a job. Sheesh! Dog's are expensive!
So June wrapped up quickly. I did a training for a program called History Alive! that our district uses daily in our lessons. I was dreading going, but actually learned quite a few things. So it took a week out of my summer, but I think it may have actually been worth it. Who knew?
Matt went to work the last week in June. Then that brought the weekend of the 4th! We went to the Countryman lake house with Cori, Trent, and Missy. We all had a fantastic time. I was nervous about how Miss Priss would do, but she did wonderfully! We all enjoyed time on the lake, in the sun, and with Matt's family. I wish we were back right now!
Back to Matt's job - it's great! He has already gotten to do WAY more than he did all last summer and fall with his old firm. He's writing memo's, motions, etc. all the time, going to hearings and getting to sit at the real table and everything, and he even found a crucial error made by their opponents, which got Matt's firm exactly what they were asking for (which they may not have gotten otherwise!). I'm very proud of him.
This past weekend, Matt found out that he officially made next year's Moot Court team and that he will be the team's writer. For everyone besides Rachel who doesn't know what this means, he'll be writing the team's brief on the case they are given. The team will go to Austin for competition, but he won't have to do the arguing. However, a good portion of the team's grade will be based on Matt's brief. This is a wonderful opportunity for Matt, and thankfully, he's had some slow days at the office when he could already begin work on the project. He's a little nervous about working this fall, being on the team, and carrying a full load! (I am too!)
Other than that, Missy and I have been on summer vacation for the most part. As soon as we got back from the lake, Mom came for a week visit. We ran errands and she watched me cook dinner, but best of all, she did the dishes!! haha. We had a good visit - I always like for people to come see our life in Houston!
This week has just been doctor appt. catching up and errands that I can't do during the school year. Nothing exciting - so don't be jealous because you THINK I'm just lounging around! I'm trying to study to take a certification test August 4th, and it is NOT going well - so let's hope I can get that in gear!!
Next week I have professional development on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday evening I'm going to Dallas, where Matt will join me Friday night. Mom's taking us to Jersey Boys Saturday night! I'm also excited to see Natalie, Jen, Rachel & Tim, and Bubba, Dee, & the kids!!!!
I know this blog has been pretty boring - you probably do NOT care about all the details, but technically, yall asked for it! I'll be better about posting. Sorry! :(

Poor Misserkins...

Well, yesterday morning, Missy had a slight limp going on.  We called and made an appt. with the vet, but by the afternoon, she wasn't limping as bad and seemed to be running around.  So, we cancelled.  Then, when we started dinner, the poor thing couldn't even walk!  So we took her this morning, and she has a hyperextended elbow.  How pitiful is that!  We both (Missy and I) cried as the vet tried to figure out where exactly her pain was in her front, right leg.  She got some medicine which makes her feel much better, but wears off after four hours.  Needless to say, either Matt or I have to sit with her at all times, making sure she doesn't try to jump or walk around too much or do just about anything.  It's so pitiful... she just limps around with that little, tiny leg in the air.  Poor Miss... hopefully she'll be back to herself after the weekend :(

1 year!

Well, this Monday will be one year since Matt and I got married!!  Can you believe it!?  And he's still the best thing since sliced bread :)  Tonight we're going out for a very special anniversary dinner, but I don't know where :)

Last weekend Paige and Chance got married!  We had a fabulous weekend, and everything was beautiful, especially the bride.  They returned from their honeymoon last night, and I got to talk to Paige.  She said they, of course, had a fabulous time in the Bahamas.

Matt has landed a stellar job for the summer.  He was hired 5 minutes into his interview last Wednesday.  He hopes to get started this week.  They have to finish running his background check which apparently takes four days!  I'm sooooo proud of him.  Through many prayers and much support from our family and friends, we're excited about his future with this top notch firm.

I don't have too much else to report, so I suppose it's goodbye for now!  

Surprise!

Surprise!  Rachel came to visit us this weekend.  The little one let us know Friday that she'd be staying with us the weekend - good thing we love her.

We've had a fun time though.  Friday night she got in late after I got home from the 8th grade dance (oh yeah!).  Saturday morning we went to the Farmers Market and got yummy stuff.  Then we went grocery shopping and swung by Trent and Cori's to see the progress.   Saturday night the 5 of us went to dinner at D'Amicos and then to Cova for a wine tasting.  Good times.  

Today we went to church and Matt cooked a delish meal.  Now we're all just bumming around.  We were happy to see her this weekend since we'll miss her 21st birthday festivities in College Station this next week.

Events for the week: 

8th grade awards Thursday night and leaving for San Antonio and the lake on Friday :)

I'm missing my gal pals... hope yall are well.  

P.S. If you haven't tried Slim-A-Bear 100 cal Klondike bars - you totally should.

P.S.S.  Natalie - I've been running!!  Can you believe it?

As I type this post, I must keep blinking because my eyes are about to slam shut at 7:45.  The past 2 weeks have been insane for Matt and me.  Between the 8th grade TAKS tests, his finals, a trip to Dallas to throw Paige's lingerie shower and bach party and attend her bridesmaids tea, a week full of more finals for Matt, and spending the past 3 days painting Cori and Trent's gorgeous new home, I'm out of gas.  And that, my friends, is where we've been.  I really don't have too much to say because we're both about wiped out.  I do have a few stories though:

1. Thursday afternoon I was "blessed" enough to be the first adult on the scene to a 7th grader who decided to jump down 10 stairs.  His shin looked like an elbow was coming out of it.  His lower leg was snapped in two and the bone was definitely sticking out - blood everywhere.  So that was interesting - my first ever broken bone encounter.

2. After the broken leg, Hamilton hosted Holocaust evening with the amazing Walter Kase speaking.  I didn't get home to well after nine.  The next morning, I awoke to Matt tapping me on the shoulder and saying "Em, it's 7:00!"  I usually GET to school (40 min. away) at 7, and must be there by 7:30.  Needless to say, I made it by 7:40, but it was not my most attractive day at Hamilton.  Ha!

3. Friday night Cori, Trent, and I primed their master bath for paint.  About 8:30, we went out to clean brushes and rollers, and after Cori and I completely covered our hands in primer trying to clean stuff out, we realized it wasn't coming off.  Trent and I simultaneously looked at each other and cracked up - DUH! the primer was oil based - you need paint thinner or turpentine to get it off!  Oh no!!  Matt came at the perfect time from his final and cracked up when he saw this only moments later.  He and Trent went to get the goods and came to our rescue.  Matt said "Michael Jackson called.  He wants his white gloves back."

Wish Matt luck on his last 2 finals this week.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jesus Saved Me

Today, I was saved by Jesus.  I know what you're thinking.  "I thought that happened when she was five?"  You're right.  But let me explain.

So today I went to get my allergy shots.  I usually do this Tuesdays, but tomorrow I'm helping Lisa shop for her new job.  So, today on my way home from shots, I came the Beltway.  I exited the Beltway and got on the huge overpass to get on I-10 (aka the world's 2nd busiest, most dangerous highway).  For you Dallasites - think going on the High 5 from 635 to Central at rush hour times 10.  So... I enter the ramp and realize my wheel feels funny.  Oh wait, the battery light came on.  Oh wait!  I CAN'T MOVE MY STEERING WHEEL!!!  After the nearly poop in your pants moment you'd think I had, I calmly just "aimed" my car.  Only by God's amazing grace did I "aim" my car around and down the ramp, onto I-10 (all going about 50 mph) and then onto an exit and, somehow, into Jason's Deli.  After a call to AAA, Jesus came to save me.  Literally.  The tow truck that came to my rescue was driven by none other than, Jesus.  I had to chuckle at the situation as my car dripped gallons upon gallons of pink goo into the parking lot.  And so, Jesus strapped the little, red fireball on, and away we went to the car shop.  

Needless to say, I'm now the proud driver of a mint green station van (cross between a station wagon and mini van).  At least it has a switch blade key.  And, Missy thinks we should keep it.

And so was my Monday - the Monday that Jesus saved me.

These are a few of my favorite things...

1. I really love being married.  Matt makes a pretty awesome husband.  And he takes care of me.  And he knows what I need - often before I know! :)  

2. I really love our church here.  It's pretty great.

3. I really really love weekends and wish they could last forever.

4. I love taking a bubble bath before bed.  I always have - even since I was a little girl, I think.  

5. I love that Matt is so predictable.  It's pretty adorable.  It's quite perfect for my type A personality.

Greek Salad

Why am I obsessed with them?  I could eat them once a day I think.  Is there something wrong with me?

P.S.  My brother is really funny.  I never knew this until the last few years.  But really, he really is!

"The Junk Food Stage"

There comes a day every fall and spring that I dread. Today was that day. Now, Matt has been studying since April 3rd for his finals, and everything has been running very smoothly. This is his last week of classes, and though busy, he's seemed very under control. This afternoon, I came home. Matt was gone to class. However, his remnants remained.
You see, today was the day Matt went into the "junk food stage" of studying. Every fall and spring on this particular day, he goes to the store and brings home the following: sunflower seeds (the jumbo bag), a fruity gummy candy of sorts (this time gummy Lifesavers), actual fruit snacks (this time I'm blessed to see a super variety pack of Sharks, Creepy Crawlers, and some other creatures of the night - I think in total there are 30 packages), frozen pizzas, ice cream, frozen chicken tenders, frozen french fries, Crunch n' Munch, chips, fruit juice, and other assorted items (this time it was a pound cake from the bakery). So yes, I am in the midst of nearly 10,000 calories of Matt Heaven. For the next 3 weeks, my husband will consume more fruit juice, fruit snacks, and sunflower seeds than any of you ever thought possible.
Try staying on a diet during finals. Impossible. Needless to say, he'll lose weight out of the whole ordeal. Help!?

TAKS and Law...

So it's Monday night at 2351 Winrock, and things are the norm for this time of year.  

We went to Waco as planned Saturday and had a blast driving up and back with Summers and Chris.  Paige and Chance's shower / game combo evening was great!  

Now it's back to the grind.  Matt had an interview today at Maloney and Martin, he has one Wednesday with The O'Quinn Law Firm (oooo... scary) and awaits a phone call with and exact time interview with Tippon Jones.  We also found out Paige's mom's work is looking for a summer law intern.  Soo.... in recap, Matt is doing incredible with his summer employment possibilities and is swimming through an ocean of studying for finals.  I'm only blogging because I can't turn on the t.v. while he's working on this trial binder.  

My kids will be taking MY TAKS test a week from Friday.  Starting tomorrow, we will do nothing but review the entire year for the next week.  Boring!  But, I only have one more TAKS tutoring session left, which REALLY makes my day!  

Needless to say, our lives are not the note-worthy right now, but we're keeping busy.  

This week should be much more calm.  Our only evening event is Matt's bball game Wednesday night.  No out of town trips this weekend, so some much needed cleaning and rest is in order!  As for now, Missy and I will be cuddling and playing until the boy is done working tonight.  

Lots of love!

Em

Coffee and 6:00am....

Well, the Countrymans slept in today...even Missy!  We made it to an astonishing 6:30am this beautiful Saturday morning.  I'll give credit to the lovely Rachel Sam who kept us out past our curfew last night.  Rachel and Tim are in town for a wedding, so we got to entertain Rachel last night!!  I missed her so much!!!!  

But back to this morning, I figured, hey, I should start that blog this morning, what else am I doing?  So here you go Jen, it's all for you!

Though we're up bright and early, it will not be a "normal" Saturday for long.  After we get our coffee down, we'll be getting ready to go to Waco with Summers and Chris to attend Paige and Chance's couples shower today.  Between wedding events, Matt's finals, and the upcoming TAKS test, the Countryman household is full of craziness... so I'm not sure when we'll be getting back to writing or making this blog more exciting... sorry :(