September in Pictures

Kelli came to town to help with Harvey relief so we worked hard! 

And ate well!  Adel cooked this amazing dinner for my birthday that I am still drooling over. 

Nom Nom! 

And a homemade chocolate cake!

Here he is, hard at work too!

More hard work! 

Getting professional! 

Shannon joined us a couple of times.  I'm so thankful for the sweet time together. 

Her first legit lost tooth!  (first one had to be pulled) 

The bottom one this time.  

We played hard too! 

Annnnndddd...I fell in love with a certain shelter dog.  

This is not good. 

Yeah, she came home with me later that day. 

He was sick and I had to go to the mall to get my cracked phone screen fixed.  Priorities. 

Adjusting to home life.  She is a true street dog.  Not super easy.  Aye, what have I done?!

Sibling weekend! 

Friends at Challenger Seven Park

Oh my goodness, the cuteness! 

No wait, this one is my favorite.

No, it's this one. 

Or this one!  So cute! 

Just chillin'

Ummm, donut day! 

And that's a wrap for September! 

Isaac's 12th birthday!

Garage is prepped and ready for video gaming fun for Isaac's 12th birthday party!  We've got the small screen, the medium screen, 

And the big screen! 

And the friends!

Then we took them to the park for a nerf battle! 

 Followed by ice cream! 

Thankful for good friends! 

Harvey

 What do you do when you are stuck at home due to a Hurricane and you still have power?  Bake, of course! 

Adel made pork buns!

They were ridiculously amazing! 

Yup!

Drooling now...

Puzzles are good too.

You head outside between rain bands to stretch your legs and assess the damage. 

And if you are insane, you let your kids play in the flooded streets (and pray they don't get a disease from the water!) 

Insanity level two occurs when you get out the boogey boards.  

You take in a stray dog that has stress diarrhea all over your carpets

When the road waters recede,  you head out to help people pull up soggy carpet. 

You help your church organize relief efforts

You celebrate the rainbow

You get a kick out of the church's parking lot that is now a lake

You work alongside strangers, feeding them with the random snacks everyone happened to bring along

You work alongside friends too! 

You help heartbroken people pull their ruined belongings to the curb

You cheer on your friends with little kids who deliver packing boxes to those in need!

You have "his and hers" hammers for tearing out moldy sheetrock

You serve alongside your spouse

And enjoy the lunch break on the lawn

You watch the piles grow bigger and see the community rally together 

You take the kids to buy ice cream bars 

And hand them out to volunteers working in stranger's homes

And sometimes you run into friends while you are doing it!

You never get used to seeing the ever-growing piles of damaged belongings.

You cook 13 pounds of ground beef 

Chop cilantro 

And head out with your small group to feed the volunteers

You teach your son to serve others too

And then you celebrate his contribution

Nope, you never get used to it. 

You cheer on your uncle as he rescues your stranded grandparents. 

What an amazing experience that I hope to never have again!