Rocco The Raccoon

I laid awake at midnight the other night as I heard noises coming from my carport. It was too dark to catch a glimpse, but from the sounds I imagined that Rocco the Raccoon was having a party going in and out of the trash can and  drinking the last drops he could get out of the cans in the recycling bin. I'm pretty sure I heard him texting his other raccoon friends to come, Lady Gaga playing in the background. And it's true, raccoons will eat anything. ANYTHING. Even month or so leftovers that you find in the back of the refrigerator.

As I left for work yesterday, I drove past a raccoon that had been hit by a car. I thought maybe it was Rocco. (We previously thought he might have died in the great Hurricane Irene Tree Incident). As I took out the trash last night, I thought about poor Rocco and his potential demise.

Luckily, Rocco is still alive and kicking. How do I know?

Well I heard Paige pull up in the driveway just after 8. A minute later, I heard screaming. My-life-is-in-danger, running away kind of screaming. I peeked my head out the door  and saw nothing. I waited. Looked. And then Paige ran back out of the house to get her son from the car. She was in such a rush and panic. She had attempted to take out the trash and Rocco was IN the trash can!

He was unphased. Paige ran off screaming while he got back to work foraging for food. I was on the phone with Paige when she watched him leisurely climb out of the trash can off into the unknown about 15 minutes later.

So Rocco is alive and kicking, and apparently not as afraid of us as we are of him.

I Don't Think I'll Ever Get Tired of Seeing This

(Look, I managed to make attack helicopters look girly!)

Over The Hump

Fall is in the air here, and I'm pretty sure everyone couldn't be happier about it. Fall means, another season down and one to go. It means 5 months in, 5 months more. It means holidays and school and football. It means the countdown is getting smaller and we are that much closer to our husbands being home. 

Oh my word, I need my husband to be home. 

When you walk through the water I will be with you
When you pass through the river the waves they will not overtake you
When you walk on the fire the flames will not touch you
You are mine, you are mine

Isaiah 43:1b-7

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; 
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 
² When you pass through the waters, 
   I will be with you; 
and when you pass through the rivers, 
   they will not sweep over you. 
When you walk through the fire, 
   you will not be burned; 
   the flames will not set you ablaze. 
³ For I am the LORD your God, 
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; 
I give Egypt for your ransom, 
   Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead. 
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, 
   and because I love you, 
I will give people in exchange for you, 
   nations in exchange for your life. 
⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you; 
   I will bring your children from the east 
   and gather you from the west. 
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ 
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ 
Bring my sons from afar 
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth— 
⁷ everyone who is called by my name, 
   whom I created for my glory, 
   whom I formed and made.”

A Saturday Adventure

On Saturday I needed an adventure.

So I decided to take a hike at Raven Rock State Park. I packed a lunch and my camera and headed off.

(Near Campbell University. I thought of you Val!)

Beautiful day. Beautiful weather. Beautiful hike. Totally worth another visit.

On My Camera Lately

 I took a drive to get out of Jacksonville. I was hoping to find some neat new places or scenery. Turns out there's nothing between here and the middle of nowhere that's interesting. Mostly small towns consisting of fast food and gas stations, or roads and trees. Lots of trees. I did happen upon this barn though.

I think the last three look a little eerie and haunted. Just in time for Fall. 

I'm thankful that my garden is still thriving despite the summer drought and hornworm attack. 

Photoshop is amazing.

The Hurricane Diaries-Part Three

Remember scenario G? Where God performs a miracle and all the trees fall away from my house? Well guess who got a miracle? 

That's right. Me. And my neighbors. Thank goodness!

I came home Sunday to this:

This tree is blocking the entrance to our street. It used to shade that nice house on the corner, but fell luckily in the right direction. All it took out was a streetlight and a power line. It didn't hit a single house or car. And if I had stayed home instead of at Jenn's, my car could've been parked under that tree. 

It was an absolute mess in our neighborhood, with trees and branches down everywhere. The power came back Monday morning and thankfully now most everything has been cleaned up. The tree has been split in half and moved out of the way. We all have a feeling it won't be moved before we are. But that's ok with us. Our houses are here and not a single tree fell on a house that had someone living in it. Paige said it perfectly, that God gently laid each branch in the exact right spot, protecting us. I just am so thankful that God did this for us. 

Praise the Lord and how he gently carries us through the (very literal) storms of life. 

The Hurricane Diaries-Part Two

Oh my word. My first real hurricane experience has come and gone. Thankfully before Irene hit, she moved a little more east and weakened to a Category 1. Jenn, Jackson, and I enjoyed every bit of electricity we could Friday night assuming that it could be a while before we enjoyed it again. We watched movies, ate popcorn, and otherwise surfed the internet for hurricane information. We were put on a curfew from 12am Saturday until 9am Sunday. 

Jackson saw my air mattress that I brought and decided he wanted an air mattress too. Then he decided that he wanted to sleep in the living room. So we had a big slumber party in the living room, with Jackson on the couch and Jenn and I on our respective air mattresses. Thank goodness we all decided to sleep in the same room. It wasn't as bad as the news made it seem, but it was still scary at times. Around 2 am the hurricane force winds and rain started to really kick in. We all kept waking up every hour or two listening to the storm, praying that we would be safe and so would our houses. Around 5:30 am Jackson woke up scared and traded places with Jenn. Then the power went off. We slept on and off again until close to 8am. 

We woke to a banging sound on the side of the house, which we quickly discovered was a piece of siding from the front of Jenn's house. It eventually blew off into the back yard. Part of her fence was also damaged. But, since there was no power and the storm was still raging outside, we decided to make the most of it. 

So we...

built a fort....

colored pictures....

and played "Dinosaur Train".

The power came back on much earlier than we expected it to and we had a pretty comfortable evening. I knew that the base didn't have power and that some trees were down, but I was a bit nervous to find out what I would go home to Sunday morning. But if a little bit of siding and fence damage was there was at Jenn's, I was pretty confident I wouldn't have too much damage either. I was glad we were prepared for whatever may come our way, and I was even more glad that the supplies were not really needed. And I was glad that I had a six year old to hang out with. They make pretty good hurricane buddies.