MAY 4, 2011 8:43P.M.
8LBS 8OZ, 20.5 INCHES LONG
WE ARE SO GLAD SHE IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, May 6, 2011
SHE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEFORE.............
DURING.........
AFTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CLARE GRACE MORAN
MAY 4, 2011 8:43P.M.
8LBS 8OZ, 20.5 INCHES LONG
WE ARE SO GLAD SHE IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAY 4, 2011 8:43P.M.
8LBS 8OZ, 20.5 INCHES LONG
WE ARE SO GLAD SHE IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Worst Storm The South Has Ever Seen
Wednesday morning I woke up to my mom leaving to go to an appointment. I looked out the windows and noticed it was storming horribly. My mom left for her appointment and I got up to get my morning started. I was walking through the living room when the power went out. I didn't think anything about it and went on with my day. About 30 minutes later my Dad told us that my mom was trapped in a stairwell at her doctor's office building. She had been blown across the parking lot and had a terrible time getting into the building. When she finally got inside she was about to step onto the elevator when the power went off. A hospital administrator told mom to get into the stairwell because there was a code ''black''. My mom was crammed in the stairwell with tons of other people for about 20 minutes and then finally they told her it was safe to come out. One of the first tornadoes of the day had touched down about 9:30 a.m. When she finally got up to the doctor's office the power was out and she was sent to the hospital to have some tests done.
When my dad told us about my mom being trapped I got my little pocket radio and started finding out information about the storm. I heard reports saying most of the stop lights were down and that power lines were down also. I also heard that there were still many more tornadoes to come.
After my mom's test at the hospital we went to get some lunch because we didn't have any power. While we were out, the sky turned pitch black and it started to rain harder. When we got home it started to thunder really loudly. It rained on and off the entire afternoon. Around 5 o'clock p.m. I turned my radio on and it said if you have a safe place go to it now. Dad was texting us from work telling us to get in our safe place and stay in it. I told my mom and we all went into the laundry room. While we were in there, we prayed, listened to the radio, and read the bible. While we were praying at one point the ground shook really hard. It was loud and scary.
After about 20 minutes in the laundry room we came out and sat in the living room and read with what ever light we could find. The rest of the night we could hear terrible storms. I thought the power would cut back on in the middle of the night. I was wrong.
I had no idea what all had happened that day. I didn't know that dozens of tornadoes had ripped through Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama killing hundreds of people. I didn't know that we would be without power for more than 3 days.
The rest of the week was very strange. We didn't get our power back until Saturday. Many others in our area are still without power even today. There were 119,000 reported power outages. We had a hard time finding ice for our coolers. My parents went out for hours one day driving around trying to buy ice. Trees were down everywhere and stoplights weren't working. Some stores were closed and the ones that were open were sold out of ice. We had to do everything in the dark; eat, read, use the bathroom. Even in the daytime it was very dark in our house. We used candles and flashlights. We went to the store a bunch of times to buy food because we were storing our food in our cooler. Everything in our 2 refrigerators and freezers had to be thrown out. I still didn't know how bad the storm had been because we didn't have TV to watch the news. It wasn't until yesterday at church where I heard all kinds of stories that I realized how bad it had been.
There are still hundreds of people without power. There are hundreds of people dead. There are hundreds of people injured. There are buildings that are completely smashed to the ground. There are buildings with trees in them. The storm damage is unbelievable. People have lost their homes and worse yet, many have lost family members. I've never ever seen this kind of destruction. I am so thankful that our family is okay. I've heard of so many families that have lost their moms or dads, sisters or brothers. Just on our street there are homes with trees smashed onto the roofs and trees down in the yards. Our home was safe. (The one we are renting and the one we are buying!) My dad was working in the tower Wednesday night and he was instructed to be the one to go down with the ship. He was to be the last one to go to safety. We prayed hard for him that night. God protected him and us during the storm. I am so thankful.
I have never lived in a place with storms as bad as these. I have never lived in an area that has had tornadoes as bad as these. When it rains here it really storms. The thunder is really loud.
Here are some facts about the tornadoes: In Hamilton County, where we live, there were 7 tornadoes. In Chattanooga alone there are 9 people dead, 300 injured, and 474 houses damaged. The worst of the tornadoes was one that traveled through 3 counties. It was an EF4. The average speed of the winds were 90 miles per hour. A single EF4 tornado with winds of 175 mph tracked into Tennessee from Catoosa County and traveled 35 miles through Hamilton, Bradley and Polk Counties. The April 26-28 tornado outbreak included 288 tornadoes from 8 a.m. April 26 to 8 a.m. April 28. There are at least 344 deaths.
When my dad told us about my mom being trapped I got my little pocket radio and started finding out information about the storm. I heard reports saying most of the stop lights were down and that power lines were down also. I also heard that there were still many more tornadoes to come.
After my mom's test at the hospital we went to get some lunch because we didn't have any power. While we were out, the sky turned pitch black and it started to rain harder. When we got home it started to thunder really loudly. It rained on and off the entire afternoon. Around 5 o'clock p.m. I turned my radio on and it said if you have a safe place go to it now. Dad was texting us from work telling us to get in our safe place and stay in it. I told my mom and we all went into the laundry room. While we were in there, we prayed, listened to the radio, and read the bible. While we were praying at one point the ground shook really hard. It was loud and scary.
After about 20 minutes in the laundry room we came out and sat in the living room and read with what ever light we could find. The rest of the night we could hear terrible storms. I thought the power would cut back on in the middle of the night. I was wrong.
I had no idea what all had happened that day. I didn't know that dozens of tornadoes had ripped through Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama killing hundreds of people. I didn't know that we would be without power for more than 3 days.
The rest of the week was very strange. We didn't get our power back until Saturday. Many others in our area are still without power even today. There were 119,000 reported power outages. We had a hard time finding ice for our coolers. My parents went out for hours one day driving around trying to buy ice. Trees were down everywhere and stoplights weren't working. Some stores were closed and the ones that were open were sold out of ice. We had to do everything in the dark; eat, read, use the bathroom. Even in the daytime it was very dark in our house. We used candles and flashlights. We went to the store a bunch of times to buy food because we were storing our food in our cooler. Everything in our 2 refrigerators and freezers had to be thrown out. I still didn't know how bad the storm had been because we didn't have TV to watch the news. It wasn't until yesterday at church where I heard all kinds of stories that I realized how bad it had been.
There are still hundreds of people without power. There are hundreds of people dead. There are hundreds of people injured. There are buildings that are completely smashed to the ground. There are buildings with trees in them. The storm damage is unbelievable. People have lost their homes and worse yet, many have lost family members. I've never ever seen this kind of destruction. I am so thankful that our family is okay. I've heard of so many families that have lost their moms or dads, sisters or brothers. Just on our street there are homes with trees smashed onto the roofs and trees down in the yards. Our home was safe. (The one we are renting and the one we are buying!) My dad was working in the tower Wednesday night and he was instructed to be the one to go down with the ship. He was to be the last one to go to safety. We prayed hard for him that night. God protected him and us during the storm. I am so thankful.
I have never lived in a place with storms as bad as these. I have never lived in an area that has had tornadoes as bad as these. When it rains here it really storms. The thunder is really loud.
Here are some facts about the tornadoes: In Hamilton County, where we live, there were 7 tornadoes. In Chattanooga alone there are 9 people dead, 300 injured, and 474 houses damaged. The worst of the tornadoes was one that traveled through 3 counties. It was an EF4. The average speed of the winds were 90 miles per hour. A single EF4 tornado with winds of 175 mph tracked into Tennessee from Catoosa County and traveled 35 miles through Hamilton, Bradley and Polk Counties. The April 26-28 tornado outbreak included 288 tornadoes from 8 a.m. April 26 to 8 a.m. April 28. There are at least 344 deaths.
I am so thankful to God for his protection over our family during this storm. A power outage is inconvenient but it is NOTHING compared to the loss of life and property that many people are experiencing. The sadness in our area is heavy on many, many people. I hope a lot of people will come to know God through this horrible disaster. My brothers and I are hoping to be able to help with clean up. We are looking into ways we can do that. If you would like to help you can make online donations at www.timesfreepress.com/neediestcasesstorm
Donations will be channeled to the local chapter of the American Red Cross and will be used to aid local storm victims.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter At My House
Here are a few pictures of Easter from my house.
Each year my Mom makes us a ''Bunny Cake'' Didn't she do a good job this year? It tasted even better than it looks!
My little sister set the table but my Dad snatched an egg before we could take a picture. Here is a little picture of our Easter spread.
My Mom and Dad also gave us baskets full of candy. This was probably my favorite Easter yet!
Easter isn't about food and candy though. It is the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection from the dead. Without Jesus' death we would all be going to hell. Jesus died for us. But he didn't stay dead. God raised him from the dead. Jesus is sitting in heaven right now at the right hand of God. So easily our thoughts about Easter can be on candy and food and bunny cakes. We need to make sure that we keep our focus on him this time of year. We also need to thank God for sending his son to die for us.
Looking at this picture is making my mouth water!!! The food was sooooo good!!!
My Mom and Dad also gave us baskets full of candy. This was probably my favorite Easter yet!
Easter isn't about food and candy though. It is the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection from the dead. Without Jesus' death we would all be going to hell. Jesus died for us. But he didn't stay dead. God raised him from the dead. Jesus is sitting in heaven right now at the right hand of God. So easily our thoughts about Easter can be on candy and food and bunny cakes. We need to make sure that we keep our focus on him this time of year. We also need to thank God for sending his son to die for us.
Monday, April 11, 2011
A Word From The Word
Here is a great Psalm that my Dad is having us memorize. It is kind of long but it is great for memorizing.
I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure. I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me. No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes. Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the Lord. Psalm 101 esv
I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure. I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me. No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes. Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the Lord. Psalm 101 esv
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
A DAY IN MY LIFE
Here's a sample of a typical day in my life. I thought this might be fun. Leave me a comment and tell me about your schedule!
- I normally get up about 8 a.m.
(Sometimes earlier, sometimes I sleep in later, depends on what I did the night before!)
-From 8a.m. to 9a.m. I shower, get dressed, make my bed, and straighten up my room.
I also eat breakfast, do my morning chores, and have my personal devotion time. My morning chores include taking out the trash, feeding our dog, and sweeping off the front porch. For my devotions I read the bible, think about what I read, take some notes, journal, and pray.
(At different times of day throughout the week I have other chores. On Thursdays I have to dust and vacuum my room and during the warm months I have to mow the grass once a week. I'm also in charge of making sure the trash is set out on Wednesday mornings and I shop vac the van and sweep out the garage every other Saturday.)
-From 9a.m to 12noon I do my school work. I have Bible, writing, and Algebra, and other work, depends on the day.
-At 12 noon we stop for lunch. After lunch, I clean up the kitchen and then I get back to my work.
-From 1p.m. to 4p.m. I do more school. I have World History and Biology and Language Arts.
-From 4p.m. to 6 p.m. I have free time. I shoot basketball, play soccer, or go jogging. Sometimes I do all 3!! If Dad is home he usually plays with us.
This is probably my favorite time of day! I usually take Sophie (our dog) on a walk too.
-At 6p.m. We eat dinner. I love dinner time! My Mom is the best cook ever! Dinner at my house is great! Right before we eat each night my dad reads us a Psalm. After dinner I usually have a little more free time or I may have some "homework" I have to do. One of my brothers has dinner cleanup (I have lunch cleanup) so I don't have to do much for that. One of my parents helps my brother with his cleanup and I can work or play a game or read or something.
-At 7:30p.m. we do our family devotions. We read a chapter of the Bible (right now we are reading the book of Acts) we talk about what we read, and we pray. We have a notebook where we write down all of our praise items and prayer requests each night. Each of us kids takes turns writing in the notebook on behalf of the family. Even Eli! (Some of his spellings can be a little funny.) Also, if anyone needs to ask forgiveness from anyone else in the family we do that during this time.
-After devotions it's close to 9p.m. so we get ready for bed. Sometimes we stay up, to watch a ball game or something. I don't always go to bed at 9p.m. since I'm older, but the other kids do. Ethan is usually really tired because he gets up earlier than me and if he has had soccer practice or a soccer game he is usually exhausted. I do most of my blogging at 9 or 10 o clock at night, when the house is quiet and I can think. Some nights I stay up really late reading. I love to read!
I love my life!! It's funny to think that it is getting ready to change a lot. We are in the middle of buying a house and getting ready to move and also we are just weeks away from having a baby. My life is going to get really exciting here in about a month! I can't wait until the baby gets here. I think about her all the time. I also can't wait to get moved in our new house. A lot of our stuff has been in boxes for almost a year, when my dad's company moved us to Chattanooga. We thought we would only rent for 6 months but it turned into a year. I can't wait to unpack and get all settled in and then have the baby with us! It's going to be a great summer!! We've worked really hard so we can finish school in May. (We even had to do school on a lot of Saturdays!) When we finish the school year we will have lots of free time and that will be great! I also want to spend time outside as much as possible and go camping and fishing.
Well, there you have it. A day in my life. This is the usual day I guess you would say but there also days we veer off the schedule a little bit and go to the Aquarium or library or a park or something.
Tell me about your typical day! I'd love to hear what you're doing!
- I normally get up about 8 a.m.
(Sometimes earlier, sometimes I sleep in later, depends on what I did the night before!)
-From 8a.m. to 9a.m. I shower, get dressed, make my bed, and straighten up my room.
I also eat breakfast, do my morning chores, and have my personal devotion time. My morning chores include taking out the trash, feeding our dog, and sweeping off the front porch. For my devotions I read the bible, think about what I read, take some notes, journal, and pray.
(At different times of day throughout the week I have other chores. On Thursdays I have to dust and vacuum my room and during the warm months I have to mow the grass once a week. I'm also in charge of making sure the trash is set out on Wednesday mornings and I shop vac the van and sweep out the garage every other Saturday.)
-From 9a.m to 12noon I do my school work. I have Bible, writing, and Algebra, and other work, depends on the day.
-At 12 noon we stop for lunch. After lunch, I clean up the kitchen and then I get back to my work.
-From 1p.m. to 4p.m. I do more school. I have World History and Biology and Language Arts.
-From 4p.m. to 6 p.m. I have free time. I shoot basketball, play soccer, or go jogging. Sometimes I do all 3!! If Dad is home he usually plays with us.
This is probably my favorite time of day! I usually take Sophie (our dog) on a walk too.
-At 6p.m. We eat dinner. I love dinner time! My Mom is the best cook ever! Dinner at my house is great! Right before we eat each night my dad reads us a Psalm. After dinner I usually have a little more free time or I may have some "homework" I have to do. One of my brothers has dinner cleanup (I have lunch cleanup) so I don't have to do much for that. One of my parents helps my brother with his cleanup and I can work or play a game or read or something.
-At 7:30p.m. we do our family devotions. We read a chapter of the Bible (right now we are reading the book of Acts) we talk about what we read, and we pray. We have a notebook where we write down all of our praise items and prayer requests each night. Each of us kids takes turns writing in the notebook on behalf of the family. Even Eli! (Some of his spellings can be a little funny.) Also, if anyone needs to ask forgiveness from anyone else in the family we do that during this time.
-After devotions it's close to 9p.m. so we get ready for bed. Sometimes we stay up, to watch a ball game or something. I don't always go to bed at 9p.m. since I'm older, but the other kids do. Ethan is usually really tired because he gets up earlier than me and if he has had soccer practice or a soccer game he is usually exhausted. I do most of my blogging at 9 or 10 o clock at night, when the house is quiet and I can think. Some nights I stay up really late reading. I love to read!
I love my life!! It's funny to think that it is getting ready to change a lot. We are in the middle of buying a house and getting ready to move and also we are just weeks away from having a baby. My life is going to get really exciting here in about a month! I can't wait until the baby gets here. I think about her all the time. I also can't wait to get moved in our new house. A lot of our stuff has been in boxes for almost a year, when my dad's company moved us to Chattanooga. We thought we would only rent for 6 months but it turned into a year. I can't wait to unpack and get all settled in and then have the baby with us! It's going to be a great summer!! We've worked really hard so we can finish school in May. (We even had to do school on a lot of Saturdays!) When we finish the school year we will have lots of free time and that will be great! I also want to spend time outside as much as possible and go camping and fishing.
Well, there you have it. A day in my life. This is the usual day I guess you would say but there also days we veer off the schedule a little bit and go to the Aquarium or library or a park or something.
Tell me about your typical day! I'd love to hear what you're doing!
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