It is the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's destruction of the Gulf Coast region—an event that not only changed the lives of tens of thousand of residents—but also transformed the way our nation saw its government, our residents saw one another, and how Max and I live our lives.

I encourage you to follow this link to Anderson Coopers 360º blog and read a posting from a current Waveland, MS resident. Watch the video report. Pray for the people who are not featured in the report, but bear the same weight of this catastrophic event. Featured is the neighborhood we worked in and both pieces tell of a story thats final chapter has yet to be written.

Also, below is an essay I had written upon my return from our second trip to Waveland that is a part of the Mars Hill Bible Church website (the group we worked through). I hope in some small part it will not only memorialize this event, but serve as a reminder that when something like this happens again, each of us can be hands that pick our neighbors up. 

If you are interested in donating to an organization that helps in time of disaster worldwide, check out International Aid. We worked closely with them at FEMA headquarters and believe they are fantastic stewards of donations. 

Link to Anderson Cooper 360º Blog

mudding out

I was part of the first and eleventh Katrina relief trips.  We went to help the residents of Hancock County, Mississippi salvage what remained of their homes and belongings and clean up what had been irreparably ruined.

In my day job, I meet with clients, work at a computer and build concepts and images.  It’s clean.  Neat.  Sterile. 

Not in Hancock County. 

Our most memorable task was “mudding out.”  It was dirty.  Smelly.  Toxic.  Mudding out involves stripping water-damaged houses to the beams, shoveling mud and belongings into wheelbarrows to be dumped at the curb, hauling out all appliances, ripping up carpet and tearing down moldy drywall. 

I remember slipping in mud as I pushed the wheel barrow.

The stench of rotten paint and debris.

Endless trips back and forth to the curbside pile.

Sewage-contaminated water stagnating in the street.

An unbelievably small pile of possessions returned to homeowners at the end of the day.

 

 Statistics say that, as of December 31, 2005, 2.5 million cubic yards of debris had been removed—only 30% of the wreckage caused by Hurricane Katrina.  Chaos is still the norm; there remains a great deal of clean up and rebuilding to be done. 

 As heartbreaking as it was, in the midst of the debris I found a new standard by which to look at my possessions, relationships, success, future . . .   My home and my heart are less about stuff and more about filling those places with the people I love.  For me, the chaos brought clarity.  Mud brought cleansing.

 It’s strange that it happened this way, but I think that’s God’s miracle. 

 I was baptized as a child and as an adult.  Until my trip to Hancock County, I never entirely understood my baptism or what it meant to be the hands and feet of Christ.

 But now I feel like I was baptized by mud.

22 weeks & Pupsicals

So we're halfway there (I PRAY!) and here's where we are at: 

- I have taken to popsicles, all except orange popsicles. They taste horrible. (This is not a pregnancy thing, but rather a life long food affliction of which anyone who knows me well knows I have many).  Thankfully, Cali and Max are picking up the slack. 

- Last week I had whacky blood pressure issues, coupled with out of the norm throwing up and abdominal pain. After three doctor's visits in the last week, they have narrowed it down to...being pregnant and possible stomach issues. They are watching closely to be sure it's not another issue, but I think we're ok.

- Max's first football game of the season (Go Northview!) is tomorrow against Byron City. He's excited since the team looks better than last year.

Baby K makes a move!

Just wanted to share, Max felt the baby move for the first time last night. He was amazed.

21 Weeks

Hey all,

I hit 21 weeks on Saturday and things are going well. Check up today with the doc went great. Everything is on track (except my blood pressure was high so I need to check it for a while...could have just been being flustered from having to pee in a very tiny cup!) Best of all, she wrote me a script for medical massage and my favorite spa just started accepting insurance, so it's 38 weeks of massages for me. SOOOO happy since the tailbone (broken 3 times) is becoming more sensitive by the day.

Next check up is in a month. Baby is moving around a lot but Max cannot feel it just yet. I hope soon.

PS. Ignore our messy kitchen!

Love  C, M +1

Nursery

Hey all,

A big week for us this week. We made a lot of nursery decisions and even started registering. Check out our progress! We're still working on bedding options, rug, and accent items, but things are starting to take shape. The crib can become a toddler bed and then a full size bed, so it's very re-usable and we love that about it. And Max feels like this one looks less like a prison then others with bars in the back. The glider is super comfortable and the wood will match the bed (though it does not in these pictures). If you have made the trek and stayed with us before, then you've stayed in our guest room. The wall colors are staying the same and we plan to accent it with light greens and blues...perfect for a boy or a girl. We'll see what we get!

Anyhow, Max is golfing with Ace right now and I'm off to my parents in a while to give input into the shower my sister and mom are planning. Yesterday I did nursery stuff in the morning and then joined Max at his first team scrimmage and family picnic. Then we headed to Ace and Rhonda's for her 40th b-day party.  Max and I were the team to beat in cornhole!  Topping the night was watching Phelps win his 8th gold medal. We're addicted to the olympics. Fun stuff. It's really starting to feel real. Love to you all.

C, M + 1

Our first pics of Baby K!

A perfect nose and chin. To all the brothers that have warned me about the baby having Max's attributes: The baby's head is normal sized as is its shoulders.

To the left is the face looking directly at you. Its body is to the right.

Both Max and I think this kid has a fighting chance of having normal feet (unlike it's mom!)

Sucking its thumb. There is a piece of fuzz on the image...no worries. It is not part of the baby!

Another side view of Baby K or Beryl as Aunt Kirstyn calls the baby (since we don't know if its a boy or a girl).

Hi everyone,

Max and I were so excited today to see our baby for the first time via ultrasound. Granted we had seen the egg sac at weeks 5 and 7, but this was totally different! Everything was great. Two of everything it is suppose to have and nothing it should not. We could even see the 4-quadrants of the heart, the to lobes of the brain, kidney and bladder function, the whole works. 

We did not find out the sex and plan on waiting. (To all those placing bets, the heart rate was 147 today. Last visit was 140). Today the baby was moving a ton and it was great to finally associate the grumbling I was having with the movement we saw on the screen. I think for both Max and I, things are finally starting to be real.

As of today the computer model has our due date as Christmas day and the chart wheel has it as December 28th, so we'll see what happens. I am definitely showing and starting to feel better. Now instead of constant nausea and throwing up everyday, I have instant throwing up every once in a while. But my energy is good and we are starting to move into "nesting-mode" now that we know things are in place and going well. Hopefully I can move off the meds (Zolfran, 4mg x 2 day) and start taking pre-natal vitamins.

Please subscribe to our blog so we can keep all of you up to date. And we promise to give you guys weekly updates here! Thanks for all your love and support.

C M + 1

The proud parents

Courtney at 20 weeks after a day of meetings.

Max in S.C. in full Payne Stewart Garb...after 36 holes in 98 degree heat!

19 Weeks and Counting!

19 Weeks!