E-mailed Prayer Request...

I have been busy working on my schoolwork.

I was fixing to shut down my computer, but stopped to check my e-mail just one more time before I went to bed.

A newly arrived prayer request was in my inbox.

It's for a young boy named Parker who is in Baptist Hospital and is very ill.

He is a friend and fellow Boy Scout of a couple young boys that I know.

He has the same name as my son.

The prayer request includes a link to a blog that is being updated for the family.

There has been a request for blood donations as well.


Please pray for him.

If you live close by, stop by the Oklahoma Blood Institute and donate blood. You don't have to be a perfect blood-type match as the OSBI has a program in which all the donated blood helps to defray the blood processing costs to the family.

You guys have a blessed Friday.

later...

A Welcomed Anonymous Comment...

Some of you may remember the blogging community who remembered each of 2996 people who died on September 11th.

I had joined the group of bloggers and wrote this post, "2996 Tribute" ~ Remembering Patrice Braut ~

I was unable to find very much information about Patrice.

Tonight I have had a visitor stop by that post and leave this comment:

I can add some info for you. I worked with Patrice at MMC. I first met Patrice when I was a new hire, in 1997. There were two teams, ours, which was web application development, and the team that Patrice was on, which was a support group of some kind. Since there were only 8 of us total between two groups, we became fast friends. A funny story about Patrice was that he had to return to Brussels to straighten out some immigration issues. On the Monday he was supposed to come back to work, there was no Patrice. A few hours later, we received word that there was a problem with his visa and they were working it out. This went on for about a month or two but we always held a spot for him and eventually, he did return. When he finally did make it back, his reaction was as if he had just been away for the weekend. We all remarked that he handled it very well, which went along with his very cool demeanor. Patrice never got worked up or excited, he had a very patient methodical way of working things out. The last converations we had were of home ownership, he was interested in buying a house and as I had just purchased one myself, he had a lot of questions. One thing you could always appreciate about Patrice is that he would listen to what you had to say. What the real shame here is, not only with Patrice, you had a lot of people from other countries just starting their lives here in America. Good people looking to further their career, buy homes and start familes. Unfortunately for someone like Patrice, with no other living siblings, his blood line stopped on 9/11. Who will know of the Brauts 100 years from now without descendants? Very sobering thought. Thanks for your blog and for allowing us to comment.

And I thank you so very much for sharing.


later...


Never Forget...

Pondering...

On Its Way... Another Winter Storm...

I don't think you can really get a grasp of what kind of an ice storm we experienced here in Oklahoma without seeing it for yourselves.

The public schools were closed this entire week.

All because of the ice.

We had three inches of ice here at the house...

And it is hard as a rock.

Hard enough to ice skate on in the back yard!

Of course, I don't know how to ice skate. I was raised in the Hill Country of Texas, and ice is supposed to come out of the freezer to be used for iced tea...

Or homemade ice cream!


But there are people in Oklahoma who do know how to ice skate due to a few ice skating rinks that are in the larger metropolitan areas.


It's a rare opportunity...

Probably once in a lifetime...

To get to skate on ice in your own backyard and neighborhood streets.



I guess you could say these folks made lemonade out of lemons...

So to speak.




We're here waiting for the next winter storm to come through.

Forecasters still believe that we could get a lot of snow.

A lot of snow for where we are located.

Ten inches of snow sounds like too much to me.

No matter where you live.

And it is going to be what is called a "wet" snow which means that it will be heavy.

There have been several roof collapses from the ice storm that we had. There are warnings that there may be more from this snowfall.


In other ice related Oklahoma news...

A local news station's helicopter pilot used his aircraft to rescue a deer from a frozen lake.

The Channel 9 pilot does a lot of flying around the state of Oklahoma chasing tornadoes and stuff like that...

I've always enjoyed watching Mason Dunn's videos.

But his coverage of a rescue operation of a stranded deer stuck in the ice and water turned into his being part of the story, instead of just covering it.

You may have seen it on a national news report.

It seems that this story has bedazzled a lot of folks.

It is pretty neat to watch...

And a wonderful job of flying to boot!





I went to class this evening, and I was supposed to have class again all day tomorrow.

But it has been cancelled...

Due to the winter storm warning that has been issued.


I hope that you guys have a nice week-end...

And can locate your old pair of ice skates...


Me...

Well, I'll be inside.


Dreaming of warmer days and weather that I am more accustomed to...

Like thunderstorms and tornadoes.


later...

Oh No! Not Again...

Tonight's weather forecast is forecasting a big *snow* storm for this week-end. They're predicting up to 10" of the white stuff.

Can you believe this?

At least they aren't expecting any more ice...

But a big snowstorm is going to cause a lot of problems with the relief efforts going on in the eastern part of the state.


I'll be praying that things go well for us all with this next storm system!


I hope that all of you guys are doing well too.


Stay warm and safe.


later...

Homework...

I've been working on my homework.

I wasn't able to work on it at all last night, but this evening I feel that I have gotten quite a bit accomplished.


We're still ~frozen~ in this part of the country.

And there are still a lot of people without electricity as well.


The forecasters are predicting another winter storm for this week-end.


Looks like I might get a lot of schoolwork completed this weekend.


Here's something that I think you guys should watch.

Give yourself about 20 minutes or so to watch it...

And let it sink in.




later...


Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Ice Storm 2007 Updated...

A gym roof at a private school has collapsed in Midwest City.

Other roofs and structures are in danger of collapsing as well under the weight of the ice.

Ice weighs so much more than snow.



Our trampoline looks like it is about to burst!



I'm not going to go out there and measure it, but looks like the bed of the trampoline is stretched downward about 2 feet in the middle.

later...

Ice Storm 2007 Update...

It's Sunday and we are going through the third round of frozen precipitation.

So far we have been blessed in that all of our preciptation has been frozen before it hits the ground. Thunderstorms with lightning has accompanied the sleet and ice pellets this morning.



Other parts of the state haven't been quite as fortunate.

As ice continues to accumulate on the power lines, there is an increased danger of loss of electrical service due to the increase of the winds. The wind will cause ice laden powerlines to snap due to the additional weight of the ice.

This morning seven more people died on Interstate 40 and five more taken to the hospital. This is very upsetting to me as they were all in a 12 passenger van that lost control on the highway and hit a 18-wheeler head on.

What was so pressing that they couldn't have cancelled the trip?

God be with their families.

If you live in this area please take the marked snow routes as these streets are given priority and kept as clear as possible.

Find the snow routes here.

This storm is a multi-state event. The airport is almost at a standstill. Local newstations have pre-empted regular programming to cover this significant weather event.

Of course, the folks in the panhandle of Oklahoma have been suffering for almost two weeks due to the blizzard and multiple snowfalls that they have had there. Thousands of people were without power until the last few days and hundreds of cattle are still stranded and are starving without feed.

Once again, I am so very thankful that we are all okay and have electricity.

I hope that you are too.

later...

Ice Storm 2007 Update...

The news tonight reported that three people have died due to the weather and that about 90,000 people are without electricity.

I've checked in with all of my Oklahoma blogging buddies and it looks like everyone has updated during all of this weather...

Indicating that at least they are all still "okay".

My Neighbor Sue and I have been corresponding back and forth via e-mail and all is well across the street.

I know of one other person (who shall remain nameless) that is having a fairly miserable week-end that isn't entirely weather related. But at least they're healthy, warm, and safe as well. This too will soon pass.

So all in all it's all good news.



The Lord has answered prayers that have been offered up by thousands of people. Things could have been so much worse.

I am praying that those who are without electricity are safe and warm.

I pray for the families that are in mourning.

And I'll continue to pray that this coming wave of weather will not cause any more harm or damage to property or life.



Here where I'm at...


Most of our precipitation has been frozen. Mostly ice pellets and sleet.

We've gone through two separate storm systems so far with the next one due in here in a few hours.

The forecasters feel that it should pretty much be over for us here in central Oklahoma by noon on Sunday.

That's good.


Mom and Dad are expecting some freezing rain in the Hill Country of Texas.

So I'm praying that they'll be okay as well.


I have pretty much completed my five to seven minute oral report. All that is left is proof reading, grammatical corrections, and polishing with a few illustrations.

This kind of weather is conducive to keeping my nose to the academic grindstone.


It has also convinced me that I really need to save up for some new windows.


**brrr**


I did have to go into work for a little bit today.

And that went okay as well.


So...

Everybody have a great Sunday!

I trust that I'll be catching you back here...

later...

State of Emergency...

We are in the middle of a winter storm.

But it isn't a blizzard that we're looking at.

It's ice.


Kind of makes you wish for snow.


Ice has got to be one of the most dangerous and destructive forces in nature. Widespread and covering entire regions of the country, ice can rack up millions, even billions, of dollars in costs and damages.


Essentially, people like me and you end up footing the entire bill.


When we had the big Ice Storm of 2002, my homeowner's insurance increased so much that I ended up increasing my deductible.

Some may believe that the government is going to pay the bills, but really and truly...

We are the ones that really pay.


Not only do we end up paying the price for storms like these with our hard-earned money, but many people end up paying with their lives.

A man has already died today because of the ice on the highway.


In 2002, we were without power for almost four days. But there were thousands that were out of power for weeks, and some were out for months.

We were loaned a kerosene heater to help keep us warm. It was miserable, but it wasn't deadly because temperatures didn't stay below freezing once the storm had passed.

This time we're looking at below freezing temperatures for almost a week, with nighttime lows in the single digits.

Now I know you folks in Alaska, Canada, and even Greenland are probably chuckling right now about us unprepared Oklahomans...

But you have to understand that we are in a location where weather like this is not the norm. So we don't have things on our shelves and in our homes that are probably very common for you to have. Additionally, the state government doesn't have millions of dollars of equipment to help ease the pain of this type of weather. And our Wal-Mart doesn't have the same winter weather apparel in their stores that you do either.

So...

We're "frozen in time" so to speak for the entire week-end here in Oklahoma.

The governor has declared a state of emergency for our state.

I've been praying for a week now about our weather.

I've been praying that we don't lose power, because there isn't any way we would be able to stay warm without electricity.

And neither do thousands of other Oklahomans.


The gasoline generators have been shipped into the state as fast as the big box stores can get them here.

And they've been carried out of the stores before they even get them added to their stores' inventories.


I pray that the precipitation is frozen before it comes to earth...

And I pray that there isn't any further loss of life due to this storm.


And I especially pray that everyone is warm and safe in their homes...

With their families.

later...

Breaking News...

Norma the English Bulldog was in today's Daily Oklahoman!

All of this notoriety hasn't gone to her head...

Not one bit.


However, her "agent" has gone a little overboard.


*cough*




Norma has her very own personal business cards!

The Moo cards from Great Britain came in...

Aren't they neat?





However, Norma doesn't have a mantle to put all of her stuff on.

Yet...


But she does already have an avid fan!

It seems that Linda in Norman is already collecting "Norma the English Bulldog" memorabilia.

*smile*



later...

What Goes Through Your Mind...

I'm Thinking of Hawaii`
Originally uploaded by itsmetj.

There's stuff that goes through my head all the time.

Ideas and...

'what not'.


I got to thinking the other day....

What if there was a window into our minds.


A way for us to view what people were thinking?


Would these thoughts be beautiful...

Or, ahem, not so pretty.


Would we be willing to let others have a view through a window into our minds?


The Bible admonishes us to keep our minds on what is good.


How good of job do we do?


So...

I decided to create a new series in my
little online store.



A Window View of the Texas Hill Country
Originally uploaded by itsmetj.


What do you guys think?



I also got to thinking about all of my blessings.

And I got to thinking about all the wonderful people that I meet here.


I want to let you guys know that you do ~inspire~ me.


*smile*


So I have also added some thank you cards as well.


Parker Black and White Thank You
Originally uploaded by itsmetj.

I love Parker's little black and white photograph.

White Hawaiian Flower
Originally uploaded by itsmetj.

I received a telephone call today from someone at The Oklahoman. It was kind of a phone interview type thing.

The lady said that Norma's winning picture will be published in the paper in the You section. She thinks it will be in Monday's paper, but she said that she couldn't promise that.


We'll see. It is kind of exciting!


I hope that you guys have had a great week.

I'm sorry that I haven't been by to visit.

Just been a little busy is all.


later...