I'd rather have a Hurricane to drink

Just letting y'all know that we survived the hurricane, although never again do I want to be this close and ride one out. A large tree has given us a new skylight, destroyed our roof, ceiling and attic over part of the house, and allowed for the rain to come right inside. That was at 6am. Surprisingly we didn't lose power until 7am, and got it back about 30 hours later. It was hot as hell without a/c or even a fan, and we're covered in mosquito bites now thanks to the new skylight.

I just have a few pictures to share with you, or you may view them all at:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a138/spencer_uk/Hurricane%20Katrina/

Enjoy. There is absolute devastation in our neighboring parishes and over in Mississippi. Even my relatives as north as Jackson will be without power from a week to a month. I can't describe how depressing it is to see all these evacuees here and watch them have to buy almost entire new wardrobes for their children in Wal-Mart, or sleeping bags because they're sleeping in a tent outside in the shade, waiting to be able to go back and see what is left of their homes. We got off very, very lucky and are very blessed. We have a house, electricity and power, and will only do without a kitchen and a few other rooms for a few months while they repair things (even the walls and house frame have to be redone on this side).

Go home and count your blessings. We certainly are.

I took this picture right after it fell as we were trying to catch the water, it was falling everywhere, even through the light fixtures, and the wind was blowing insulation from the attic and tree leaves everywhere. 

Damage inside. You can't see how bad the water damaged everything or how the attic is pretty much missing, but basically we'll be without these rooms for a few months while they rebuild. 

The kitchen and den are on the right, breakfast nook is in the middle, garage to the left.  

It even knocked the brick off. 

Dad's Truck. In the middle of the hurricane, he ran outside to rescue his golf clubs from it right after the tree hit. As my husband said, "A man has his priorities"

 

The garage is on the left, kitchen, den and breakfast nook on right. See how close it missed my truck?
 

The Y shaped tree hit our garage, Dad's truck, our kitchen and breakfast nook and den, and fence. 

Everyone is Summer Lazy

Hi there,

I really don't have anything to report, this is more of a way to say that, things are still going on as normal. I haven't been finding out any good news about DH's visa, apparently the US Embassy in London and National Visa Center here in the States run slow during the summer holidays. It is definitely looking as though he won't be back for the baby's birth, unless they actually do see us as a special situation and expedite process. I've written congressmen, senators, the National Visa Center and the London Embassy. The only response I got was from the NVC saying that they did receive the file and it has not been reviewed yet.

Great.

It is looking as though we will need to break down and get an immigration attorney, one who specializes in marriage-based visas, since the majority down here only seem to specialize in work visas and asylum applications. That is going to cost a lot of money I'm guessing, which we're running out of quickly. So I'm not sure what to do but pray and hope.

I am also endangering the baby's health with my stress levels, but it isn't so bad yet that the doctor has put me on bed rest or anything. He just said we have to keep watching my blood pressure just in case. Normally I have very low blood pressure but it has been pretty high b/c of the stress.

Great.

Not all is horrible, the swimming pool is put in, and we've been able to swim almost daily. The workers come by every other day or so to finish a few things such as the waterfall and the landscaping around the pool, but I have been able to get some exercise and relaxation w/the pool already. It is nice on our extremely hot days which seem even hotter to a pregnant woman.

The cats are also adjusting well. They still seem very attached to DH and I, and hardly leave our area of the house. They were supposed to return to being outdoor cats like the rest of the cats here, but thankfully my parents have been nice and have let them live indoors as they aren't causing any trouble and have proven that they don't destroy carpets or pee on things other than a kittybox and they don't spray or mark their territory. I think they're going to go a little crazy w/out DH though, they love to be stroked and held all the time, and I can only hold one cat at a time. And they are especially attached to him.

I've been feeling really crap lately, as though I have the flu but I'm guessing it's just pregnancy stuff. Dizziness and Nausea have returned with a lot of sinus problems and migraines. It was so bad that I had to miss church on Sunday, which is something I hardly miss (this church at least) because I look forward all week to going. Thursday we're supposed to have another ultrasound to check on the baby's health, and next Friday (September 2) is another doctor's appointment to check my health as well as baby's. Then on the 8th is my 27th birthday and I'll cry at being so close to 30 I'm sure.

I guess that's all. It's very hot down here, the food is good, and the pets are great. I've been dream window shopping for the baby which is one of the few things that seems to cheer me up. We've got to figure out a way for someone to throw DH a baby shower in England, someone hint to someone!

It's a .....

Boy!

No, not born yet, that's just what the ultrasound says. And he was very happy to show us his very um, apparently very endowed boy parts. And that's all he wanted to show us as well, so I have to go back on Aug 25 so they can finish the ultrasound stuff of checking out the rest of his parts to make sure everything is ok and to check on the kidneys. They noticed that one kidney isn't draining as well as the other, but that happens sometimes in boys and cures itself as the fetus matures. So crossing fingers here that they're right.

The tech said, "wow he sure likes to show off his penis" and I almost blurted "just like his daddy" as flashes of DH dancing around the apartment while he air-dries after a shower bounced through my head... but I kept quiet so I wouldn't embarrass poor DH. But he's such a proud Daddy right now that he wouldn't have minded and wondered why I didn't say that out loud. Great minds think alike.

We're back here in Baton Rouge. The move was eventful, with tons of things to stress this poor pregnant woman. The first was U-haul not having a trailer for us to use even though we reserved one weeks in advance (what's the point of reserving?). The second was that the people who were supposed to take over our lease backed out at the last minute, well they backed out and didn't tell us until the last minute. It partly had to do with the landlord's apathy, which made them think it wouldn't be a good idea. He was supposed to contact them about a contract, and he didn't until it was too late. So I had ONE day to find someone. Luckily I did, but I had to lower the rent a little and we have to pay the rest of it out of our own pockets. Still, it's better than paying the entire rent.

The third, and this problem is STILL ongoing - the landlord is being a right bastard and is coming up with ridiculous ways to cheat us out of our $1000 deposit. And on top of it is asking for even MORE money. We had professional cleaners come into the apartment after we had left, yet he says we left it very dirty and some things were broken. Nothing was broken that wasn't broken before we moved in and the place was very clean before we left it to the professional cleaners. He's being too much of a bastard, and instead of calling Dh on the phone to talk to him like a man, he's emailing ME, and after DH asked him to email it to his own address so I wouldn't be more stressed about it, he continues to email me. Is it wrong to block his email address from my email?

We're going through legal aid to sort this out. He is being extremely ridiculous but there are factors that may mean that we can't do anything. Such as - we were supposed to stay until December, and our agreement to leave in August was only verbal with him. He did sign a new contract w/the new people I found, so I hope that will help us.

It's good to be back in Louisiana, although there are things about living on our own in Virginia that I really do miss... but the perks of having a new swimming pool (they're building it this week!) and a nursery basically paid for (thanks to new proud grandparents!) and living rent free and being able to not be forced to work at McDonald's while 6 months' pregnant with a baby on your sciatic nerve, beat all that stuff. And I did miss the dogs, and the church people. They're so happy we're back, they opened the service to welcome us two Sundays in a row, and they've already re-recruited Pete back into the church band. It is wonderful to be back with this church, I didn't think the church or its people would matter so much if we lived in a place we loved, but it really does make a difference. And it's nice to have the christian support network again.

Now the other bad news, that I learned today, is about DH's visa. Here is the process it needs to take now to get to permanent green card:

1. The National Visa Center processes this last document thingy we've had to send, and forwards it to the US Embassy in London.
2. The US Embassy in London processes it and sends DH a letter containing an interview date, which will be about 4-6 weeks before the actual interview date
3. DH has interview, medical exam, gets visa, comes home

Now some problems we're facing:

• Baby boy is due Dec 9, but is measuring right now to be born even as early as November 24
• DH's temporary visa ends Aug 17 meaning he's gotta go back to England, he can overstay a few weeks so we can use a cheaper plane ticket but any more than that and we'll be risking it

And the HUGE #1 problem I learned today:

• The London Consular website is saying it takes about 12 weeks from the National Visa Center sending the file to them giving an interview date.
• DH might miss the birth of our baby
• Can I cry now?

There are a few factors we need to consider though:

• I did write to them about our 'special circumstance', waiting to hear back.
• sometimes they put outrageous timelines on their website so we don't get too impatient and bother them
• but I asked this forum I belong to that is full of people going through the thing like us, and they have basically said that yeah, 12 weeks sounds about right

So, that's all for now. I'm spending my days enjoying cable television, Laguna Beach and My Sweet Sixteen on MTV, and finally we get Little Britain on BBCAmerica (which comes out on DVD today for us in the States!!!! Ahem, BIRTHDAY PRESENT!), researching this legal stuff, and being sick, fatigued, and hurting from the baby on my sciatic nerve. It's tough being pregnant! Little Boy is kicking and hiccupping and punching a lot, although DH can't feel it on the outside quite yet. He can feel something but isn't sure if that's me breathing or my blood flow or the baby. Hopefully he'll feel it soon.

I think we're close to deciding on a name. It's not a name I picked out b/c I just love it, it's a name DH picked out and I didn't veto it and now it is growing on me. I'll tell you the name I absolutely love and DH has majorly vetoed - Noah. Noah Benjamin or Noah Matthew. Isn't that the best? Sigh. I'm trying to bargain with DH that if we use his favorite pick this time, that I can name the second (yay Noah!)... he agrees but that's because he thinks I'll change my mind. I'm not really sure about telling y'all the first name choice just yet. I don't want anyone opinions to sway it, it's OUR son not yours! Then again, DH told a lot of people, and the more people in my family who have made a face and said they didn't like it, the more I DO like it and now it is really growing on me. The in-laws know b/c DH emailed it to them, but we're thinking of a longer version and calling him that shorter version, if that makes sense. The longer version means "God is Good" and that's exactly how we feel about this baby. God certainly did remind us that we live on His timeline and not our own, and that makes us feel that this baby is even more special, because for some reason, God wants us to have him Now instead of a few years from now. What a blessing to be reminded that we're in God's plan this way! I'll stop now so all you 'heathens' will stop rolling your eyes :-). (I really don't mean 'heathens' hope you know that!)