The Story of My Life

The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remain over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves. KAHLIL GIBRAN

Remember the place we ate in Pass Christian, MS and had wonderful food and took great harbor shots during Labor Day weekend? Remember how I posted a picture of it after Gustav? Well, my reporter and photographer from the MS Gulf Coast was there yesterday to see what Ike had delivered to our little favorite spot. The place we parked: Under water The place we took those great pics of the kids: Under water The bottom floor of Shaggy's: Flooded Just the sheer force of the storm was pushing so hard on the water, my reporter said this was all not from rain, but the coming surge pressure of the storm itself, still 2 days out. Just because these storms do not "hit" straight on an area does not mean major damage is not prevalent. My heart breaks to think of the damage I saw lingering from Katrina. Now to pile on 2 storms this month is even more heart-breaking. So Shaggy's and all the good people on the Gulf Coast, hang in there. We are all thinking of you...

While we ate at Shaggy's, many boat owners were hitching up and taking out their boats and the staff was moving everything from below up top. (See post below...if you didn't already....) My husband emailed me this picture- Looks like Pass Christian and Shaggy's was hit fairly hard by Gustav. The article said lots of the damage to the marina itself came from the boats that were left in the harbor being smashed around. So the beautiful harbor shots below were from here- some 12 hours before the storm blew in. I hope my crabcake-making chef there is ok......

Before the storm came, we were able to get in a little bit of food, fun and family time on this last fling of summer. I had not been to Gulfport, MS since I was a child. The kids love anywhere there is a beach and pool...... The worst 20 bucks my husband ever spent.....NOTICE- he paid, I pedaled. http://www.shaggys.biz/ We had THE best crab cake and corn salsa- so fresh and mmm....mmm good.... A cool local spot that was fun and delicious. The Shrimp Po-Boy was EXCELLENT, too. Shaggy's 120 S. Hiern Ave., Pass Harbor, Pass Christian, MS, 39571 228.452.9939 *****Note what his shirt really says....I painted it out in the first shot for the official harbor portrait. Goodbye, summer. It has been a great one ! Oh yes, I almost forgot......this one if for you, my kid's favorite Emm Nanny......WE LOVE YOU !

Business takes my husband to the Mississippi Coast. He has been telling me the conditions there were still bad from Katrina. The children and I went to Gulfport Friday afternoon to spend the Labor Day weekend. On Thursday, the real threat was thought to be Texas and Louisiana, so we continued with our trip. Not only did I witness the conditions that remain after Katrina, but I got to witness the threat of another hurricane and the heartbreak of seeing the people board up yet again. I went out to take some pictures before we evacuated ourselves...... Sometimes it was hard to tell what was left from Katrina and what was freshly boarded. We evacuated via Highway 90, which they were freshly paving Saturday and Sunday. It is closed and flooded today.

Orange Beach, Perdido Pass, LuLus....Little Man's actual birthday which we celebrated for 2 weeks.... Our friends that were our neighbors when Baby Girl was born were there from Indiana and we hung out on the beach drinking Gilligan's Islands and eating homemade Hummus made by Papa Bear, tanning and catching up! The kids had a blast and so did the Mom's. Making new memories and remembering old ones! We spent the nights at mt Mom's- Gran Gran's -and got to see her and Gramps too. She even joined us at the beach when my sis and neice joined us as well. Instead of making a bunch of posts about my wonderful beach trip, I made a movie slide show of the great pictures. There is 4 minutes of the best pictures to one of my favorite songs by BonJovi..... I love it, but if you are not a Jovi fan, mute it.......ummm...Dull, that may be you. Recipes by Papa Bear....LOVE HIM!! Gilligan's Island 1 oz vodka 1 oz peach schnapps 3 oz orange juice 3 oz cranberry juice Hummus 2 cu...

It is good to be home! After 2 weeks of vacation, I am home with hundreds of pictures and stories to tell. From the mountains, to the beach....we have had some great family time, some time with friends and some amazing weather. I have added to my t-shirt collection and my list of favorite places. Many posts to follow.... to catch you up!