now for some good news...

well, this may not sound like good news at first, but it has a happy ending. last monday i took the cavalier in to the shop because it had been acting really funny. i knew something was wrong with the transmission, but little did i know i would need a transmission overhaul. pretty much a new transmission. this could cost anywhere from $1000 to $1900 depending who i had do it and what kind of a guarantee i wanted. josh and i talked it over that evening after leadership night, and we decided it would be better to spend that money on a down payment on a new car, then on fixing the red beast that had over 100,000 miles on it! so...i got a new car. we went tuesday evening and ended up getting the first car we found. we had shopped around a lot in the area online, so we pretty much knew we wanted it before we got there! :) sorry clonts'...we copied ya'll! we got a nissan pathfinder. it's a 2008 black suv, and i love it. it has lots of cool perks that i'm not used to like a dvd player in the back, a sun roof, a screen with a back up camera so i don't hit things, etc! it also has lots of perks that most people would be used to but i have never had, like cruise control, automatic locks and windows, working cd player, etc. love it! here are some pics!

thanks ike...

well...we're ok, and i just wanted to let everyone know that. we are still without power and water (thanks to living in the country). fortunately, we have not stayed at our house since sunday. we spent a couple of days with my folks in needville, and then josh's parents got power in spring so we are now living with them...again. entergy suffered some major damage and will not be back up and running for a while. today i heard on the news that conroe should be 100% restored to power by sept. 29. i pray that this is true. entergy had told us it could take 4 weeks or more, so 2 weeks would be amazing! our new home was safe through the storm. before we moved in we had the lot cleared and picked out the favorite trees that we wanted to stay in the yard...well those are all gone now. somehow josh and i slept through them all falling, but they did. completely uprooted. i'll post some pics here in a minute. josh's job is being ridiculous throughout this whole process, but he has gotten to go back to work, so we won't be completely broke! he is working out of the houston office, and having to work long hours, so he's exhausted. this is not the best situation since the mayor is telling people not to drive unless in an emergency, because quite honestly gas is near impossible to find. we found some tonight at kroger and the line wasn't too bad...thank goodness. the church finally got power back tonight, but i think we will not work the rest of the week...most likely because most of the employees have kids that are still not in school. we'll see about that. as for my family...everyone is ok. my parents never even lost electricity...what a blessing! heather and jason got electricity back yesterday. travis and rebecca are still without, like us, but they are staying in needville. we all suffered some damage, but were very blessed all in all. for some reason my school (uh) decided to reopen tuesday. they were the only university opening. i went to classes last night...simply because i was bored. i was one of about 5 people in each class, and they will reteach everything next week, so i will possibly not go tomorrow. we'll see. please be in prayer for people here. things are insane and a lot of my friends are struggling. our neighbors and their girls are staying at their house with no power or water and the kids are exhausted, bored, and irritable. pray for people in these situations that they will find relief, peace, and patience. here are some pics...enjoy.

our yard...from the street in front

one pine tree snapped and is still dangling above the house...we'll have to fix that soon

another one from the street

this is our neighbor's house...they were the only one's one the street with major damage to the house. this branch punctured the roof above their master bedroom and their carpet is now wet and yucky...with no electricity to air it out = stinky!!!

uh campus...it was a mess!

huge root systems, now sticking up in our yard

from the front porch

the tree right in front of the house...it was actually in our flower bed

amazing

oh yeah...my amazing friend michael came over to our house monday and he and josh and some other guys spent the day cleaning up our yard. they had a couple of chainsaws and lots of help, so we now have firewood until we die! crazy amounts of wood! i am so thankful for michael's help and when we get back in the house it will be one less thing to worry about. yay! hope you liked the post...i've got good news too, i'll post tomorrow! if you're from this area...let us know if you are ok!