Christmas in Utah

Note: This was written last week, but I didn't have a change to post until now...

After snowing all day, it was nice and clear when I flew into Salt Lake City the Saturday before Christmas. Mom and Dad picked me up from the airport and we got home around 11 pm. It was good to be home!

On Sunday, I went to Church with my family. Afterwards, we drove to Mantua so I could visit with my Grandma B at Aunt Randa"s. Then, we drove to Brigham City, where we had the Searle Family Christmas Party. It was good to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We ate dinner and watched "The Nativity Story."

It snowed all day Monday and Tedi and I braved the roads to go Christmas shopping. It was nice to spend the day with her.

Tuesday, I had Dad drop me off to visit with the library ladies and then Tedi picked me up and we met Dad for lunch at Subway. Tuesday night, we ordered pizza and M wanted to go see the movie "Yes Man" for his birthday.

Wednesday dawned sunny and clear. Dad and I went for a walk and visited some neighbors. Then we made some toffee and sugar cookies. Dad had to run to Brigham, so we met Mom for lunch at Wendy's and then went to a matinee movie "The Tales of Despereaux." Mom and Dad fell asleep and I was fighting to keep my eyes open! We went home, turned on some Christmas music, and spent the rest of the afternoon decorating cookies. Christmas Eve was M's 19th Birthday, so we took him to have Chinese for dinner and then he opened presents.

We had two storms come through and it snowed all Christmas Day. We had breakfast and called Elyse to wish her a Merry Christmas. Then, we filed in the parlor to see what Santa had left us. I got a nice rain jacket (to keep me dry during hurricane season!). We took family pictures and then M and I went snowmobiling. The snow was so heavy and wet! I had so much fun, I didn't want to go in yet, so I decided to build a snowman and then I plopped down and made a snow angel. I was laying there in the snow, looking up at the sky thinking that life was just about perfect! It was a magical moment…

We spent the rest of the day watching movies and playing games, eating way to much food, and shoveling the driveway before the next storm blew in! It was a fun, relaxing day with my family.

Friday Mom had to take Tedi to the doctors in Brigham and Dad had to get his truck fixed, so I rode along and went to visit my friend Tara. It was good to visit. After grabbing a bite to eat at Dixie Grill, I went home and packed. We decided to go to Salt Lake that night, instead of leaving at 3 in the morning to go to the airport (I had to been there at 5 am). We left at 5 pm and stopped in Brigham so I could say goodbye to my grandparents. While there, I realized that I had left my carry-on bag with my money and id at home! So, Dad had Tedi meet him in Sardine Canyon. We finally left Brigham at 6 pm. The freeway was pure ice-I've never seen it so bad! We didn't reach my Aunt McKell's, in South Jordan, until almost 9 o'clock. We had a nice turkey dinner and than I went to bed.

I was up by 3:30 am and we left for the airport at 4:30. After a 4 hour layover in Atlanta, GA (my flight was delayed) I got home at 6 pm. Stephanie and Lalunie (Jared's sister) came and picked me up and I had dinner with the Davis' and got to meet the rest of Jared's family.

I finally went home and when I walked in my bedroom there was a bed! I had figured out that Stephanie was planning on buying me a mattress, but not a whole bed set! When I called her she said it was from her and Jared, Mom and Dad, and Grandpa Bill. It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me…it made me cry.
Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a safe and happy New Year!

Lonnie

Going Home!

Hola my friends!

Just a quick note...I had so much fun on Wednesday-I went to Baton Rouge to the Scholastic Warehouse to pick out books for the library. I rode with Sarah and we listened to Breaking Dawn while driving over and back. We stopped at the New York Bagel for lunch. I'd never been there before and I thought of Elyse the whole time because all the sandwiches have a New York name and there are black and white photos of Manhattan all over the walls. We took the Highland exit and drove through the LSU campus (I love it!), where I saw the Elders walking, and then past multimillion dollar homes, all decked out for Christmas (beautiful!), and past the Temple (even more beautiful!). We then spent the next 3 hours cruising up and down the isles for books.

Then, that night the staff at my apartment complex had their annual Cajun Christmas Gumbo. They had the the office all decked out with a tree and we all got door prizes (I got a beautiful glass picture frame) and we feasted on chicken and sausage gumbo and strawberry shortcake. The pictures are of Colby, my apartment manager, and the Elders (about), who also live in my complex. It was fun.

This past week I've felt like I've lived in a snow globe! New Iberia is covered in a blanket of fog that won't go away. I like it, it's all misty and dark. It's also been hot-in the 80s-and I've had to sleep with the fan on again.

I'm going from this wonderful tropical weather, to the dry cold climate of Utah-I'm flying home this afternoon-Yea! It's the first time I've been home since I moved six months ago.

Happy Holidays!

Lonnie

Parties, Santa, and Snow!

Thursday morning I woke up and it was snowing! It had rained all Wednesday and the rain turned to big, fat wet flakes over night. By the time I left for work, it was already turning to a rainy slush and starting to melt, so it didn't last long. But, it was fun to see how excited everyone was because snow is such a rare phenomenon in Louisiana. (I think it was 2004, the last time it snowed here). I got a message from Maggie, on my phone, at 6:30 in the morning, telling me to get outside because there was event outside that I probably wouldn't see again for 20 years! Then, when I got to work, Don scrapped all the snow off the back of my car and made a snowball with it. He put it in a mug and placed it in the freezer, with a tag that said, "Officially licensed December 11, 2008 New Iberia Snow from Lonnie's car."

It seems like I spent the whole week partying. First, we had our Branch Christmas Party on Tuesday night. It was nice. Stories were read, carols were sung (including the reenactment of "The Twelve Pains of Christmas"), food was consumed (the standard ham and funeral potatoes), and Santa stopped by for a visit.

Then, we had our Relief Society Christmas Party on Thursday night. We got into groups and did a picture scavenger hunt, where we had to drive around and find houses decorated for Christmas. We had 45 minutes and a list of 45 items that we had to take pictures with. For example, we had to find a blow-up Santa and, staying on the sidewalk, pose as if we had our arms around him. Another one was we had to find a red door, and again, from the sidewalk, make it look like we were knocking on the door. My favorite was "Find a dog barking in the window and pose as if you were petting its head" and we actually found a dog barking in the window! When we got back to the church, we each got a candy cane with a word on it and Julie read "Twas the Night before Christmas." When she said our word, we had to stand up and say "Ho, ho, ho" and then we got to pick a gift. Afterwards, we feasted on turkey with all the trimmings. It was a blast!

Finally, Friday was our Christmas Pig Out at work. Everybody brought food and we literally pigged out! I got to try boudin for the first time and really liked it (it's a rice mixture, usually with pork, put in a sausage skin-you don't eat the outside, you just kind of suck it out). I liked the spicy flavor.

Saturday I had another date and we went and saw the new movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (a remake of the 1950s sci-fi classic) and then had dinner at The Seafood Connection ( I tried the shrimp balls, which were pretty good). Afterwards, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. It was fun.

I going home for Christmas and I can't wait to see all my family and friends. I can't believe I'm leaving in less than a week! Kathy said she hope I could get there, because apparently Utah is having a big storm right now.

Lonnie

Happy Holidays!

The holidays are in full swing! Thanksgiving was great! I made sweet potatoes and stuffing and then went and spent the day at the Davis'. Elyse called. She had just gotten home from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and she saw David Archuleta! Elyse also went downtown the night before and watched them blow up the balloons. She was right in front of the new Smurf and Kermit the Frog was singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."





Anyway, the weather was absolutely perfect, with the sun shinning a a nice gentle breeze ( I was actually hot in my long-sleeve shirt!)

I found out that the Davis" Family combine all of the Berrett's traditions into one holiday! First, Jared and Rosie made sugar cookies, which they do together every year (the Berrett's do that at Halloween). Then, they go around and say what they're thankful for (which the Berrett's also do at Thanksgiving). Next, the Davis' turn on Christmas music during dinner (which the Berrett's do Christmas morning while opening presents). Finally, the Davis' had sparking apple cider and white grape juice (you know, the nonalcoholic "bubbly" that we always have on New Year’s Eve?)

Sunday, I went and spent the afternoon at the Cotton's. I snacked on leftover turkey that Mike had made and it was yummy! He injected it with Creole Butter and then fried it…I've never tasted anything so good (and I’m not even a fan of turkey!)

I was surprised when we closed early on Monday. It turned out that the city was doing the annual tree lighting ceremony at the civic center next door and then having the Christmas Parade. If I had known about it, I would have stayed and watched it!

Tuesday night, we had a Primary Appreciation Dinner for the teachers. I picked up Lisa, one of the teachers, and we were going to the Primary President's house. Well, I had never been to Sherri's house, and I got lost and ended up out in the middle of the sugar cane fields! After calling and getting directions, I finally got Lisa there in time for dessert.

The next night, Sherri had a Cookie Exchange Party. This time I didn't get lost and we got there on time! It was fun…everyone made their favorite cookies and then brought the recipe to share. There were about 30 or 40 people there. I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and passed them out.


Wednesday was also Rosie's 5th Birthday, so I stopped by on the way home to give her a present. She had gotten a hair cut for her birthday and they went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. On Saturday, I went and helped Stephanie with Rosie's Birthday Party. It was crazy chaos with a bunch of little kids running around, but it was fun. Stephanie has a bunch of Christmas crafts for them to make.

Saturday I also had a date and Garth took me to a cool restaurant called The Blue Dog Café. It was dark and relaxing inside, with just a few lamps and a stone fireplace in the middle. There is pop art on the walls (done by the owner). Most of the paintings are are blue dogs (of course!) I was excited when we were led to the table right next to the fireplace. I was even more excited to discover that the tables are all covered in butcher paper and they have a jar of crayons, so you can draw.

'Til next week...
Lonnie

P.S. I had more pictures to share, but the upload button has failed, of course!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note-I know, it's been a couple of weeks since I've written on my blog.

Since last time, I've done family movie night ( we showed Kung Fu Panda) and I had an early Thanksgiving dinner with the McLeans. We also had our Primary Program last week and the kids did pretty well. Wed. I did my last computer class at Jeanerette and now I get a month off (I'm not doing the classes over the holidays). Then, on Thursday night we had our Secret Sister Reveal Party. We took a last gift for our secret sisters and made their favorites treat to snack on. Finally, Saturday I babysat Rosie while the Davis' went to the Cannery. They had to be there at 8 o'clock in the morning, and it's a 4 hour drive, so they left at 4 am.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's a good time to reflect on that I've been blessed with-the gospel, my family and friends that love and support me, a wonderful job, and gas prices falling below $2!

Lonnie

My Day Off

Another week has come and gone…We witnessed history in the making when Barrack Obama was elected as our next President last Tuesday…the first black man to become President of the United States!

This month I'm teaching computer classes at our Jeanerette Branch. The first one was on Wednesday. I hadn't been to the Jeanerette Branch before, so it was nice to get a chance to drive out there. There are two people who work there and it's smaller-It reminds me of the old Hyrum Library in a way.

There's a lady in my Branch who has wanted me to help her get started on her genealogy. She works on the weekends when I'm normally off, so we haven't been able to find time to get together. Well, I had some comp time accumulated, so I decided to take Thursday off and help her. I also went and got new tires put on my car and went to the fitness center to work out (I'm usually not home when it's open, so this is the first time I had an opportunity to use it!) I ended the day relaxing with a good book.

Saturday, I went to Baton Rouge with Tina and Natalie, for a Stake Auxiliary Training Meeting. I got to meet the Stake Primary presidency and learn more about how to do my calling. They fed us lunch and then we headed back home. Leaving Baton Rouge, the traffic coming into the city was backed up all the way to the bridge-There was an LSU game and people around here are die-hard fans…its crazy!

The Good: This week I finally got to eat all the southern foods I learned to love while growing up in Arkansas: fried okra, hush puppies, jalapeño cornbread, and sweet potatoes!

The Bad: I had another cockroach in my apartment on Sat.

Air Festival

I can't believe it's already November! We had a little cold snap last week, but its back in the 80's again. Halloween was fun…To celebrate, I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Around here people sit out in their driveways and hand out candy. However, I didn't get to see any trick or treaters, because a friend invited me to dinner. We drove to Lafayette, and on the way we saw a beautiful sight: A sliver of a moon, with a planet hanging above it, and the sun setting below it. We stopped and tried to get a picture, but it was too dark. We had just continued on, when I saw these colorful lights swirling around above the trees. At first, I that it was just a light tower, then I thought it was fireworks, but as we got closer I noticed the lights were in formation. It was until the next day that I found out that they had been doing a Twilight Show at the airport and those were planes all lit up in colored lights!

The library was closed Saturday, for All Saints Days, but we had our annual Friends of the Library Book Sale at the Community Center. I went in the morning and got a couple of Dan Brown books. Then, I went with Stephanie and Rosie to PHI's Company Bar-B-Q. PHI is the helicopter company that Jared works for and it's right next to the Lafayette Airport. I feasted on red beans and rice and spicy Cajun burgers. After lunch, Stephanie and I walked over to the airport for the 2008 Sertoma Cajun Air Festival. It was so much fun. They had simulator rides and demonstrations and you could tour the big military planes. Do you know how much I love planes? I just get a thrill watching them fly! I got to watch a F15 take off right in front of me-it was so cool! I puttered around in a helicopter and then checked out the old cars. Finally, we went back to PHI and watched the Thunderbirds formations from there…

Anyway, life is wonderful-work is going well and I’m finding time to have some fun too!

Hope everyone had a fun, safe Halloween!

Lonnie

Terror on the Teche

The past week was good. Tuesday was insane! The day started out at the dentist, where the doctor declared my teeth good. Yeah!! Then, I ran to work, where I had 30 minutes to set up and prepare for my computer class. I was teaching the patrons how to set up and manage an email account; however, half of the computers didn't have internet connection! We muddle through…I had to work late, since I went in late, and I ran home in time to turn around and go to dinner with a friend. We ate at Sicily's Italian Buffet in Broussard and I loved it! Wednesday, I did some volunteer work (doing some one-on-one computer tutoring). It was nice; I've wanted to do something for a while.

I had a fun-filled Saturday. First, I went to Washington with the Davis'. We took a pretty little drive north to get there. Washington was settled in 1720 and they have an old brick school where antique dealers come and sell their things. It's aptly named The Old School Antique Mall. The antiques were neat, but I was more excited to see the building itself. We started in the gym and they still have the old wooden bleachers and the stage. We spent an hour wondering around there (it's huge!). They had old antique furniture, toys, books, etc. I actually found the movie "A Patch of Blue"-It looked brand new and it was only $2! I love that movie and I should have bought it, but I didn't. We finally went in the actual school and it is amazing! (I love the structure of old buildings). Its 2 stories tall, with one long hallway on each floor and a set of staircases at both ends of the building. Completed with dark wood floors and high ceilings, with little ventilation windows above each of the classroom doors, it felt like what a school should feel like...Does that make sense to anyone? I snuck one picture from the inside and then took a couple outside. New Iberia has an old school just like Washington's, only bigger, on Center Street. Our's has been converted into apartments.



Saturday night I volunteered to help with Terror on the Teche. The library put it on, along with Shadows on the Teche (the old antebellum house on Main St.). It was held outside and the guests took a graveled path, lit by candles, through the graveyard of the family that lived in the plantation (with the cement coffins, or what ever you call the graves above ground) past skeletons and spiders hanging from the moss covered oak trees, to get to their seats. I saw vampires and witches, fairies and princesses, clowns and singers, and 3 batmans emerge out of the cemetery. It was truly a site to see! We had a storyteller, named Sylvia Davis, come. She told stories that have been pasted down in her family. I had the easy job of crowd control (we had about 200 people come). And as soon as we got people situated, I got to go sit and listen to the stories. Sylvia was up on a little stage and we had a spotlight shinning on her from the ground. As she moved around, weaving her tales of terror, it was cool to watch her shadow dance up and down on the Shadows on the Teche, which was directly behind her…very fitting for the occasion. Finally, we handed out little bags of candy to the children as they left.

Last, been not least, I finally got a calling at church. Last week, they asked me to fill in at Nursery and I didn't have a clue what I was doing! I barely survived the 2 hours and then the Branch President asked to speak with me. I was fervently hoping I wasn't going to be called to Nursery (I didn't think I could handle that every week!). Well, I got lucky. Yesterday, I was sustained as the secretary in the Primary. This will be a totally new experience for me. I haven't been to Primary since I was 11 years old. I didn't even remember how the classes went! And I'm jumping right in because for the next 3 weeks we're practicing for the Primary Program. I didn't know half the songs they are singing, so I'm going to have to find a book and start memorizing. Basically, I'll be in charge of taking roll (which means I need to hurry and learn all the kids' names, we only have 16, so we don't have separate rolls for the teachers. We also don't have a junior and a senior primary, but combined), keeping everything organized and filling in when we don't have a teacher, ect. I'm excited; it’s definitely a new challenge!

Going to the Temple

Hey everyone!

Life is busy, but good. I've been teaching a computer class at the library every Tues. It's going well, but let's just say that I wasn't born to teach (I do much better with individual instruction)! This last week I also did Family Movie Night and showed "The Incredibles." That was fun. Then, Saturday, I finally got to go the the Baton Rouge Temple to do Baptisms for the Dead. It's a small temple and you have to provide your own ordinance workers, so I can't just go whenever I want (I got spoiled living in Logan!). The Branch put together a group and it was a great trip.

Have a great week!

Women's Conference with Sheri Dew

Hey everyone! I just had to drop a quick note and tell you about my great weekend...On Saturday, I got together with a bunch of sisters in our Branch and we went to Baton Rouge for the day. It was so much fun! We had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant and than went to the Mall of Louisiana and shopped (Elyse, I even found a Disney Store!). Then, we drove to the Stake Center, which is right next to the temple, to attend the annual Women's Conference. This year, Sheri Dew came and talked about "Finding Joy in the Journey." She's an amazing woman and I've always enjoyed hearing her speak.

By the way, fall in Louisiana is beautiful. It's almost as hot as it was when I first moved down here. The only difference is that there isn't as much humidity! Poor Utah, I heard you've already had snow!

I hope you all have a great week!
Lonnie

Conference Weekend

I'm sorry that it’s been over two weeks since I've updated my blog…Life has just been so crazy! Let's see, since I last wrote on here I have survived giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting (it was on Life After Death and it actually went pretty well), I went on a couple of dates with a guy from Arizona (he was down here trimming and cutting downing trees after the hurricane), and I pulled a 12 hour shift at the library (I had a workshop to attend in the morning and Family Movie Night with Sarah that evening). Oh, and I watched the General Relief Society Meeting with the sisters in my Branch (I loved Pres. Uchtdorf talk!). I was home maybe one night the whole entire week!

This last week, I was home more often, but work was insane, and I would come home exhausted! Monday night the Cotton's invited me over for a Bar-B-Q and Family Home Evening. They live in Franklin, which I hadn't been to, and it’s a beautiful area. (Mama, Mike Cotton is the guy that spoke in Sacrament Meeting when you were here-he served a mission in Italy). The Cotton's are wonderful people and I really enjoyed spending time with them and their kids. Wednesday was Stephanie's Birthday and I had ordered some books for her over a month ago. However, she informed me last week that she doesn't like to celebrate her birthday, so I ended up giving her the books a week early and wishing her a Happy Un-Birthday!

What else? I finally got the oil changed in my car. I went Friday before work and was in and out in 10 minutes. Yesterday, they were doing "Clip for the Cure”" at SmartStyle. All haircuts were $10 and the money went to the Regis Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. It was for a good cause and it was cheap, so I finally got a hair cut (those of you who know me know I hate to get my hair cut!) It was also Election Day, so I went to vote. Finally, Stephanie and Jared have Satellite TV, which gets the BYU channel, so I went to their house to watch General Conference. It was amazing! I got chills when I heard that a temple in going to be built in Rome, Italy! I especially enjoyed the talks on simplifying our lives, being optimistic in difficult times, Pres. Uchtdorf's talk on HOPE, and Elder Bednar's continuation on meaningful prayers (every time I hear him speak, I feel like I’m back at BYU-Idaho! Good memories…). However, there was one talk on Saturday that truly spoke to my heart and moved me to tears (tears were streaming down my face, mind you…) Elder Holland talked about angels and I add my testimony to his that there are both immortal and mortal angels helping us here! I’ll just say that I have met many of His mortal angels while down here the last few months and I have felt the presence of His immortal angels surrounding me. God lives and loves us, my friends.

I love you all and I hope you enjoy the rest of Conference Weekend!
Lonnie

Slowly Getting Back to Normal

Well, it's been a week since Ike hit. I was lucky, besides the power going off a couple of times, and tornado warnings in effect all night, I didn't get any damage. However, that being said, 13,000 homes were flooded and a lot of businesses were destroyed just to the south and west of me.

FEMA came to town and we had a couple work from the library. I had calls all week from patrons that lost library materials in floods, fires, ect. I feel for these people that have lost their homes and their jobs (most, if not all, of the oil-rigs off-shore were destroyed).

Wal-Mart finally got their shelves restocked, after being pretty bare for 2 weeks, and I finally got to go buy milk and butter...(One of the many things I've learned during all this is that shortening is a poor substitute for butter and that I can drink powdered milk if I really have too! :-)

Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update and let you know that I'm okay.

'Til next week!
Lonnie

Here We Go Again...

Just a quick note...We're closing the library at noon, all the schools have been cancelled, and there is an mandatory evacuation for everyone below I-90 (which, is only a mile from my house).

Of course, the day after I decide to put stuff back together in my apartment, I have to turn right around and put things a way again! Hurricane Ike is causing tornadoes in our Parish, along with the storm surge (there is already 7 feet of water at the Carmeron Parish capitol!)

I'll try to post after the storm.
I love you all!
Lonnie

Getting Back to Normal

Note: The following was written last Friday. However, we haven't had Internet available until today, so I haven't been able to post.

On Wednesday, after Gustav, Louisiana got pounded by thunderstorms and tornadoes. There was a tornado just northwest of us, where 2 people were killed. We had to check out of the hotel by 11am, so we drove to Opelousas to get Bill’s RV to stay in Wednesday night. Opelousas was bad-they had trees down everywhere… and right after we left they had a tornado! We were lucky...At 12pm Wednesday, Iberia Parish said that people could return home if they were self-reliant. We got to New Iberia around 12:30 and what a difference a day makes! On Tuesday, the water was up to Stephanie’s knee (12 to 20 inches) and by the time we got there Wednesday, the flood had receded off of the roads. Luck stayed with us as we discovered that both the Davis family and I had power (half of the city is still without power though). At my apartment the carpet by the front door was wet and I had two huge water spots on my ceiling where the rain started coming through the roof…however, it wasn't leaking, so that’s good.



Thursday I got my belated day off…The library was still closed, so I spent the morning cleaning my apartment (including sweeping up all the debris on my stairs and porch). Then, I relaxed for a while and finished reading Breaking Dawn…I loved the ending! After lunch, I went to Stephanie's to help them unpack and clean their house (Jared's mom and sister were flying in on Friday from Utah for a visit!)

Friday, it was back to work. Some of the Branches still didn't have power, but Main did, so we were open to the public. We still didn't have Internet though, so I couldn't do much.

Now, we’re just keeping an eye on Ike…

P.S. It's now Wed., Sept.10th, and it looks like Ike is headed to Texas, so the worst we'll get is a heavy rain storm.

Things are slowly returning to normal. The grocery store shelves are still pretty bare and it's hard to find a fast food restaurant that actually has food, but trucks should be coming into the city soon.

Lonnie

Hurricane Aftermath

This morning, I stayed with Rosie at the hotel while Stephanie and Jared took the truck and went to see if they could get back into New Iberia. They were gone for about 5 hours, but finally made it back, cold, wet, and hungry. They got into New Iberia and they said that the power is still out and a lot of the roads are flooded, but all in all, things are looking pretty good. We're thinking that we'll be able to go back tomorrow!



Stephanie took my camera and got some pictures for me.

Jefferson Terrace, the road that runs along the side of my apartment.

My apartment parking lot

The Wal-Mart behind my house, all boarded up and closed.

The library on Main Street and some damage on East Main.

Flooding on Center Street

Stephanie stopped by my apartment and she says that everything looks good. I'm on the second floor, so I didn't get flooded and none of my windows broke, so I'm very fortunate.

All is well!

Lonnie

Gustav Continued

We survived the eye of the hurricane. It's 6:30 and the rain has stopped for the moment here in Lafayette. I just wanted to share some pictures I got during the Hurricane.

Before

During

...and After

The next two pictures are images from the news of New Iberia. The first one is just off of E. Main St. by my work.

Stephanie and I went outside at one point. The wind was up to 75 miles per hour

and then there was me, blowing away...

I love you all and I'll keep in touch.

Lonnie

Gustav

The eye of Gustav just hit Houma and New Iberia at 110 mph, which makes it a Category 2 Hurricane...one more mile and it would have been a Category 3. Up here in Lafayette, the rain is pouring and the wind is blowing.

More later,
Lonnie

Greetings from Hurricane Central!

It's amazing how life changes in one week. Oh, where to begin…as you have all heard by now, Hurricane Gustav is coming to Louisiana. I found out Wednesday at work, so that night I pulled my 72 hour kit out and went through everything to see what I had.

Work was quiet on Thursday (everybody was getting ready for the storm). I ran to the store afterward to get some more water and batteries. The shelves were already pretty bare. I packed a suitcase of clothes, then I packed my car, finally, I packed up stuff in my apartment. I took a break and Grandpa Bill took to me to eat my first Po-Boy sandwich at Bon Creole. It was a nice bit of normalcy during a time of uncertainty. I loved the Po-Boy (almost as good as the sandwiches from The Italian Place in Logan!) Daddy you would have loved this place…Inside, there is a wall and it looked like we were in a log cabin and there are deer and animal heads, etc. After dinner, we went and found a gas station that still had regular gas (a lot a gas stations were already running out and closing down) and I filled up my car.

Friday, I got everything taken care of at work-I cleared off my desk and packed everything away. I unplugged everything, got everything off the floor and covered the computer, phone, printer…(I decided it's very nice of Gustav to come on a Holiday Weekend, because I don't have to worry about work Monday!)

My Work and Apartment Complex Boarded Up

Saturday morning I locked up my apartment and left at 9am, praying that I would have a place to come home to when this is all over. I put air in my tires and then went to Stephanie and Jared’s to help them pack. I helped fill emergency water containers, ect. I had practically nothing in my car, so I told Stephanie that they could put whatever they needed in it (Stephanie usually has a van, but it's in the shop and she’s been driving a little Toyota and there's no space). So, we made a caravan-Jared had a generator in the back of his truck, Stephanie had all the food in her car, I had all the suitcases of clothes in my car) At 4pm, they had a mandatory evacuation for everyone south of 192, which is half way between New Iberia and Lafayette. We didn't get out until 5:30 pm and as soon as we got on I-90, traffic was bumper to bumper. It took 2 hours to get to Lafayette, which is normally only a 30-minute drive.

We had planned on going up to Alexandria, to the Stake Center. However, Jared's work called and said they would put him up at the Hampton Suite Hotel because they want him close to work (he works for PHI, flying helicopters out to the oil riges). I was so relieved when I heard we were only going to Lafayette. I wasn't looking forward to having to drive (I was afraid I would lose Stephanie and get lost). And if I have to go through a Hurricane, then this is nice place to ride out a storm! Instead of camping out on the floor, we have a nice room with a mini-fridge and a microwave (so, as long as we have power we can eat real food) and a shower and beds…I've never been more comfortable! God is gracious and merciful! That He is watching over and protecting me, I don’t have a doubt.

Home Away From Home

Today, we ran to the store to get a few more groceries. We went to Winn Dixie because practically everything else is shut down (It strange to see Wal-Mart, which is usually open 24/7, closed and boarded up and the parking lot empty…kind of erie.)

Gustav is suppose to make landfall tomorrow. Right now it's a Category 3 with winds up to 115 mph.

I love you all and I’ll keep in touch as long as we have power.

I love you, I love you, I love you!!!!!!!

Lonnie (and Miss Rosie)

New Orleans

What a week! Tuesday night was our Sisters' Club. We went to Lyndia's house and she cooked us a Mexican feast and we all shared our talents.

Saturday I went to New Orleans with Linda and we attended an Italian Genealogy Workshop for work. She picked me up at 6 am and it took two hours to get to New Orleans. We went to the Williams Research Center on Chartres Street, which is in the heart of the French Quarter. It was so neat! The buildings and architecture are amazing. The workshop was interesting and the lady mentioned The Church of Jesus Christ quite a few times because of the Family Search organization and all of the work they have done to film Italy’s Records, so that was cool!

The workshop ended at 12 and we wandered around a little. We walked through Johnson Square and went to Café du Monde to eat La Beignets(French Donuts) and I remembered Dad bringing home a box of mix, from one of his trips, to make them and I love them! It was fun!