I'm Back!

Hello! I am back at home after our August in Easton. We had an awesome time. I have lots of photos and stories to share. My mom and dad were so nice to have us down at the farm for most of the month. I feel so lucky that I can take my clan there, and camp out happily. Not everyone that I know would want to spend a near month with their parents, nor are their many parents that want to have their grown children, and their grandchildren move back in for a month. I am lucky in that my parents want us, and we want to be with them.

I was also able to spend a lot of time with my sister-in-law, Heather, and my nieces and nephews. We really felt like we were on vacation together.

It's sad to come home, but happy too. My parents are now Florida residents, and they aren't in Maryland as much as I wish they were. I love getting to spend time with them, especially when they are right down the road. I really like to see them as much as I can when they are here.

I love our home here in Annapolis too, and, as much as I LOVE summer, I am okay with sending my children back to school. My children go to a school that we love, and that embraces our family - so while I won't be able to lounge around and play all day with them - they will be with their friends, learning about the world. That's the way it's supposed to be, and I'll cheer once again on the last day of school next year, when we can hang out, eat popsicles all day, chase fireflies at night, eat junk, skip bedtime, and be outside for a season.

For every thing, there is a season. I spent a great summer season with my family, and for that, I AM THANKFUL!

Dad puts a race track together for Charlie
How cool is the Pink Ribbon oil truck?
We tried a sleep-over...the wound up girls were not quite ready.
The best thing ever?  Night swimming!
Mike organized tie-dye t-shirt time.  The shirts drying remind me of the tibetian prayer flags.

Keep A Vigil With Me

Mike and I are from New Orleans.  New Orleans is the kind of city where you don't have to be born there to be from there.  To be from New Orleans, you have to:

 - love the city:  even the politics, the tourists and the grime

 - love thy neighbor: everyone is different in New Orleans

 - love music

 - be able to tolerate the heat

 - have a sense of humor

 - have a sense of adventure

 - enjoy eating, drinking, and "passing a good time"

My son was born in New Orleans...and although I was not, I couldn't wait to get there.  The friends that we made in the city were so welcoming to us...we truly loved every second that we lived there.  We seriously considered staying forever.

Please pray with me tonight that the city will be spared.  Many of our friends, especially the Mehaffies, have businesses that they built with their own hands, that are at risk of flooding.  All of my friends there have wonderful homes, homes where we Burkes were always welcomed, that are in harms way.  Our friends have children who are missing school, and their friends, as they await the city's fate.  My girlfriends miss each other, and the luxury of picking up groceries (some New Orleaneans say "making groceries") taking the kids to school, and picking up the house.  The fellas would like to go to work.

To all of my New Orleans loved ones, we have hope this evening, and we are ready to help however we may be needed.

LOVE TO ALL...LOVE TO NEW ORLEANS!!!