Catching up...

OK, I have been severely chastised for not keeping this site up better. Once I signed on to FaceBook and got connected to so many old friends, I have not taken the time to do all I was doing in the past. It has been a busy, busy year for all of us in Henley Harbor here on the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast.

1. "Winds over Bolivar," my book about Hurricane Ike's impact on our beloved Bolivar Peninsula, was delivered on my birthday and it hit the road running. We have now conducted more than two dozen book signing events and we are have just placed our seventh order for printed books here at our house. Ted has done a wonderful job of getting them into many stores locally on the peninsula and in Galveston, for which we are grateful. If you have not ordered your copy, you can do so today by simply clicking on Amazon.com

2. Steven began his junior year of high school this year. Where could this time have gone? He and the band he formed when he moved to Texas from Tennessee, Seaweed, released their first CD two weeks ago after winning several local contests. They are very pleased with the response and how their musical careers are going.

3. Nikki, my youngest child, married Clint Jones on July 2, 2011, at his parents' camp in East Texas and she is happier than I have ever seen her to be. They fish (and catch some really good ones) often, and soon it will be hunting season. They live in Mauriceville, which is much nearer to me.

4. DeAnna, my oldest, still works for the airlines and she is active in the church Brent pastored here in Texas. DeAnna sings and teaches a high school girls' class and mothers Callie Grace, my soon to be 13-years-old granddaughter. Jeff continues his work at Motiva.

5. Brent and Valerie moved to Florida where Brent pastors a wonderful church there. They have four children: Quinn, Collin, Madeline, and Grant.

6. Ted has been quite ill for the past two weeks and this comes as a shock to all of us. He had never been hospitalized as a patient until this experience. He has been diagnosed with Sciatica in his hip, leg, and calf and two medicines he was given for that conflicted in a man his age and caused his bladder and kidneys to completely shut down. He was rushed back to the ER and had a procedure and now faces prostate surgery. Please keep him in your prayers.

7. If all is well, we'll be heading to Georgia in early October for four different reunions, all at Unicoi State Park. The Forrest Hills Baptist Church Reunion will be October 1 in the Dogwood Banquet Room and we are excited about seeing old friends. We will host three family gatherings during the week, one for my Cole/Cannon/Long side of the family, one for the Stancil girls, including the ones from South Carolina, and one for friends, before my big Clarkston High School Class Reunion on October 7, 8, and 9. Good friends, good food, good fun and great fellowship.

8. A near hurricane seems to be brewing with one more forming behind this one, so pray we get lots of rain, but no real storm here on the coast.

9. I've been busy as a beaver and have a new book coming out in late September, "Morning Glories," also published by Amazon. This book has been in my heart and soul for many years and is a collection of quotes, inspirational pieces, articles I've written for the newspaper, Scripture, illustrations, and just fun, fun stuff. The reader can go through one a day for all 365 days of the year (and yes, there's an extra one for Leap Year) or read it straight through. I chose the name based on my memory of my Mama Cole's beautiful blue/lavender morning glories at the old white farm house in Georgia where I spent the first years of my life.

10. Much love to each of you and if you are on FaceBook, send me a friend request so we can keep up better with each other. If you are not on FaceBook, consider joining. It took a full year for DeAnna to convince me I should have a page there and I now love it since I have re-connected with so many old friends, family members and church family across the world.

Until the next page turns,
Brenda

Sorry - You must go to the Amazon site to get the page to open for you to read inside. Won't do it on this site.

Great fun and two big events...

Two important events have taken place in our lives in just a few days. My Aunt Anna Lee celebrated her 90th birthday and we happily made the trip to Georgia to surprise her and she was indeed!  We were so happy to have a part in her wonderful birthday party and hundreds of friends (literally) came by to say best wishes.  Her daughter, Ann, did a wonderful job in planning and conducting this gathering, along with the help of her friends.  Our thanks for a wonderful afternoon of fellowship with old and dear friends and family.

Upon our return to Texas, our grandson, Steven Alan Brown graduated from Crenshaw Middle School on the Bolivar Peninsula. We have come to call his class "the come back kids" because all of them have struggled in one way or another to come back to school and to the Peninsula following Hurricane Ike.  It was a special evening in their honor.

Steven was presented the Presidential Award for English and Language Arts and we are so very proud of him and his accomplishments this year. He is off to high school next year — where did these years go?

A favorite writing of mine seems to fit both occasions because Aunt Anna has always been important in my life and I appreciate her unconditional love, guidance, spiritual character, and kindness given so freely to me. Ted and I hope to offer Steven the same qualities and remain important to his young life.

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove; however, the world will be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

(First photo is Steven and Kevin, a classmate, awaiting their turn to receive the all-important diploma and second is Steven and friends at the graduation party following the actual ceremony. The third is Steven in bright red cap and gown, fourth is processional, fifth is PaPa Ted, Steven, and Brenda and sixth is Brenda, Cousin Ann, and Aunt Anna at 90th birthday celebration in the Atlanta, Georgia area).

Life on the marsh in Southeast Texas

Steven, my oldest grandson, Ted, and I are getting accustomed to living a varied life right on the marshland on the Gulf of Mexico.  I never knew the different wildlife and birds that call this part of Texas home.  One can stand or sit on our long deck any time of the day or night and be entertained as if you are watching a televised program on National Geographic or one of the programs similar to that.  The birds are amazing in their color, flight patterns, habits and how they eat from what Mother Nature has provided for them.

We moved back to the Peninsula after having lived in a beautiful condo in Galveston for several months since the storm.  Because of having to ride the ferry back and forth, and waiting in the always long lines, much of the workday was spent in transportation and we needed to get back on Bolivar to seriously begin the building process. Our seven lots are cleared and cleaned of all debris (except Ted's boat collection) and we are ready to begin.

We have been busy getting settled into new quarters, cleaning, decorating and putting things away.  It's beginning to look like home now.

We attended a huge panel discussion yesterday sponsored by The Public Adjusters for our Bolivar Peninsula residents to learn more about how we can continue to fight against the injustices being meted out by Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.  No one here on the entire Peninsula has been paid fairly that we know of anyway.  Most are being offered the 11.2 percent settlement we were presented with, which is nothing like what we are owed.  The battle continues!

Steven Alan Brown, soon to be 14,  came to live with Ted and I a week ago from his home in Tennessee.  It appears that his mom (my youngest daughter, Nikki) and my son in law (Steve Brown) are getting a divorce and breaking up their beautiful home nestled in the pretty pastureland of Tennessee just under the Kentucky border. Divorce is always hardest on the children and Steven and Brendan are no exception.  

Steven has adapted well to life in Southeast Texas and my friends have been wonderful to surround him with lots of love and attention.  He had his first week in eighth grade at our new Crenshaw School and did very well. He made 110 on his weekly spelling test by getting all of those hard words correctly and a bonus word.  He was thrilled as was I!   He is also continuing to take guitar lessons here on the Peninsula and enjoys that music. One of my friends brought him a new iPod and complete set up yesterday to the gathering, plus $100 of iTunes gift cards and he was absolutely delighted. He was also given a $25 gift card by another friend for helping with the gathering.

Ted can teach Steven a lot about "man stuff," and the two will no doubt fish, build, repair, tinker and oh, did I mention eat?  He and I have always had a special connection and nothing has ever broken that.

Please pray for my children that God's will can be done and that Brendan will fare well during all of this.  He is getting to visit his dad this weekend in Georgia and he was excited about that trip.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring to each of you, dear family and friends.

Settled into a leased cottage on the marsh on the Gulf

Dear Family and Friends,

Ted and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary yesterday amidst moving yet again.  We have been able to secure a nice little cottage located in our community on the marshland and Gulf.  We are much closer to the water than we were in our home that Ike took out (yes, Ginger and Millie, I do know that hurricane season is coming again in June and I have been reading the predictions for this year).  It is amazing to stand on our long deck and watch a myriad of birds taking off and nesting in the tall spring grass of the marsh.  

We leased the cottage from Victor Emmanuel of Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours.  Victor bought the cottage some years ago because of its location on the water and he is kind to allow us to lease it for a full year.  Again, we know we are better off than many of our dear friends who still have no home to call their own.

We are continuing the battle with Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and they have not paid what they should to us or anyone else.  Our protest in Austin on March 13, the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Ike, was effective and we got their attention, which was our goal.  The claims adjusters began calling on Saturday morning offering some of our folks a slight increase, but still not nearly what they should be paying.

We have engaged the services of a highly sought after public adjusting firm out of Florida, The Public Adjusters, and signed on with Chip Merlin of the Merlin Law Group, also out of Florida, to pursue our case should it go on to litigation.  We feel we honestly have no other options and think that these professionals may have a better chance than we, as individuals, would ever have against the  system we are facing.  I am very impressed with Chip's record and he is representing us personally because of the Yahoo Group, BolivarBLUE, and the number of contacts we have by way of that means.

BLUE continues to grow and provide important information to our members.  We are having a large meeting on Saturday where we will meet members of the adjusting team, weather experts, engineers who have been on Bolivar, and many other professionals engaged in this major recovery effort.

Steven, my oldest grandson, son of Steve and Nikki in Tennessee, has come to live with Ted and me here in Texas.  He is a fine boy, very intelligent, and enjoying going to school at the brand new campus on the beach.  He has completed his first three days successfully and came home with a 110 on his very difficult spelling test today.  He will be going into ninth grade next year and we are very proud of him.  We trust Brendan, the youngest, will come for much of the summer here with us as well.  Ted is a wonderful teacher, instructor, and pal to these boys.

My son, Brent Stancil, resigned Val Verde Baptist Church in Groves where he has pastored faithfully for some 12 years.  He will be moving to Saint Petersburg, Florida, where he will pastor the Community Baptist Church there.  His last Sunday in Texas will be April 26th.  It is a sad move for DeAnna, who has been thoroughly involved with the church since her move to Texas. I do trust that all of my good friends there in Florida will visit his new church and help to welcome him to The Sunshine State.  Val Verde has not called a new pastor, and the search committee is busily trying to determine God's will for this good group of folks who love the Lord and each other.

Sorry I have been so negligent in keeping up the blog site, but with the Yahoo Group and everything else I am involved in, I have very little time.  I am including a photo taken at the big protest in Austin on a cold, rainy, windy Texas day.  I had the opportunity or challenge to question Jim Oliver, the director of Texas Windstorm Insurance Association for quite a while on the wet parking lot.  We did not get satisfactory responses needless to say.