ChiCricket

I know we are SO lucky to have them there. I'm sitting here bawling thinking of all the people who don't have the same access to care. OMGosh can't wait for 2017 to end. :(

Just got a phone call from my daughter Rosa in Puerto Rico. My husband's younger brother Miguel had a heart attack last night and is in a hospital in Arecebo. :( Thank goodness they went there. Her husband (who is a doctor) is talking with the hospital doctors now. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Oops..you sure did!

Here's the video he made with a lot of Puerto Rican artists. They named every place in Puerto Rico in it :) (money goes to help rebuild Puerto Rico.)

I (kinda sorta) could understand being broke and needing baby clothes and diapers...if you're so brainwashed that you can't won't stop having kids. They totally lost me at the restaurant gift grift cards, though...give me a BREAK.

I used to go to Awana when I was a kid. Very Christian based, but the preaching just went right over my head and I just enjoyed all the games and crafts. I'm sure now that my parents sent us because it was free (my parents had 7 kids) and they had a bus that would pick up and deliver us to our houses, and it gave our parents a break from us! I did learn how to draw a star at Christmas time, which I remember to this day ;-) But it didn't seem like Duggar "you're going to hell" kind of preaching. I don't think that kind of doom and gloom preaching works on kids unless it's reinforced at home. Well, it didn't work on *me*, but I've always been hard headed..

It's ok to raise them to be night owls, since they'll never have to wake up early for school or to get to a j.o.b. Ps full disclosure, I'm a night owl by nature, but I woke up early for jobs for many, many years. :-)

I did get a chuckle out of my husband saying "wow..that's the shortest phone conversation I've ever had with my brother!" His brother is the town gossip, and usually will keep my husband on the phone for (literally) hours. His brother must be overflowing with stuff he wants to tell my husband about...he usually has the small town dirt on everyone. ;-) I believe satellite phone service is expensive, so they're just letting people tell their families they're ok, and that's it. That way, they can let more people get in touch, and not just people we personally know.

I just woke up (had horrible insomnia last night. I know it's because I'm worried about my daughter being in Puerto Rico.) So yeah, it's almost 2pm here and I just woke up. BUT...My husband couldn't wait to tell me that he was able to talk for a minute to his brother Gigi (Hector) on my daughter's satellite phone ! It was very, very short, but he says everyone is ok...and then it cut off. So I know my daughter is with family, and they'll know who needs help. @SMama so glad you were able to talk to your mom. I hope you feel better now. PS I think for my own mental health I'm staying away from any and all news for today..I just can't with any more bad news right now. I.just.can't. PPs Also have big time Grammie guilt, because I'm usually the go to babysitter for my grands (even out of state) but this time I just couldn't, because I recently had a total knee replacement. So my daughter's 3 kids are being watched by paid babysitters.which hurts my heart :( (Now I'm rambling, sorry)

Just in case anyone wants to hear my daughter narrate her journey so far, here is her 5 minute account of how Puerto Rico looks compared to when she's been there before. https://anchor.fm/new-mexicast?at=932991

My daughter just got to Rincon, Puerto Rico today. (They live on a boat in Florida) Her husband is a doctor, and they are teaming up with a (non religious) aid organization, to try to bring medical supplies into the more mountainous areas (and evacuate people if they're in precarious health situations.) She's basically going along as a translator, with a side benefit of hopefully checking up on her dad's relatives up in the boonies. I'm glad they have satellite phones with them!

He needs discipline, but I don't think you have to spank to effectively correct a child. JMO

http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/20/the-good-place-bad-place-video-kristen-bell/

I wonder if she was raised by her dad for some reason, and the mom couldn't undo HIS bad parenting on her scheduled visits. It's not always the mother's fault.

She looks much better without the very long black hair, and that fact that she didn't trowel her makeup on.

Thank you! Still haven't been able to talk to my husband's relatives. I'm worried all the aid will stay in the city of Lares itself, and not get sent out into the boonies up the mountain, where most of my husband's family lives (many elderly with no transportation.) For anyone else having trouble with Fema applications, watch this video: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155220988208655&id=108679513654

The stands (at both events) look really empty. Maybe the events gave out free tickets to get some butts in the seats (for optics?) I've gotten some free or greatly reduced price tickets to different events when they didn't sell as much as they wanted to.

Paul and Karine need to get this: https://iamili.com/

They can always torpedo paper towels into the crowd. I'm sure that would be very helpful.

Aguadilla is where my sister in law lives. It's near the ocean it is (was?) A very nice town. I've visited her there many times in years past (we've got a lot of airline workers in my family, so we flew free on standby, otherwise I couldn't have afforded as many trips as we took there.) I *think* they have a small airport there. Probably not for commercial planes though. My sis in law couldn't get out of her very steep driveway for more than a week because of a mudslide. She lives about an hour away from the rest of my husband's family who live in the very rural mountainous outskirts of Lares. We STILL haven't been able to directly talk to his family in Lares. Btw, they are very Catholic..no Duggars needed, or wanted, I'm sure.

@Marigold, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. :( On a better note, my SIL who lives in Aguadilla was able to finally get to Bo Pilates in Lares, and checked on all of my husband's family. They're all helping one another out. We were especially worried about his very elderly Tia (Aunt) Llinga (I'm sure I misspelled her name.) No other help yet besides family has come into the very (VERY) rural place where she lives. Her little wooden house is all destoyed now, which breaks my heart. I got to know and love my husband's family visiting them in their little wooden houses. But at least she weathered the storm with family in a daughter's concrete house and is OK (and is already planning on her kids building her another little wooden house...none of that fancy concrete for her..she is old school) :) Lares is just the village closest to them....they don't actually have a town. We were very happy, however, to hear that his family who are buried in the Lares cemetery are all safe and sound..turned out to be a rumor about caskets floating in the river.... Thank Goodness!!!

Can Jana even have an account on social media since she's a female and not married?

I just heard on the news that a 3 star general was just appointed to oversee the rescue/aid operation. I hope he can kick some butt and get those supplies out there where they're desperately needed. Ps please keep in mind that Zello *is* internet based, and there are jerks everywhere on the internet that like to spread rumors (idiots!) Most of the info seems to be given by sincere, honest people though. I haven't even told my husband about someone saying that there are bodies from the destroyed cemetery floating in the river. 1st..because I don't know if it's true, and 2nd, it would just destroy him to think of that happening to any of his family members buried there. (And he can't do anything about it, so why mention it to him, kwim?)

Are you sure? My daughter Rosa was the one to tell me about it, and she only owns Apple products. I am all android, but I know she is Apple EVERYTHING :) I am now on the phone with her, and she said for sure it's there, and to make sure you are spelling it correctly... ZELLO walkie talkie PS if nobody is on your village's channel, try this channel: Huracan Maria Puerto Rico (good luck)

I just put some information in this forum's small talk section on how to (possibly) get some information about your loved one's well-being in Puerto Rico.