Found

Jill and Jacob found my luggage! It was vacationing in Grand Caymon. Now....hopefully it will be here so I can have a little toothpaste and deodorant (and, or course, clean undies!!!). Guess the problem will be customs. Dad and I can go to the airport and meet the plane. Hopefully that will speed it through. Of course, I do not want to anger anyone here. I understand Mexican prisons are not the best! Besides....I do not need more clothes that desparately. HAH! Please, let Kim know that I will call him tonight if I can get through on the cabin phone. Love you all. Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers. Keep em coming!

PS I love the United States!!!!!!!

Nightmare of a day...week...month

First came Ike......then Tuesday my mom passed away....today I tried to get to the cruise ship to give my dad some company and
1. my flight from Houston to Miami was delayed 2.5 hours
2. this caused me to miss the ONLY flight going to Grand Cayman in time to make the cruise ship before it sailed
3. American Airlines automatically put me on the next flight to Grand Cayman which I declined and booked a flight to Cozumel which is the next stop for the cruise
4. Arrived in Cozumel.....taken to beautiful hotel all set up by the cruise line...however....my luggage is not here.
5. Call our wonderful assistant from Royal who tell me I must go back to the airport and report this.
6. Got ripped off $10 for a cab.....they say they have no record of my luggage ever being checked.
7. Luckily...I have the bag check number....they are going to look for it tomorrow...after all it is 5pm and they close
8. Only one flight into Cozumel tomorrow.....2 thirty.....if luggage is not on that flight I must wait another 2 days......
9. Tried to call from room and left message on Jacob Count cell......needed someone who would answer and he usually does.
10. He did not answer so left a message at 25.00 a minute.
11. Left message on everyone blog.....complete info is on thecountsfamily.blogspot.com
please....if anyone reads this......let my family know I am alright and need some help......I am safe....staying in hotel....not walking streets of Cozumel.......would love to have some English TV!!! Guess I will try to get some much needed rest.

Please pray for my family..........we have many tests this week. I am so blessed by my immediate family. Kim, Dan, Jill, Jacob, Kristy, Curtis and Kaylee (placed in order of Schwartz family membership...no favoritism shown!) I love you all so very, very much. I miss you all. Thanks for helping! Sorry about the goffy blog....typing on a Mexican keyboard....and YES it is different!

Hugs from God

This has been a very difficult 24 hours. My mom, whilst on a cruise docked in Haiti, passed away yesterday at lunch. My dad is now sailing alone until I can get onboard tomorrow at noon. I had no idea how hard international water laws were to get around, but I'm learning. Royal Caribbean has cut through enough red tape to allow me to enbark at Grand Cayman tomorrow. The ship is in Jamaica today but couldn't be done there. My poor father is sailing alone surrounded by mom's belongings while mom is in the ship's morgue. We have figured out how to transport her from the ship to the coroner and then on to the mortuary where she will be cremated. My dad and I will drive from Cocoa Beach to Destin on Sunday. My brother and sisters, dad and I will meet with the pastor of my parent's church Monday afternoon with services scheduled Thursday at 11:00am. Considering it's only been 24 hours, we've taken care of so much.

This is entitled Hugs from God because I continue to thank him for the blessings he has given me.

1. A wonderful mom for 52 years of life

2. The financial means to see them two weeks ago on a "spur" cheap flight and to join dad in Grand Cayman.

3. That mom passed away doing what she loved the most. Dining with full waitstaff on a cruise line!

4. That the cruiseline has allowed me to board.

5. That the majority of my family has enough strength in God to know that HE is always in control.

6. The list goes on and on........I am surrounded by so many friends and family that I can not help but to continue singing my praises to Him. My mom is now dancing with My Lord and Savior. I truly believe this to be so. I am at Peace in His word.

Grandkids

As my grandma once said, "Aren't they grand?!" I had a great day yesterday. Jill and Jacob had to teach NFP (Natural Family Planning) at the church and Kim was working so I had 5 hours alone with Curtis. It was WONDERFUL! We biked to the lake and fed the ducks, geese, turtles, and fish. Then we went to the park and played on the swings and slide while watching a soccer match. Then we came home and baked chocolate cookies together. It was so much fun watching him learn. He was amazed at the turtles (or as Curtis says Tu-tle). Then whilst baking, Curtis was covered in flour but loved pouring the ingredients into one container and then the other. He also loved eating the chocolate chips, dough and finished product! Now today, I get to babysit Kaylee! Ahh....I like this new position in life!!!! All in all, a great week-end. I leave for South Padre on Wednesday for work but will bring the laptop along.

A visit with the parentals....

Had a great visit with mom and dad in Destin. This picture shows a typical exercise at 2:00 every day....dad does the pushing and pulling while mom does the grunting! :) It was a wonderful visit. We had lots of time to just visit. That was the main reason to go. We did a little shopping but not much. We'll save the rest for the Christmas season. My next trip is to South Padre for business. It's a tough place to go but it is business - HAH!

This is mom and dad talking to Aunt Barbara.

Be sure to check mom and dad's blog! Dad's learned how to do it again!!! Here he is practicing......Way to go Dad!!!

GO CUBS GO!!!

Wrigley Field
Just had to add that to the blog! Sorry all you Astros fans but everyone who knows me knows that I'm still fairly loyal to my Chicago Cub roots. Two years in a row! Hopefully we can kill the goat and make it to the series this year.
PS: Dan....you owe me dinner!

Patron Saint of Beer

We visited the St. Arnold brewery in downtown Houston with Jill, Jacob and Curtis today. It wasn't much of a tour but sure enjoyed the free beer! (isn't that what brewery tours are all about anyway???) We arrived home at about 3:30 and to our amazement we had cable!!! I've never been so happy to be able to watch ESPN in all my life! We flipped on an NCAA football game and just vegged. It was awesome (and easy with a few beers in us!). So life is back to normal....kinda.....still not sure if I've got to go to work on Monday. Per the district phone recording, 6 schools are still without power and they are all around my office. It won't kill me if we're off another day. I just hope we don't have to make it up. That would really stink!

Love to all.......