Jillian's Journal

New Years Eve! What a year it’s been! These are some events of the year of my birth, 2004.

- Global catastrophe, 226,500 die from tsunami in Asia, caused by the most powerful earthquake in 40 years
- Florida Hurricanes worst since 1851, one in five homes with damage
- War in Iraq wages on
- Olympic Year, in Greece this year where it all began
- Election Year, George Bush wins second term against John Kerry
- NBA, San Antonio Spurs reigning champs, Detroit wins title in June
- NFL, New England Patriots are Super Bowl Champions
- MLB, Boston Red Sox win World Series to end 86 year old curse
- Smarty Jones loses bid for Triple Crown
- Lance Armstrong wins record 6th Tour de France
- Rose Bowl, Texas vs. Michigan for first time and wins on last second field goal
- Google goes public
- Lord of the Rings sweeps the Oscars with 11 awards
- The Passion breaks box office records
- 2.06 for gallon of gas - record national average in May
- Ronald Reagan died at 93
- Julia Child died at 91
- Marlon Brando died at 80
- Ray Charles died at 73
- Rodney Dangerfield died at 82
- Christopher Reeve died at 52
- Johnny Moore died at 60
- Jillian Avery Moore born March 29th

9 months old today. Last day in Ohio, travel day. It’s hard to believe that 8 days have passed already and it’s already time to fly back home to Texas. I’m not ready to leave but Mommy and Daddy say we have to leave today. Grandpa and Grandma drove us to the airport and visited with us for as long as possible until we had to go through the security checkpoint. I’m only 9 months old, but I already know the most important things in life are not the ‘things’ but rather the love you get from family. I already miss Grandma and Grandpa as I waved goodbye from the other side of the checkpoint. Mommy and Daddy told me Grandpa and Grandma are planning to come to Texas to visit me in March for my 1st birthday! I can’t wait to see them again!

We sat on the plane in Columbus for about an hour because they said the plane was too heavy for safe flight. They ended up taking two people and some luggage and cargo off the plane before they let us take off to Chicago. I guess it was too much Christmas dinner and too many presents! We had a 2 hour lay over between flights in Chicago. The last leg from Chicago to Dallas proved too much for me. About half way into the flight I started fussing. I’d been cooped up for just too long. On top of that I was sick and tired and the flight was full so Mommy didn’t have any place to lay me down. Needless to say, it was a tough flight for all us. It was after all, a bit much to ask of a 9 month old baby, if you consider from the time we left Grandma and Grandpa’s house at 11:30 AM Eastern Time, to the time we arrived back home at 8:30 PM Central Time, was 10 hours!

Home at last…I understand Dorothy’s quote more than ever now…”There’s no place like home!”

I’m still sick, which means another day inside the house. I love Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I just want to get out and visit more of the family. I’ve traveled a long way and between the blackout and my cold I’ve not been able to meet everybody I wanted too. I did get to me my cousin Theresa. She visited today. I think she is really cool. She has a terrific personality she really made me smile. I was so happy she came by to visit. Daddy caught my cold, he didn’t feel well so he went to sleep and missed lunch today. While Daddy slept, Mommy and Grandma took me to Dr. Budin’s office. I was still sick and had to fly tomorrow so they wanted to make sure I was well enough to fly or find out if I needed special medicine to fly without pain. The Doctor said my ears and throat were clear and recommended a decongestant. I guess you could say I was cleared for take off. Gayle invited us over to her house for dinner tonight. I was so happy to see them all again. They had picked up Katie so I got to meet another cousin tonight! She is really nice, and I really hope I get to visit with her again soon. Aunt Gayle and Uncle Matt have the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen! We took a group photo in front of the monster tree. I had a really great time! Such a great time in fact that I didn’t want to leave and on the way back home to Grandma and Grandpa’s I had another car seat meltdown! Once again…a baby has needs. I’ve sorry for the commotion I caused.

I woke up with a cold. Can you believe it?? We have power, the kerosene heater has been put away, we are free to leave the house unattended for the first time…and I come down with a cold! I wanted to visit Great Grandma Schwartz again, and Aunt Joann, and Aunt Eloise. I don’t feel good and Mommy is worried I’ll pass on my cold to others so I’m home bound again. It’s my first time to visit Ohio and I’ve not been out of the house since the 22nd of Dec. 5 days without sky…it’s no wonder I’m sick. I can’t even go geocaching with Daddy and Grandpa today!

It’s now been 4 days without power. Doesn’t bother me a bit, but the grownups are looking a bit frazzled. It’s the shower thing. My small body and bath in the kitchen sink doesn’t require much water, so hot water from the kerosene heater works just fine for me. In fact these have been some of the best and warmest baths I’ve ever had. The grownups however, need more than a pot or two of water from the heater to do the job. Neighborly Christmas spirit arrives again…Mike and Shirley Neal live next door and they have a gas water heater so they let the grownups come over and take a shower in their house. It’s amazing what a warm shower and a little shampoo can do to your mood. Heck, all cleaned up and refreshed we were ready to go another 4 days without power. They had just finished their showers and were back home for about 30 minutes when suddenly and without warning the refrigeration started humming and the lights came on! Grandma, Grandpa, Mommy and Daddy acted as if they just won a jackpot in Las Vegas! I was so embarrassed! Yesh! It’d only been about 90 hours! The central Ohio blackout was officially over at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. We were thankful and worried about thousands of others that were still without power. All things considered, it made my first Christmas that much more memorable. The Christmas of 2004 will be talked about and stand out in all our memories for the rest of our lives!

Christmas in Ohio, 2004 ...

My first Christmas! Today is our 3rd day without power; it’s also the coldest day so far, high of 21, low of –5 degrees! Daddy waited 40 years to experience a white Christmas, so I’m very happy that my first ever Christmas is a white and ice Christmas! I guess snow on Christmas day in Texas is a rare event. I woke up today and discovered a bunch of presents under the Christmas tree. It appears someone appeared in the middle of the night and put a bunch of presents under the tree. I’m not sure, but I think it might be that fat man in the red and white suit I saw riding on top of the fire truck in the Coppell Christmas parade. I’m not sure what role this Santa Claus (I heard Michaella and Jakob call him that) character plays in the Christmas celebration, but you can bet I’ll figure it out soon. Now don’t misunderstand me, I know what the significance of today is. Remember, since babies are a gift from Heaven, and I just came from there, I know the reason for the celebration. It’s the day Jesus was born.

Once Aunt Gayle, Uncle Matt, Michaella and Jakob came over we opened presents. I loved all the presents I got. What fun. I especially liked tearing off the pretty wrapping paper from the gifts. While we didn’t have lights or electric heat, we had all the ‘power’ we needed, fueled by the love of family. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve, still no power, high of 10 degrees, low of ZERO today! Grandma and Grandpa have the greatest neighbors. Once Rick found out we had been bailing water, he insisted on bringing his portable generator over to power the sump pump so we wouldn’t have to bail water anymore. A perfect example of the Christmas spirit! Of course, I’ve no doubt that Rick keeps the Christmas spirit running all year round. So far, the biggest inconvenience is that someone has to stay home to keep watch over the kerosene heater so the house doesn’t burn down. Grandpa has this duty. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet my Great Grandmother, so Grandma, Mommy, Daddy, and I drove over to Grandma’s and Aunt Lois’s home. As I got out of the car, Aunt Lois opened her door to greet me. I smiled as soon as I saw her. I don’t normally smile the first time I see someone for the first time, but I sensed something special about Lois. I was so excited to finally meet my Great Grandma Schwartz. I love her so much! She has to be one the nicest people in the whole wide world. I’m so blessed to be a part of this special family she started a long time ago. Of the 1,200 or so pictures Daddy has taken with his new camera, the one he took today was the most important, a picture of four generations of women…my Great Grandmother Schwartz, Grandmother Kauser, my Mommy and finally me! I am blessed!

My first Blackout! The lights went out around midnight. We all gathered around Grandpa’s battery powered radio and learned that 300,000 homes in and around Columbus had lost power! The temperature had dropped, turning the rain, sleet, and snow into ice, which pulled down trees and power lines. The news reporter said some homes would be without power ‘til Christmas! Grandpa reassured us that we’d have power long before that, as they’d never gone longer than 8 hours without power in the past. Good thing because the temperature today was a high of 30 degrees and a low of 10 degrees, WOW, and it was getting colder and colder! Good thing Grandpa had a kerosene heater! The winter storm made national news and Grandpa stated he’d never seen ice like this before. I was glad I was there to share the history making moment! Grandpa was prepared so we had water and heat. We considered ourselves lucky and worried about those more unfortunate than us. Grandma, Mommy, and me were smart enough to stay indoors, but of course Grandpa and Daddy had to go outside and take pictures and explore the neighborhood. The ice and snow was amazing. Trees and branches were bent and broken everywhere you looked. Aunt Gayle, Michaella and Jakob came over to stay warm as their house was without power too and they didn’t have a heater like Grandpa’s. I was glad to see them again! We had fun. I had my first candle lit bath. Not the kind you would imagine, unless you can imagine a bath in a sink with all the family looking at you! Mom! Dignity check! Uncle Matt was out looking for a sump pump battery. This made Grandpa think to check the water level in his sump. Good think he did! The water was all the way to the top and about to spill over and flood the basement! Without power, there was only one thing to do, bail water. Grandpa and Daddy make at least a hundred trips up and down the basement steps with pails full of water. As the day turned into night, Grandma broke out the candles to provide some light as the sun went down. The bailing continued into the night after I went to bed, as I was told, that Grandma and Mommy helped and they kept bailed with multiple breaks until midnight! Grandpa was surprised the power had not come back on yet. Perhaps the radio news reporter was right after all.

I woke up this morning and found Grandma sitting on the couch. She was in a lot of pain so Grandpa took her down the street to the fire station and the EMS took Grandma to Mount Carmel Hospital. I waited anxiously with Mommy and Daddy back at the house for news. Grandpa called and said everything was looking all right, but the Doctor wanted Grandma to stay over night at the hospital so they could run some tests. I was so happy Grandma seemed to be doing better. I missed her and wanted her to come back home.

While waiting for updates on how Grandma was doing, Mother Nature provided a diversion. White flaky stuff started floating down from Heaven. Mommy and Daddy told me it was SNOW! Mommy took me outside so I could experience it! I grabbed a snowflake, but when I opened my hand it was gone! I knew right away snow was a magical gift from God. It snowed all day and soon the ground, trees and houses were all covered in white.

Later in the day Grandpa came back to the house to pick up some things to take back to Grandma in the hospital. Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Deane stopped by to visit. I showed off a little. I crawled all over the floor really fast and showed them how I can stand up by pulling up on a chair. Although the circumstances weren’t the best, I was so happy to meet them. After they left, Grandpa drove us to the hospital to visit Grandma. Ice, sleet, snow, hospital, nothing was going to stop me from visiting with my Grandma! Aunt Gayle, Uncle Matt, Michaella, and Jakob joined us there. It didn’t matter that we were in a hospital; it was still wonderful to be together again. The test results indicated Grandma had pancreatitis. Grandma was feeling much better, and convinced the Doctor to release her from the hospital. She promised she would come back the next day to have more blood tests done. An early Christmas present…Grandma back home with us!

I had a crying fit on the way back from the hospital. I was hungry and wanted out of the car seat. I couldn’t understand why Mommy and Daddy weren’t getting my message. I cried as loud as I could but they insisted on waiting until we got back home. I’m sorry I made the trip home from the hospital miserable for everybody, but a baby has needs!

It was a blessing that we were all back home for my second day and night at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Pickerington, Ohio. I slept like a baby. (Duh…, how else would you expect me to sleep??)

My first airplane ride! It took almost 9 months before Daddy and Mommy finally decided to fly to Ohio to see my Great Grandma, Grandma and Grandpa, my Aunt Gayle, Uncle Matt, cousins Michaella and Jakob, and all the rest of my Mommy's side of the family. Flying is fun! Mommy held me in her lap while I looked out the window. Mommy and Daddy thought I might cry or act up, but I didn't, I thought it was fun! I only took one short nap on the flight from Dallas to Chicago. Sometimes when you fly you have to stop over in another city before you get to your final destination. So I can say I've been to Chicago already!

Grandma and Grandpa picked us up from Port Columbus International Airport around 1:00 PM. Our first stop was White Castle for a quick bite to eat. I've never seen such tiny hamburgers! Then finally we arrived at my Grandma and Grandpa's home. I was tired, since I hadn't had my normal naps, but it still felt wonderful to be at my Ohio home.

Later in the day my Mommy's cousins Diane and Jeanie came to visit. Phil and Diane's son Michael came with them. They are so nice and I was so happy to meet them. I just wish I wasn't so tired. I guess, it was my first case of jet lag!

Then later in the day I finally got to meet my Mommy's sister...my Aunt Gayle and my cousins, Michaella and Jakob when they stopped by to visit. I love them so much and it was great to finally meet them. I've studied their pictures for 8 months so it was nice to see them in the flesh!

All this in just the first few hours after my arrival. It's going to be a FUN week!

Coppell Christmas Parade today. Daddy says Coppell is a great place to live. Small town atmosphere yet smack dab in the middle of one of the largest metroplexes in the country, Dallas-Fort Worth. From where we live, it's a short walk to the parade route so Mommy and Daddy go to all the city parades. Now that I'm here, I get to go too! Amazing sights and sounds. The Coppell High School Band, Police, Fire Dept., classic cars and trucks, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, on and on they passed in front of us. At the very end of the parade, I saw an older couple all dressed up in red and white, riding on top of a fire truck. The fat old man with the long white beard kept saying "ho, ho, ho". He was quite jolly. Who was this man?