LAST NIGHT'S TORNADOES: HEAVY HEARTED

Last night, as we were heading to get frozen yogurt, my phone started screeching, and the sirens started wailing.  We made our way home, yogurt in hand, and headed in to turn on the TV and see what was going on.  We knew there was a chance of severe weather, but you just never know what might really happen.  It could be nothing.  But it wasn't.  Last night it was bad.

Our house and neighborhood are totally fine, because the tornadoes passed to the north of us.  But, we are not spared, because this sort of tragedy touches our community so deeply.  At least 16 people were killed in our state.  We know of a family nearby who lost the father and two teenage daughters.  Seven children and a mother are left behind, and they lost everything.  This is what their house looks like now.



(As a side note, here is a link where you can donate to them through their church who is coordinating their needs at this time.  It is so terrible.)

One of the cities that was hit (Mayflower) is still recovering from an oil spill last fall, and so much of it is leveled.  The other city (Vilonia) that was hardest hit was devastated just three years ago.  I'm left with a heavy heart, and I wonder all over again why it has to be like this.  I wrote a post three years ago after the Joplin tornado that still rings true to me.  I can't make sense of this stuff on earth, but I do trust God.  I know he is bigger, and I know that he is close to the broken hearted.

Some of our friends' parents live out near where the tornadoes started, and they suffered a lot of damage, including loosing part of their roof and most stuff outdoors.  They were actually all at church when it happened.  You can see exactly the path that the tornado took through their land.  Today, John and some of the other guys from our Community Group headed out to help them begin clean up.

John's arms are sunburned from being on that roof for a couple of hours, but it is nice to be able to plug in and help.  It feels like the very least we can do in the midst of it all.  It is amazing to see people rally around other people that need it, and I am glad to say that our community is doing just that.  I'm so thankful.

So - if you get a chance - please



We would appreciate it.

HIGHS & LOWS FROM NW ARKANSAS

I should be unpacking.  I should be doing laundry.  I should be cleaning off the table from breakfast when the girls got out three kinds of cereal and filled several bowls full to the brim with them.  I should be telling Bella to stop hitting the wall so loudly.  I really want to be napping.  But, here I am blogging.  It is the path of least resistance, because I can't nap with the banging, and getting off of the couch sounds incredibly difficult.

At 1 a.m. last night, we rolled into the Rock, and we are glad to be home.  But, we were also sad to leave our other life in NW Arkansas.  We've realized that because of all the time we have spent there, it really is a second home.  We have beautiful friends and family there, and it was so good to have so many days to spend with them.

Low:  The first night when we were staying at a friend's house, the fire alarm went off at 2:10 and 2:30 a.m.  Thankfully, the babies were able to sleep through it, and the girls went back to bed quickly.  And we dismantled the thing.  We need fake fire alarms in the middle of the night just like we need holes in our heads.

High:  Much of my family came into town, and it was so much fun to be all together for Easter and True's birthday party.

(beautiful silhouetted picture courtesy of Uncle Luke.  Lily and True were listening for thunder.)

High:  We headed for the Gentry Wilderness Safari to see the fun animals.  We've been several times before, but it is always a fun experience with the kiddos.

Low:  A torrential downpour let loose right as we arrived and lasted the duration of our visit.  This kept most of our time limited to inside the barns, though we did also do the drive-thru portion, which was fun.  It was still neat to feed and pet the animals that we could.

(That's me holding a hedge hog.  Sonic and I were fast friends, though I never saw his face.)

(I love that they are making the exact same face.)

Low:  Having our kids out of routine led to some inevitable hard moments.  

High:  Much of the week we had really gorgeous weather.  April in Arkansas can be such a thing of beauty.  It allowed dinner on the porch and outdoor shopping to be real treats.

High:  We spent most of our time in the city of Siloam Springs, which has quintessential small-town charm oozing everywhere.  It also has so many memories for us from college and post-college that we are always happy to have reasons to go back.

High:  This sign.

High:  We took the twins out for donuts to celebrate their birthday.  They both enjoyed the donuts, because, of course they did.  What is not to enjoy?

High:  We got to see some dear college friends who introduced us to Just Dance YouTube videos.  Our children believed they were earning stars and were willing to work for them.  I laughed until tears came.  Thanks, Lawsons!

High:  We got to meet up with another dear friend from college and grad school who is in the midst of cocooning with her newly adopted child.  I have been following their story so closely and praying for their journey, so getting to talk and laugh with her in person was such a blessing.  Also - it is amazing to see your friends doing the real hard work of loving a child well.  Their daughter is so blessed to have them as parents, and I look forward to seeing the beauty that will continue to come from the ashes of this story.  Also, we laughed so much that night.  Parenting is such a crazy experience.

High:  We got to attend a reunion for people that worked with John while we were in grad school.  There were events most of the day yesterday for us to attend, and it was great to visit with people that made such a huge impact on John's life at such a formative time.  It is easy to look back now and see how our lives were transformed because of that experience.

Low:  During the lunch event, which ended up going long, I got a text from Ellen.  She was keeping all of the kiddos.  It read: "Lots of people are crying and there is pee on the floor."  I bolted, and John caught a ride back with someone else.

High:  The dinner childcare went much better.  Ellen called for backup.  This included a friend who is a firefighter who gave the girls their own tour of the fire station.

Low:  We got out of town by about 9:30.  Everyone slept for the first hour or so, but after we stopped for gas, William felt that crying was a better option than sleeping.  Bummer.  We were really glad to get home.

And now we are returning to our regular life.  I guess I should probably get the massive pile of laundry started.

CAMP TRUE BIRTHDAY PARTY

We drove to Siloam Springs, AR just in time for my nephew True's 2nd birthday party.  We knew that our crew would not exactly be helpful for the setup, so I just brought cookies and tried not to arrive too early.  Ellen has quite the knack for party throwing (you can see True's Milk and Cookie themed 1st birthday party here), and everything turned out so cute.  I love to see details come together, and this one was camping perfection.  Here's the main food table.

These acorns were a major hit with both John and Lily (and everybody else).  While True was blowing out the candles, I had to have Lily put the bucket back on the table.

Ellen also made this super cute and tasty cake.



The camping fabric under everything really helped tie it all together.



Outdoors, there was a tent, hammock and swinging chair for kiddos to play on, as well as bubbles and sidewalk chalk.  Because the weather was so beautiful, it turned out to be a lovely day relaxing outside.  So many of their friends came to celebrate True.

The birthday boy seemed thrilled with everything and enjoyed having everyone sing Happy Birthday as he tried to blow out the candles.  After several tries and some help, they were extinguished.  I love two year olds.

It was so fun to have so much of my family there.  Gotta love sisters and mom, and I always had someone to help hold a baby.

On their way out, people were asked to sign True's Curious George Goes Camping book and grab a treat bag.




I'm always ready for S'more fun - how bout you?  After the party, True's most ardent admirers stayed around to see him open presents with help from his older cousins.



Happy 2nd Birthday, True - you are one loved little man. 

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM & VIOLET!

Today I have two one year olds!  It's been quite the year - here's a quick look back at monthly pictures.






And here we are at 12 months old!

On her birthday, Miss Violet is almost able to crawl.  She can sort of inch to get places, and she is definitely making progress!  She loves people and being in on the action.  In the last couple of weeks, she has really started noticing our cats and other animals.  She does this precious little giggle of excitement and often will eventually shriek with pleasure.  It is as cute as it sounds.  She has become an awesome sleeper and napper, thankyouverymuch.  She has three teeth and more on the way.

On his birthday, Mr. William is able to spin himself in a circle while sitting still and does manage to grab toys anywhere near to him.  He can feed himself finger foods (praise King Jesus), and he will eat just about anything set before him.  He loves to be thrown in the air, and he is especially entertained by his big sisters - Bella in particular.  She can get him to chuckle so quickly.  He is also a good sleeper, and having our sleep woes mostly behind us has been a huge win.  He has one tooth that has come through the bottom and more on the way.

William is in three kinds of therapy four times a week, and Violet has two types, three times a week.  Both are progressing well, and we love all of their therapists.  All of their thin liquids (water, juice, formula, milk) have to be thickened to a "stiff nectar" consistency, so we are working on figuring out all of that.  We are transitioning a lot with foods and formulas and thickeners, which feels a bit high maintenance, but they should grow out of it all by the time they are two.  And, it looks as if they both have a bit of allergy-induced asthma.  So, they are fairly high maintenance little people right now, but nothing is long-term or major for the time being.  And they are such happy, sweet babies so much of the time.  We feel enormously blessed.

When I look back at last year, I am still amazed that God saw fit to put them into our family.  Last week I read through some of the roller coaster that was this time last year, and I am so very grateful for the way it turned out.  I can't say it enough.  Today, we went to a park, and I spent some time pushing them on swings, thanking God for their precious lives while they squealed and giggled with delight.

William and Violet - we love you so very much.  You bring so much joy and fullness that we cannot imagine living without.  We thank the Lord when we look at your lives.  Happy birthday!

If you want to read some of the posts from their birth week last year-
{The Call:  Babies Were Born}
{Roller Coaster: Amazing Baby News!}
{Day One with Babies}
{The Eye of the Storm}
{Camp NICU}
{Introducing Our Babies!}