Happy Birthday, Kaytibug!

This beautiful daughter of mine turned 19 yesterday.

I know what you are thinking... she can't possibly be 19 when I am only 25... heehee! ;)

She enjoyed a quiet birthday yesterday... she got to stay in her pj's all day, and enjoy a nice quiet house. She had her favorite meals all day... bacon and cheese omelette for breakfast, potato soup for lunch, and fajitas for dinner. Then she had her favorite yellow cake with chocolate frosting and Blue Bell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream when dad got home from his class.

I love this girl... and I don't know what I would do without her. She helps out with housework and laundry when she is not in school, helps me get meals on the table, gives the best back rubs, and helps keep her siblings in line.

This girl has plans! She will have her associates degree by the end of December, and by next fall she plans on being in Idaho. She wants to eventually be a writer, and support herself as a book editor while she is waiting to make her millions. She thinks she is going to someday live in New York City or Spokane, or some other far, far away city. I think Atlanta or Nashville would be a lot nicer! Although, I did tell her she could move to Savannah, Georgia and I could come visit her often!

She has worked hard in school... she started college two weeks after she graduated high school, and has been going non-stop. She made the Dean's List her first semester, and the President's List the next two.

I am proud of her and the choices she has made in life. I admire her strength in Spiritual matters. I push her a lot to get outside of her comfort zone, and while I know it is hard, I appreciate how she tries.

She is a fun girl, with a great laugh! She loves just hanging out with her family, and can be found usually with her siblings surrounding her.

She is a great example.

We have teased her that she has always been the "anti-teen". She hated talking on the phone or putting on make-up. She never really fussed over hair, or was dying to get out of the house and away from us. She has always been a little older than her years.

I'm thankful that she is my daughter! I can't believe it has been 19 years since she joined our family. We have loved every minute of it, and I can't wait to see what the next 19 years hold for her.

Redefining life... yet again.

I am blessed to know an incredibly strong and courageous woman. She and I do not share the same religious views, but she is a woman of great faith.

I met this lady when I started working at Liberty. She was the school secretary at the time, and her husband had just won a battle with cancer. Unfortunately, within 6 months, his cancer had returned, bigger and badder than before. They fought a long and hard battle together, but a few months later the cancer got the best of him, and he was called home. Sharon was left with a teen-age son to raise (her oldest son had already left home), and while it wasn't easy, she can now proudly say that he has just finished his first year of college at Alabama.

On April 27th, just after the first tornado moved through the area, Sharon got a call from a neighbor. There was some damage around their community, and as soon as we got out of school she raced home. Several more tornadoes moved through their community that day, and while I am not sure of the exact chain of events, her house was hit, and most of her neighborhood was wiped out. Her house is still standing, but not livable. Her son was still in Tuscaloosa that day, and while there was lots of damage all around him, he was on campus and safe.

In the days since, she has had to find a new place to live, salvage what she could out of her house, and deal with lots of insurance reps. Today she had two huge trees removed from her yard, and the kids and I helped her clear them. She had to board up one of her front windows that was blown out, and this is what it now looks like.


She wanted to put something on the board to make a statement. I think it is a pretty powerful one.

I hope that if I ever have to go through some of the things that she has, I can handle them with as much dignity and grace as she has. She is an inspiration to me, and I am blessed to call her my friend.

A few thoughts

The words "destroyed", "devistation", "wiped out", "destruction" have never had more meaning; but neither have the words, "safety", "blessed", "alive and well".

Our state was hit by severe weather on Wednesday. We've experienced severe weather before, but it has been a long time since we had anything this bad. In 1974 we have a night full of tornadoes... I was 4 years old and remember spending the night in our basement.  I remember my parents getting on to missionaries who were out trying to take pictures of the storms. I remember hearing stories of families who survived the storms in their bathrooms. Being born and raised in the South, tornadoes are nothing new. But the storms that hit us on Wednesday were definitely record-breakers.

I won't bore you with details of our day... I am sure they are pretty much like everyone elses. We are blessed that we did not have any damage to our home, or any family member. We have some family with damage to their homes and property. We have some family that live in a neighborhood that was heavily damaged. Probably about 80% of the homes are gone, or so heavily damaged that they will have to be bull-dozed over. One person lost their life in this neighborhood. We were blessed with the opportunity to go there on Saturday and help with some of the clean-up. What a remarkable spirit that is alive in this neighborhood. So many people just thankful to be alive, and thankful to have any help they could get. Some of them were even more concerned about our safety than their property.

I am so thankful for this experience. I am sure that as time goes on, there will be bigger news stories, and the focus will shift to other things, but I know this has been an experience that my family and I will never forget. I don't know that words can actually describe my feelings. I have thanked my Heavenly Father over and over again for all my blessings. As I sit here tonight with my power back on, I feel even more gratitude... there are still so many without it. How blessed we are.