4 days later

Our lives have been so so so very full in the last month. Brett graduated from P.A. school from Wichita State. (With the highest academic/clinical performance honor of his class, I will add). Vera turned one (but still barely weighs more than Warrick did at 3 months . . . . little squirm). We threw a big big party at our house - close to 50 people came - neighbors, friends from church, old friends. It was super. I made really super cute cake balls (which we also ate at my mom's retirement party).

But there are some difficult things too. We moved away from a town that, honestly, kind of surprisingly stole my heart. We lived in Riverside, 5 doors from the park and the Arkansas River, one door south from a housemate that LOVED my son (and kept buying him loud firetrucks) and grew to become a good friend, who was over-the-top gracious about our noise level at odd hours (note above firetrucks . . . obviously not the sole noise maker . . . enter two small but vocal children). We lived across the street from some music loving, hippy-ish fun friends who also had small children and a rockin' trampoline in the back. We lived 4 blocks from the Wichita Art Museum (don't ask me if I went, and don't ask me if I used to be an art teacher). We lived super close to Exploration place, the Keeper of the Plains, Botanica, Riverside Park, The Riverside Perk (fun little cafe and music venue). We lived a stone's throw from the finish line of the regatta's that Wichita State hosted several times a year and could see rowers on the water almost daily during the warmer months. We had the world's best YMCA's. Seriously. Imagine LifeTime Fitness without being pretentious, expensive or meat market-ish. An incredible place for families to be active. I LOVED my YMCA. And, truthfully, it was often the only time I had during the week to get help with my kids (except in the evenings from my wonderful husband).

So, yeah . . . . I already miss it.

But here's where I was originally going with this post. Last Thursday we were scheduled to move to Joplin MO, where Brett would do his final rotation before starting his job in CHanute. We paid the last week's rent for the college girls who were in our apt, so they would move out a week early. Saturday and Sunday, the 21st and 22nd. Now . . . we all know what horrible event took place in Joplin last Sunday. Unbelievable. After watching footage and then hearing that the tornado touched down at 20th and Connecticut, we realized that this might actually affect our future a little. Certainly not at all like those who lost family and friends and home in such a brutal, undignified finish, but I think because we were to move there, we felt a little more of an investment in it.

We confirmed on Tuesday that our apt. had in fact been completely obliterated. My conversation with the office manager was sobering, heavy, surreal. Watching her tenants carry their dead children out of the rubbish. Hearing stories of other children being sucked out windows. Climbing through precarious ruins in search of emergency contacts in an effort to locate her tenants . . . were they with family? Hopefully? Nightmarish walks into the unrecognizable neighborhood to see the dead strewn about like trash in the parking lot. How horrible. We cried and prayed together, and I could tell from her response that she knew Jesus. I'm so glad she does . . . what hope would you have if you didn't have Jesus?

At week's end, we are settled generously and comfortably in Brett's mom's house in Independence KS. She has cleared the entire upstairs so we can live with her for the summer, with closets and drawers and a king sized bed and two full bathrooms. Things we've never had as a family. A dish washer! A huge backyard! A wonderful pool and park and zoo across the street. Access to a health and fitness facility. And on and on. So grateful. So very very grateful that the Lord chose to spare us from the tragedy that Joplin is still enduring.

Anyway, that's us up to date. Didn't even get into how cute our kids are right now. Or how Vera chipped 3 of her 6 teeth in Fayetteville on AJ and Sarah's bathtub. Or my mom's retirement party. OR MY SISTER GETTING TO COME HOME FOR A WEEK!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah. That was amazing. We got our noses pierced together and got to spend serious quality time during our weekend trip to Fayetteville. I love her. It's pretty incredible to have her for my sister - for her challenging life to make me re-evaluate. Her easy laugh, her generosity, her goofiness that just won't go away, darnit!... her loving my kids, her support and interest in my life and in the things that matter most. Being known well and still loved well. What a gift....... I am honored. And then getting to see my dear old friend Erin. Another one who knows me well and still loves me well. A woman about to give birth to her 3rd son. Wowee.

So, four days later, was when we were to move to Joplin. I realize that isn't really a close call, compared to the people who crawled out from under their flattened and torn homes to realize
if nothing else, they still had LIFE. That's close calling. But still . . . . makes me grateful.