praying for oklahoma

I really wanted to share a little about my feelings after hearing news of the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma, but I wasn't sure exactly what to write.  Everything that I was feeling seemed insignificant to what so many people were going through.  I had so many emotions going through my mind and it took me a while to process everything.  The first tweet I saw about the tornadoes was from a local weatherman.  When he tweeted that there was a tornado headed towards Moore, OK, my heart sank.  Eric and I spent some time with a disaster relief team in that exact town after it was hit by a tornado on May 3, 1999.  We went in October, 5 months after, and it looked like a desert.  We met some wonderful people whose lives had been forever changed.  To hear the news that this was happening to them again was, well, unfathomable.  

Hearing all of the reports on Monday about numerous children missing inside the school took me back to last year, when Levi's school was destroyed by a tornado.  I was 90% sure that he was on a school bus, on his way home when the tornado hit his school.  I remember waiting at the bus stop, praying to see his bus come down the street.  And, those minutes that I waited were the most intense of my life.  Seeing his face -- well, there was no better feeling in the world.  As a parent, there is nothing I fear more than to think of one of my children needing me and me not being there.  I have to admit that I've had feelings of guilt.  Why were our kids spared when others were not?  I cannot imagine what those parents have gone through or continue to experience in Oklahoma.  My thoughts and prayers have been constant these last few days.  I don't understand why these things happen AT ALL.  But, I know that God IS and WILL FOREVER BE in control.  I pray that He will be glorified and will bring comfort to everyone that needs it.  

This brings me to this morning as I dropped Levi off at school.  His last day as a first grader.  It was so bittersweet!  I realized that he is just growing up SO FAST!  In some ways, I just love it.  I love seeing the little man he is becoming.  But, I also really miss him as a little boy.  As of 2:30 today, we will have a SECOND grader in this house!  Oh my...

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I love this picture of my dad!!  I posted this on Instagram the other day and joked that this DOES NOT HAPPEN!  A lot of people say that they never see my dad smile.  Well, Maggie had my phone at Levi's game the other night and she demanded, "Papa, SMILE!"  Love it!  I see a different side of my dad than most people.  He is mostly a serious man, but when it comes to his grandchildren, he is all smiles.  He loves those little beings with his whole soul.  He is an incredible man of God and I'm so lucky and blessed to call him dad.  :-)    

The older I get, the more I appreciate my parents.  I'm so very thankful for the relationship that I have with them and with my siblings.  They are awesome.  Period.  { I realize this was a random post, but these were two special things on my heart today. ;) }