May 23

Audrey and I went to the park this morning. It is so much fun to take her to the park, now that she is more independent and willing to climb and play and slide by herself. She is very proud of this newly discovered skill too. Before she did anything, she would emphatically say: "I do it ALL myself!"



I've been completely distracted today by all the news coverage and Facebook talk about a huge tornado that hit Joplin, MO yesterday. Daniel and I went to school in Joplin, and it was home to us for 4 1/2 years. While living in Joplin, it was fairly common to hear the tornado sirens go off. So common, that sometimes it was tempting to just ignore them. Tornadoes are common in the area, and I remember one tornado that was especially bad in the area while we were there...but it was nothing like this.

The pictures of the destruction are unbelievable. And it is even more unbelievable for us because we are familiar with these places. Today I saw the Joann's fabric store where I used to work, completely stripped down to its skeleton...no roof, no walls. The church where we had our first ministry completely lost the auditorium. So many buildings and houses completely leveled. Fortunately, I believe that everyone I knew in Joplin is safe and well...but wow...it is just unbelievable. 116 people confirmed dead so far. Keep the people of Joplin in your prayers...more tornadoes are in the forecast for the area tomorrow!