Rebuilding their Lives

Let me set one thing straight. I am not writing this post to brag about "how awesome I am and how I must be such a good person for helping those in Oklahoma last week." If you comment on this blog-post, please refrain from complimenting me - it is unnecessary. I share photos and stories because I want everyone to see that mankind is good by nature. Tragedies like May 20, 2013 bring strangers together and no one discriminates. Here is my experience in a nutshell; I hope these stories will inspire you.

On Monday evening the tornado hits and media spreads the devastating news. Jason was working out of town and called me immediately. "Dana, ask around for people to gather supplies. I'm coming home tomorrow and we are going to Oklahoma to help." I get on FB and post a request for supplies. Word spreads to neighbors and friends at church....then they pass the word to others. By Tuesday evening, we are in need of a trailer for all the supplies people donated. Dozens of people went out of their way to donate and I can't even begin to name them all; but I have to give a special shout-out to 3 VERY influential people...Keri Jackson, Amy Jackson, and Jennifer Galek....you ladies are AWESOME!!

Just to give you an idea of the SOME things that were donated: 10 HUGE black garbage bags of clothes, cases of water, hundreds of granola bars, crackers & PB, canned food, baby food, baby formula, 52 MRE's, stuffed animals, toys & books, blankets, boxes & boxes of every toiletry you can think of. I visited Home Depot to purchase goods and the store donated 8 headlamps & 31 pairs of leather work gloves. Jennifer Galek spread the word to those at her work and raised over $1600 - with the money she was able to purchase 20 shovels, 21 flashlights, 40 gloves, 20 baseball caps, ~150 pairs of socks, ~80 pairs of underwear, 15 sports bras, 4 blankets, 16 packs of baby wipes, ~360 toothbrushes, toothpastes, deodorants, lotions, hand sanitizers. (I'm sure that I'm even forgetting lots of stuff!) She also put together kids' bags to hand out with coloring books, markers, bubbles & stuffed animals. The photo below is just a small bit of what we were able to collect and deliver. The trailer we pulled was completely packed with supplies!!!

Just a small sampling of what we collected

 

We loaded up the trailer on Wednesday night and headed out the next morning. The boys "helped" me make the sign for the back of the trailer. I'll admit, it felt good to have people honking and giving us thumbs up as we drove down the highway. The support from other drivers just reinforced that we were about to do something great for others.

When we got to Moore, this is just some of what we saw. There were neighborhoods that were completely demolished by the tornado. There was nothing standing for blocks.  Vehicles were tossed around like toy cars and they landed down the street from where they were picked up.

Trees with a 10 foot base were completely uprooted.

Our first stop was at a hotel to meet and help the sister of our dear friend. Meet Marty (pictured with my husband and kids=). Marty and her 2 sons lost their home from the tornado (see photo below). When news of the upcoming tornado, Marty and her sons rushed to the bathroom, hid in the tub & covered themselves with a mattress. It is a miracle no one was hurt. Marty & her sons are in the process of recovering what is left in their home, but have very little in good condition to keep.   They were able to stay at Life Church for a few nights until their home insurance paid for a hotel. They have one month in the hotel before they need to find a new home. Their cars were totaled and with only liability insurance, they will not be funded for a replacement car. Marty's niece (a good friend of mine) is raising money for her to rebuild their lives. If you would like to contribute, follow the link. =) http://disaster-relief.fundly.com/donations-to-survivors-of-oklahoma-tornado-13

What is left of Marty's home.

After meeting up with Marty, we hit the neighborhoods with our trailer of supplies. We asked every person in sight "What do you need?" Initially, each person would just wave us on and say that they needed nothing. BUT, as soon as we started listing all the supplies in the trailer, inevitably, there was something that interested them....shovels, gloves, a baseball cap, a granola bar, clean socks and even a new pair of underwear. You know, people don't mind working in dirty clothes, but EVERYONE likes a clean pair of underwear!! ;) 

Meet Deena. She lives across the street from Marty and lost her home as well. Deena ran an in-home daycare and at the time she was taking care of 6 young children. When the tornado hit, she was huddled over the children in her closet. 2 cars fell on top of her house, but with the Lord's mercy, everyone crawled out unharmed. When we met Deena, they had just removed the 2 cars from her house and she was digging through the rubble. She didn't get much out - I noticed a highchair, a few toys, glass bowls & some kitchen pots. It was inspiring to talk to Deena - despite the circumstances, she was in such good spirits. We later met one of the children that was in her home at the time - a little 2 year old girl - we were able to give her one of the kids' bags.  Deena's next door neighbor was not so fortunate. Her neighbor was huddled down with her teenage son during the storm, but was killed when the tornado hit the house.

You wouldn't believe people's gratitude for the things that we delivered. Everyone was so overwhelmed at Austin's generosity. With the Sooner/Long Horn rivalry, one man said "Well, the Sooners sure love and appreciate the Long Horns right now!!"  It was interesting to see what people were most excited to receive. The women wanted a razor more than anything else. Multiple women explained how they "just wanted to feel like a woman again."  We were also able to give them sports bras and underwear. Many people will have to replace all of the clothing in their homes because it got wet and covered in housing insulation (which you shouldn't wear, even if washed.)  One man couldn't stand to leave his home at night, so he was camping out there each night - we gave him a much needed lantern and supplies.

While driving around neighborhoods, one man asked if we had any extra shoes in our trailer (he was wearing sandals). I dug through and found a pair of Jason's old tennis shoes that I had thrown in last minute. It was the ONLY pair of men's shoes in the trailer and they were the EXACT shoe size for that man. What a tender mercy of the Lord. By then, we had already given away all of our new socks, so Jason took his socks off and gave them to the man. Yeah, they were probably dirty, but that man didn't care.

This is Sheri and her family (pictured with myself, husband and my boys). They completely lost their home from the tornado. We were able to give a lot of donations to this family. The kids, Braden & Sierra were thrilled about the kids' bags that Jeni Galek put together and we had other toys donated from others that they so excited to receive. (There were a few more children in this family that were not in the neighborhood at the time; but we left some items for them to take as well =) Talking to this family really put life into perspective for me. Of course, losing their home, belongings, and vehicles was devastating; but they were filled with so much gratitude for their lives. They are full of optimism and hope for rebuilding their future. Despite their awful circumstances, they were smiles the whole time we were with them.

I saw this and had to take a photo....oh, the irony.

A community playground nearby.

People can have a sense of humor during crisis....they laugh so they don't cry.

We spoke to the man that owned this "house" and we were able to give him the last package of underwear that we had left in our trailer. And man, was he grateful.

We were able to be in Moore for part of Memorial Day weekend and we saw many flags above the rubble. It was both humbling and empowering to see these flags. The United States is a blessed country and our citizens will always come together in times of crisis... religion, race, political party, economic status.....it all goes out the window when a fellow American needs help. I am so grateful that my family could be a small part of helping those in Moore. In fact, I felt selfish to be the lucky person who delivered those supplies and to see the the gratitude on people's faces. They all asked who we were and I was proud to tell them that the people of Austin donated these supplies and were praying for the families in Moore. 

 

It was hard to understand how one house could be standing unharmed (missing a few shingles) while the house next door was completely demolished, along with the rest of the neighborhood. We saw this a lot throughout the neighborhoods. Crazy.

Throughout our short time in Moore I expressed many moments of frustration to Jason. I felt like we weren't making a difference.  I kept telling him that all the little stuff in our trailer was insignificant to what these people need....they no longer have a home, a bed, furniture, clothing or those irreplaceable photos. Jason had to remind me many times that the things we brought were in fact.....PRECIOUS to them. Insurance will pay for much of what they lost, but we were bringing them hope, love, and prayers from Austin. Even if someone only needed one item from our trailer, it meant the world to them.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo or the name of this woman, but she was so brave. With news of the tornado, she was able to hide out in this storm shelter underground and remain safe (pictured above). The sad part of her story is that her husband had a broken hip and could not get down there with her. He had to stay in the home during the storm and is now hospitalized with more injuries. He will be out of the hospital soon and be okay, but what a sad story. I couldn't imagine the fear and helplessness of that wife when she had to leave her husband in the house during the storm. When we offered supplies to this woman, she didn't need anything. I gave her a long hug and a stuffed animal.

Throughout all the neighborhoods, different organizations set up tents with food and water. This particular group was grilling hot dogs and burgers for anyone who came by. Many residents spent the days picking through the remainder of their home and were too busy to seek out food and water....so volunteers walked through the neighborhoods pushing shopping carts or dollies filled with food, sandwiches, water and gatorade. The Wal-Mart parking lot was FILLED with trucks and outdoor tents....TIDE had set up dozens of washers and dryers in the parking lot so that victims could wash their clothes for free. One organization in the parking lot had 20,000 burgers they were grilling with chips and drinks - free to anyone.  When we walked in the wal-mart store, the aisles were absolutely packed with pallets of products and racks and racks of clothes - I would be surprised if you could fit a cart down some aisles! We heard Home Depot was allowing victims to come get supplies that they needed free of cost. No matter where we went in Moore, people were helping and were kind to one another- it was a humbling experience.

When we stopped at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an empty semi truck was parked in the parking lot and had just delivered a full trailer of work supplies.....chainsaws, wheel barrows, gloves, rakes, shovels, water, hygiene kits, work shirts generators, sleeping cots, propane tanks, etc, etc. Later that weekend, volunteers were able to do some amazing work with those supplies. Follow this link for more details. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-in-pictures-oklahoma-tornado-cleanup

On our drive out of Moore, we followed this rainbow.  The tornado victims have a long road of building ahead of them, but here's some hope for the people of Oklahoma.

At the end of our trip, we still had some clothes and some supplies left. We stopped at a hotel and left toiletries, coloring books, markers & bubbles in the front lobby. Many parents didn't take their kids back to the houses and we had no other way to contact them. The lady at the front desk told me there were at least 20 children in the hotel who had lost their homes  - and I'm sure they were thrilled to receive those toys. We left the remaining clothes with some friends in Moore. Those clothes have been organized and set aside for a few specific families who lost their homes....one single mother with 8 children and another family with 4 children.

At first, I was overwhelmed at the thought of bringing our 3 year old twin boys and our 1 year old boy to Oklahoma with us. But, as we gathered donations, and saw the excitement from the twins, there was no way we could leave them. This was an experience that they will never forget and a lesson that I could never teach from a book. It was a harsh reality for them to see these homes and  talk to the kids who lost everything; but it was also heart-softening for them. Jason and I watched as Arlo & Josiah gave hugs to the kids and were so excited to give the children toys.  My children learned, first hand, sympathy and compassion for others.

Thank you to all who gave. Your donations were gratefully received. Please continue praying for Moore.

Tribute to my Childhood home

As many of you saw on Facebook a few weeks ago, the home I grew up in caught fire and burned down. Although we no longer live there, I was shocked at the emotions I felt. It makes me sad to know that I can never drive past and show my kids where I grew up. The home sat on 2 acres of land, so someone will probably clear the trees, subdivide the land and build multiple homes there. I don't think I can ever go back, knowing that my home isn't there. The first few days after it burned, I was struggling to get over it.....then I met up with my family in El Paso for the weekend - it was like therapy for me to be with them.
Afterall, it was just a house....my family is my home.
 

I wrote this little memory a few years ago about the house and thought I would share it... a tribute to the house that raised me.....

Seeing that we moved from the Clark’s Landing home in 1987, when I was only four years old, I don’t have many memories there. Almost every one of my childhood memories was in our Vale Spring home. The Tudor-style exterior of the house was so beautiful and unique to the houses around it. Instead of a front porch, the house had what we called, the “cave” where Muffin spent a lot of her time. The hand-carved front door was breathtaking; although only strangers came to the front door (everyone else knew the
back door was the main entrance). When we moved to the house, it didn’t have a garage. Dad designed an extra large two-car garage and promptly had it built. The back of the garage was always filled with dad’s treasures of old victrolas, pianos, bicycles and lawnmowers. Travis spent many summers fixing lawnmowers, go-carts, and 4-wheelers back in the garage.

Our Vale Spring house was situated on the most perfect plot of land in all of Oakton, Virginia.The house was at the end of a cul-de-sac so we had some great road to play on. Dad set up a basketball hoop and a street light so we could play in the evening. On the 4th of July Travis and Stanley set off fireworks on the cul-de-sac; Travis drove his go-cart up and down the street; and we had a good “practice road” where I learned to ride my bike. The hill in our front yard was great for sledding in the winters. The house’s chimney was perfect to practice hitting tennis balls and sometimes lacrosse balls (until one went stray and broke a window!) The windows were huge and Susan would use them to practice her cheerleading in the reflection. Our home was situated on two acres of land that was perfect for campouts, a tire swing, a zip wire, the clubhouse and a big deck for all of mom’s parties. Stan always took advantage of the peaceful woods where he would go bird watching.

I remember the day we moved into the Vale Spring house. Our whole family pulled into the driveway in our van that was hauling a trailer load of stuff. I remember going down to the basement and getting lost in all the rooms. The basement rooms had green or red outdoor carpeting and some rooms had paisley velvet wallpaper. Mom and dad did a lot of renovations in that house. In fact, the basement had a lot of phases during the seventeen years we lived there. One of the basement rooms was long and narrow with fake stained-glass windows. We all imagined that it must have been a chapel of some sort, but we used it as a toy room. Eventually, dad split the room to be his office and the other half was a kitchen. Since the basement was so big and we didn’t use all the space, mom and dad turned it into an apartment for BYU couples interning in D.C. Before the apartment though, we would roller skate all around the basement. I have a lot of really good memories in the Vale Spring basement. We had some fun parties in the game room playing arcades and pool; and watching movies in the family room.

Of all the rooms in Vale Spring, the kitchen was the social center of the house. Everyone would migrate to the kitchen, pull up a chair and hang out. The room was so busy that dad had to refinish the hardwood floors several times. Family prayer took place every night on the kitchen floor and we all had “assigned” spots to kneel. Muffin and/or Tiger Lily would join us in prayer, but they were usually more of a distraction. =) We baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies several nights a week (and popped popcorn on the other nights of the week!). Everything happened in the kitchen around our big Oak table. It was at the kitchen table that mom did her mending; dad shined shoes; we did our homework; we all played card games together; and read scriptures as a family.
The Vale Spring home will always have a special place in my heart. Maybe one day, we could all get together and buy it back.

Mom at the back door. (bc only strangers used the front door=)

Our game room in the basement.

Dad in the kitchen

We used to have stuffed animal picnics in the front yard

The backyard

A little piece of heaven. The woods that we played in behind the house.

One of my brothers jumping off the deck into the 3 feet of snow in the backyard

Another Party???

Why, yes of course. Why wouldn't you have multiple parties for your birthday? You've got to stretch out the celebrations as long as possible.

The week after Miles' birthday, my parents flew to Austin and helped me drive to my Susan's house in El Paso, where we also met up with Stanley's family. Even better, Jason flew down after work for 2 days! My sister's house had 18 people there for the weekend - 8 adults & 10 kids....we really missed Travis' family though. =(

So, what would you do 1 week after your baby's birthday and you are together with all your family?? PAR-TAY, of course. The first night we celebrated Stanley's birthday with Steak & all the sides. During cake time, he announced that they are moving to North Carolina in June for a job offer at Pfeiffer University. Talk about exciting news!! Now, I've just got to convince Jason & his business partners to open their next pest branch on East coast...I'm working hard at it. The next night we celebrated Miles' birthday (again) Texan-style @ Rudy's BBQ. We all dressed up & enjoyed cupcakes at home afterwards.

Overall, the weekend was PERFECT and I enjoyed every minute with my family. The only thing that I would have changed would be the speeding tickets ($250 each!!!!) that Jason and I each got. (That's a whole other story and that cop was heartless.)

Miles' big birthday dinner at Rudy's BBQ

 

 

Arlo decorated the cupcakes with sprinkles =)

Josiah & Eliza enjoying some shelled peanuts

Cousins enjoying cupcakes  together =)

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This was the typical meal setup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Susan's house. Kids in the kitchen & adults in the dining room. (Miles had already gone to bed in this photo =(

Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

I feel like this happens to me a LOT when I don't have a to-do list .

Miles Turns 1

Can you believe it??!! Neither can I. Last week Miles turned the big ONE. Jason was out of town for his birthday, so we had a family celebration the Sunday before.  To celebrate, we had beef roast & vegetables with homemade crescent rolls, followed by cupcakes, jumping on the trampoline and gifts!

Miles is an absolute joy to have in our family. The deep dimple in his right cheek just melts my heart and appears to be permanent because he is always smiling and happy. He took his first steps well over a month ago, but has finally gotten the motivation to practice; he walks about 80% of the time and crawls when he just doesn't have the time/patience to be careful. At the rate he has been going, I anticipate him running by next week!! I guess he is a toddler now. =(  He Miles LOVES the water and is happy splashing in the bathtub or trying to swim out of my arms in the pool. Seriously though, I first put him in the pool at 4 weeks old and he has always loved the water - like, crazy giddy laughing squealing happy. Unlike his big brothers, Miles LOVES to eat (and it shows). This kid can out-eat Arlo & Josiah combined. I can't even name a favorite food for him, because he loves it ALL! Miles is definitely a peacemaker in our family. Arlo or Josiah can take one look at their baby brother's face and their demeanor changes instantly.
We love you Miles-doggie!!!!

The birthday fairy decorated the kitchen and made cupcakes while all the boys took their Sunday nap ;)

Our family, on Miles' special day

All he wanted was a balloon and kept saying "Bah" over & over again.

We had Kjersti, Presli & Hayes there to celebrate with us too!!

Miles enjoying his cupcake =)

Getting the hose from daddy

And what birthday would be complete without hanging out on the trampoline in your birthday suit??

Arlo & Josiah got Miles an abacus for his birthday and Miles LOVES it. (I think it'll be a good educationaal tool for all the boys too=)

My gift to Miles is his baby quilt. I worked my butt off to finish, just in time for the party!!

Been too busy having fun!

The week before Easter, our niece Nikki flew all the way from Florida to party with us during her spring break. We had lots of fun showing her around Austin and just hanging out. Of course, Nikki & I took lots of time to go shopping, paint nails & watch movies. We stumbled across a carnival and she took the boys on a fun ride.

South Congress Food Truck Park. The food was SO AMAZING. There were probably a dozen food trucks and all varieties. I ordered some DELICIOUS peanut chicken & rice....I'm still dreaming about how yummy it was and planning my next trip there.

And we got snowcones for dessert =)

Between family coming to visit and our own trips out of town, we have lots of good playtime at home. Last week we set up camp in the toy room. The boys piled nearly every toy, stuffed animal, pillow & blanket they could find inside and slept in the tent 4 nights in a row. We will definitely have to do this again - they had so much fun!

So, this is Josiah's bug jar FULL of ladybugs!! He is the expert in finding and catching ladybugs from our backyard. You may not see it in the photo, but he probably had a dozen in his jar at the moment. Turns out that a few of the ladybugs were smaller than the airholes in the lid and they actually crawled out of the jar. So....the jar went back outside =)

Jason took his Sunday nap in the tent.

We joined some friends to visit a farm & were able to enjoy the perfect weather as well. Here's Arlo with a hen. The boys were also able to each take home an egg, laid by the hens there - they thought that was pretty cool!

Josiah  & a lamb

And in other news....Miles has been working on some pretty impressive skills lately. He has 2 fists FULL of waffle pieces while drinking from his milk bottle. (A baby has to hold on to all of his stuff around here - a big brother might snatch it away;)

And while visiting daddy in McAllen, he learned how to crawl around with his booster seat still attached!! Daddy, you really need to get chairs so we can buckle the booster down. haha =)