Up and Thankful

Too much caffeine tonight. Too much drama. Just as we were getting ready to head out to church for the candlelight vigil for little Kimberly, that warnings on t.v. started going off. We then spent the next hour glued to the set watching the news. I just had Jackson and Sam home with me. Johnny and Shane were in Richmond holding a vigil at the hospital. My boys all have a fascination with tornadoes. About 3 years ago, we had to hide in a closet with my brothers' Doberman! It was an adventure for sure. Mattress and all. They've been obsessed ever since. They watch the videos on You Tube and any time there is a warning beep on t.v., they freeze and watch. They are always scanning the sky when the clouds are thick. So now, we'll never get back to normal. I've told them that tornadoes rarely happen in Gloucester, and tonight our town is damaged! "Gloucester" was said on the news over and over and over. They were scared. We couldn't find the cat, it was an ordeal. I knew the storms had passed over Richmond and that my boys were okay, but I was worried about their drive back. There's been so many stories already. Our one of two middle schools was destroyed. The parking lot is used for school buses and the buses were overturned and tossed on to each other. The back side of the school is gone, including the cafeteria. I'm sure the school board never had a back up plan for something like this, the likely hood it ever would have happened is so small. There are only two middle schools in the county, and only one high school. I'm not sure where these kids are going to go. Our pastor was at a church members house. The house is in really bad shape from what I've heard and trees landed on all the cars. The family is safe, thank God. They have three small children! There are a few we haven't heard from, but I'm praying it's just because power lines are down. We are on the hospital grid, so we rarely go out, and if we do it's not for long. The hospital was on the news, over run with patients. They were sending people to Newport News, but the south bound lanes were shut, so people had to be rerouted, I can't imagine how long it took. Our town really only has one way in and out. The reroutes take hours. From the reports coming in, there are at least 3 dead in our tiny community. It's so sad.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Johnny prayed over sweet little Kimberly. I'm so proud of him. He has such a hard time with children in the hospital. He can't even watch the St. Jude commercials. When Sam was 5 weeks old and had RSV, he had the little heartbeat sticky things on his chest and Johnny couldn't stand it. As soon and they said we could leave, he pulled them off causing all the machines to start beeping like crazy. He just can't deal. He was one of only two that managed to go back to the room to see her. I just can't imagine what her poor family is going through. That poor baby must look so small in that bed. She's had a few surgeries. She has a rod in her spine, her femur is a now a rod. She had surgery to fix her punctured lung. She is off the ventilator now and breathing on her own, but I believe she's still sedated. I'm so proud of him for being there for the family and able to do that for them. It's one of those times you just want to shout out "WHY!" She was just following her brothers across the street. I asked "isn't she improving?" and he said that the improvements seem so small compared to the damage done. I just can't imagine. I'm so thankful to the people that went up there to bring practical gifts and to say prayers over that sweet baby!

I'm so thankful we are safe at home and my family is safe and my home is sound! I'm praying for our church family affected and all the others. I know we'll never here the end of the storm stories from my little ones, but at least they're able to tell us all about them, safe in their home.