Much Overdue Picture Blog

Much has happened since I last blogged. Nathan and I went for a lovely mini-vacation to Memphis to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The kids and I did a 'field-trip' to Moundville. Kathryn celebrated her 6th birthday. Then the icky stuff began. A day of tornadoes, which destroyed our first home's neighborhood, many places full of sweet memories in Tuscaloosa, and grazed our current neighborhood with a force that still gives me the willies. We were very fortunate to have only the tiniest damage to our property. We then headed north to wait out the power outage, and now we are back. Whew! (And that breathless description was briefly interrupted by a lesson in why we don't throw dirt in our sibling's face.) And today is Happy Mother's Day! Nathan brought home some beautiful flowers on Friday- so sweet!!! My prayer for the next year as a mom is that I will persevere in loving my children through consistency in joyful training. Everyday I need Him more- I just want to realize that everyday instead of flying through the day by the seat of my skirt. So! Pics!

Huge Hosta, Crazy Kid

Alex giving his Indian face to me at the burial mounds

She's the Big SIX!

Beautiful Spring in Alabama

The Backyard of Our Neighborhood. The huge tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa skimmed by our house about a 1/4 mile away. Scary. The snapping of the trees made it sound like an artillery barrage in an old movie. These pics are of the back part of our neighborhood. How their houses are standing at all when the storm literally brushed by them, taking out the woods behind them is amazing to me!

Aw! Nathan brought me flowers. After 10 years, he has my taste in flora NAILED!!!!

This is the only royal wedding we got to see- boohoo.

Just a sweet pic by the river.

The trees in our neighborhood still look like they're leaning into the wind. Weird.

I know these post is a strange blend of happy life and pics associated with a deep and troubling tragedy. I'm not separating them out, b/c that's how our life is mixed right now. Life isn't separated into sweet little boxes. I have been feeling all kinds of strange mixed feelings. Guilt for mowing my lawn, while my neighbors are pulling trees off their houses. Relief at being passed by. Joy at watching my children play in the cool of the May evenings. Sweet contentment as I sip my morning coffee. Sadness over the physical changes to places I have loved for years. C'est la vie.