Family Update

A lot has taken place over the past three weeks so I will try and cover everything!

We had our social worker visit for the final report to Russia on Polina, Dima and Nastya. It was . . . interesting. Nothing bad, just a new social worker. Very young, no children. Here we are, married 23 years and seven children. In the end, I felt a little insulted - but I got over it.

On April 19-20, we had severe storms roll through our area that resulted in an EF3 tornado touching down about 10 miles away and killing three family members and destroying a nearby brick church. That storm produced 30 tornadoes across the state. One week later, a massive storm system rolled through the state producing 23 known tornadoes killing 236 people. At least two EF5 tornadoes touched down. We were in Virginia when the storms hit and it wasn't until we got home that we were able to check on all extended family members. Jeremy was at school in north Alabama and we were able to get him on his cell phone about 10PM that night - then we lost contact for another 24 hours. My only comfort was that I was able to check news reports on damage and learned that there was no significant damage in his area. The storm photos and videos that have been shown in newspapers and on tv really do not give you the magnitude of the destruction. West Birmingham (Pratt City and Pleasant Grove) area just wiped out. The Christian relief efforts going on are truly amazing. Portable food kitchens are scattered throughout the area feeding workers and families. Pick-up trucks are driving through each area handing out water, cleaning supplies and tarps. Church groups are pulling in each day to volunteer. This is what the Christian family is doing. Yes, the government and Red Cross is there handing out tarps, but the Christian church family from across the south has stepped up and they far out number the government.

We returned from Virginia Sunday night and Monday morning I headed north to take fuel and clean clothes to Jeremy. The city of Huntsville had been without power since the storms hit. No power means gas stations can not pump gas. The school's kitchen was open because it was gas fired. Jeremy was fine. I returned to Huntsville yesterday to pack him up for the summer. He has to return in about 10 days for his finals, but it is good to have the whole family at home. The kids have been so excited about having him home for the summer. He is a great role model for his two brothers and I think it is great they will be able to spend some time with him.

More on our trip to Virginia tomorrow...