Joplin

[This is a guest post from Stan McBride.]

The tornado that recent ravaged the Joplin area has brought a change in attitude and focus in this section of the country as we all realize how precious life is and how we really are not completely in charge of our lives. Our stake was asked to send a contingent of Mormon Helping Hands to Joplin the Saturday after the disaster. The Church has been on the ground caring for members and non-members alike since the day after the tornado. Our workforce was asked to complete several hundred work orders that had been created to help the clean up effort.

The tornado went right through the center of Joplin and decimated entire homes and business. For work orders in the center of the destruction there was little we could do besides console the family and help them move their personal belongs away. A Google map of the destruction shows how wide the path was. The path of destruction is about 1 mile wide and 7 miles long and that is the area of complete decimation. Beyond that area there is general destruction, but the homes could be rebuilt.


View Joplin, MO Tornado in a larger map


Our work team focused on the fringe of the complete destruction and helped those that could rebuild. The photos below show the before and after of our efforts.

We also observed the complete destruction of other areas of Joplin.

It truly reminds you that your life is not your own. One story shared with us comes from the owner of the home shown in the first before and after picture. (As you can see his home has no roof and it is no where nearby. His family took shelter in their basement, one of the few in the area. You can also see in that photo a blue dumpster. That dumpster came from some manufacturing plant at least 2 or 3 block away and fell from the sky perfectly between those two houses.) This homeowner told us that after the tornado had passed the family heard a three knocks inside the house. He through it was someone coming to check on the family and went upstairs. Inside the house a guy in a white ball-cap, white T-shirt, and jeans called him by name and asked if he and his family were OK. The homeowner responded yes. The visitor then turned and ran seemingly out of the house. The homeowner followed and could not find him. The debris piles outside of the home prevented any person from entering or exiting the home, but he was sure he talked with someone After the homeowner told this story we asked if he believes in guardian angels. He responded, "I do now."

While disaster and heartache are never a good thing, (and as one person share with me there) only God can make something good come out of something bad. The overwhelming response from the mid-west to help the people of Joplin literally cause FEMA to issue a statement that requested people do not send anymore goods or assistance. There are good people in the world, sometimes we just have to have a good cause to help prove it.

There has aslo been several great articles about the good that has come from the bad.
From lds.org: Mormon Helping Hands Pitch in to Aid Neighbors in Tornado-Ravaged Southern U.S.
From washingtonpost.com: Where is God (and the Mormon church) in a natural disaster?

I am grateful for all that God has given to my family and me. In the end it is a we read in Job 1:21 "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Preparing for Little Sister

In preparation for baby Girl McBride #2 (no, we still haven't picked a name), we've had to make some plans for rearranging our house.

Since we are not able to move into a bigger house anytime soon, and we've filled the current space to the max, I've had to get a little creative.

We live in a 1300 sq ft., 3 bedroom house.
1st Bedroom, the Master. With a King size bed, dresser and playpen, there is room for absolutely NOTHING else.

2nd Bedroom, Office/sewing/craft/play room. Again, room for NOTHING else.

3rd Bedroom, Miriam's room.
This is where things are changing. This room used to house her crib, dresser/changing table, a small bookshelf and a daybed for the occasional guest (and eventually for Miriam).

With the new baby, the plan is as follows: Have BGM (Baby Girl McBride) sleep in our room in the bassinet for the first few months. Then when we can't stand having a 3rd roommate anymore, if she's still not sleeping through the night, her bassinet will move to the office, where we'll put a table and some things away to make room. Then, once she sleeps through the night, we will attempt to have her and Miriam share a room.
With the addition of another child, we were also going to need another dresser for Miriam's clothes, so the baby can use the changing table drawers. However that room had no space for anything else, so we had to downsize. The daybed went up to the attic and I got lucky enough to get a free (and in good shape) toddler bed from a member of our ward. With a smaller bed, we now had room for another dresser.

Enter my latest project: refinishing an old dresser.
Knowing that we would need this dresser by September, I have been shopping around for a new one. I quickly realized I was too cheap to pay the price for a nice new dresser, so I've been checking Craigslist everyday for the past few months and finally found a great deal. $40, Solid Wood. In great shape with a few very minor dings.
During two days of Miriam's naps, I sanded, primed and painted the dresser and hardware. Don't be deceived by the before picture, the hardware was actually gold colored and worn. The paint job before was a yucky white with a grayish grain.
Now, it's solid white with nickel colored hardware--too bad the pictures don't really do it justice. So gradually we are getting more prepared to welcome BGM into our home. And I must say it's nice to do it the inexpensive route.

Sadly though, now we don't have an excuse to make our annual trip to IKEA.

Memorial Day Weekend

This Holiday weekend was a little different for us in that Stan was gone for most of it. This weekend our Stake was called upon to send 200 volunteers to help with the cleanup of the tornado aftermath in Joplin, Missouri--about an hour North of us. Stan spent Saturday and Sunday helping there. He said he'd do a blog post about that, so I'll let him tell about his experiences.

While he was away my sisters Anna and Sara came and stayed with Miriam and I to keep us company. Saturday morning we went walking with friends and then took the kids to the Splash Park in town. The girls loved it, although Miriam was a little shy of the water when it got really high.




Showing off her belly...


Miriam's best friend, Anna. I love her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she runs. Anna was fearless of the spraying water.


Miriam LOVED running around.



She was pretty worn out by the end and took a very good nap that afternoon.

Monday, Stan was back so we joined my sister Rebecca and her family, along with Sara and her friend Courtney for a day at Lake Fort Smith State Park.

We took a short hike with the kids to some small Falls,





Had a nice picnic by the Lake,

played at the playground,

and spent some time at the pool and splash area.





Miriam gave us a few scares at the pool. One was when she went running full speed ahead and didn't notice there was three steps down and took a nice tumble.

One was when she was playing on the steps at the deep pool and decided to dunk herself.

And the last was when a young girl decided to open the gate and let her out of the wading pool area. Obviously she didn't get the fact that the wading area was gated to keep toddlers in and she shouldn't let them out just because they look cute. Luckily my sister was coming that direction as Miriam bolted out of the gated zone, and caught her before she managed to throw herself in the big pool again.

It was a fun, but exhausting day. Can you tell by Miriam's face on the ride home?

Thank goodness for Holidays and the opportunity to spend a little extra time with family.