So many things have been going through my head in the last week so this post will most likely be all over the place.
I am completely humbled by the generosity everyone has shown for my family. If you have given, please know that I am eternally grateful. Many times since last Monday I have dropped to my knees thanking God for all He has done in the midst of this disaster.
This picture of our home is the first think I saw when my sister and I stepped out of the storm shelter. Honestly, I was surprised there were walls still standing. This wasn’t the first tornado I had experienced. We lost our house back in 1999 to what, at the time, was considered the worst tornado in history. Lucky me that I got to experience it’s record breaker.
This tornado was very loud and seemed to move fairly slowly. We could hear things hitting the storm shelter door. It was a frightening experience but we were safe. My family was safe. Unfortunately, my sister and I both had major damage to our homes. Parts of her roof are either collapsed into the house or completely missing. Our house is still standing except for the storage area above the garage. All of the girls’ baby clothes and toys are gone and all of the paintings my husband did are gone. Both of our houses were full of debris (shattered glass, leaves, sticks, pieces of other peoples homes, etc), boards & shingles were stuck through the walls and the walls are covered in mud. The adjuster has been out and we are waiting to see if they will try to repair the damage or total it.
I don’t know how I would be able to deal with all of this without my faith. I immediately saw God’s hand on us with the droves of people who came out to help us with clean up and the people who have sent us money and items such as diapers and wipes for the girls.
I still have people asking how they can help. I still feel awkward asking for help and saying hey, send me this but God is working on my heart to be more willing to let people help.
As of right now, I know we need basic things such as toilet paper, diapers, wipes, laundry detergent and fabric softener. Also, we are moving into an apartment this weekend so I will need to restock our groceries. Target and Walmart are the closest stores to us. Some have also sent gift cards to restaurants and that has been very helpful too since we are sorting through our things and signing up for assistance and taking care of all the things that go along with relocating and rebuilding so we don’t have much time to plan or cook meals. We have access to most major chains.
Many of our things that people thought might be salvageable were thrown into boxes and sent to storage so I am unsure of what we truly need as far as things like clothes and such.
Again, thank you to everyone that has and is willing to help my little family. We are truly blessed to have so many people care about us. And trust me, we will definitely pay it forward.
God Bless!
