Graduation Trip, Tornado, and Seeing Old Friends

We’re headed back to Springfield this week for Liberty’s graduation from the tech school there. A friend is having a party for both Liberty and Eden, celebrating each of their graduations.

We’ll drive overnight tomorrow night and stay with friends through Sunday. The kids are all over the moon. How Lach does traveling will be interesting. Creed is in the middle of potty training, Lach is very attached to both nursing on demand and to his bed… I’d originally planned to stay home and I’m really hoping I don’t regret deciding to go! It should be a fun trip, seeing friends and celebrating great accomplishments.

Tomorrow night is Honors Night for Eden, recognizing her high school graduation. So much going on this week! Eden got an acceptance letter from the tech school here. She plans to pursue a degree in marketing.

Thursday evening last week a tornado hit the town of Castlewood, where we have our belongings stored in a storage unit. The school a block away from the storage building was destroyed, as were many, many houses. We couldn’t get into town for several days. The not knowing if everything was even still there was crazy. We’d planned to go Wednesday and get summer clothes out, but didn’t get all the coats washed in time so that got pushed to Friday. The storm hit and we not allowed into the town. I was scrambling without any summer clothes for anyone for the trip to a much warmer climate. It made for an interesting week!

Our building there is standing but the unit is wet inside. We have a lot of work ahead, emptying the unit, checking for damage, and dealing with insurance. Many people fared far, far worse, with houses damaged, gone, and so many trees uprooted. Metal building pieces dot the countryside. There were no deaths in the storm here, thankfully. It could have been so much worse, having seen the town’s damage. A quick Google search will show you news and drone footage of it. I’ve never seen the likes of it before. I hope never to again. Tornadoes were not so unheard of in Missouri, but here – this is not at all normal. My parent’s property has no damage, but places within a mile have a lot of trees and barns ruined. Many are still without power.

Prayers for safe travel, minimal damage in the storage unit, and a good weekend away would be much appreciated. Blaine’s parents and one sister plan to come to visit right as we get back. My head is spinning with what all needs to be done for both that and for our trip!