To say that we are tired of severe storms here in Nebraska would be a huge understatement. Last night was by far the scariest storm that I have ever experienced. As we sat huddled under couch cushions, branches were hitting our basement window and I was sure it was going to break. No windows broke, but I did post some pics of the aftermath.


Who knows where the orange cone came from???



We lost a few shingles

This would be my neighbors tramploine up in a tree

Our poor tree:(

What a crazy two weeks it has been. For some reason I am struggling to put words together. I have a lot to say but I can't seem to organize my thoughts. Maybe I'm not ready to admit that life goes on after a tragedy happens. Maybe I'm stuck in my own selfish pain. Whatever the reason I am trying to work through it so please be patient with me.

A conversation that took place between Fischer and myself last night:

I was looking at an article online about Sam's funeral:

Me: Fischer, who's that?

Fischer: SAM!!

Me: That's right!

Fischer: What happened to him?

Me: He went to Heaven to be with God!

Fischer: He's happy!!

I just got home from Sam's Celebration of Life. Words are not adequate to describe the event, but I will try. The church was filled with almost 700 people who loved and knew Sam. The stage was decorated with orange and blue balloons, and the teens were dressed in the same colors. A few weeks ago at his sister's graduation party he told everyone at our table that if he could choose home school colors they would be orange and blue. The stories told and the songs that were sung were all beautiful expressions of Sam's love for life, his family and his God.

You can read his truly amazing sermon that he wrote for LTC here:

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10356854

It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you of Sam's passing last night. We hope you will join us in prayer for his sweet, sweet family. They are amazing people and we are so saddened by their loss.

Pray for Sam, a kid in our youth group who is at Little Sioux Scout Camp that was hit by a tornado. His parents are driving up there right now to find out if he is OK!

Yesterday, Franklin and I took Fischer to the zoo! It was SO relaxing to just hang out as a family! We visited the new butterfly house, which was a blast! However, I would say 95% of the butterflies liked to hang out by the air conditioner vents(as you can see from the picture). So, there wasn't that many butterflies actually flying around. They did like Franklin's orange shirt though. Fischer looks terrified in the picture with me. Maybe he thought a butterfly was about to land on him. We spent 6 hours walking around, and by the end I could barely move. Our zoo is SO hilly I don't know why I thought I could take him to the zoo by myself. I am thankful that I went with Franklin. I think he was extremely thankful to have spent some quality time with Fischer.

I guess he wouldn't be a BOY if his knees and elbows didn't look like this:

Oh well, at least he is still smiling!



On an even scarier note: Our friends are back!!!

So, I borrowed my neighbors hair cut kit and decided to give Fischer a haircut. I have never cut hair before, but I am pretty darn proud of myself! I even convinced Franklin to let me butcher him...haha!! He was actually impressed and I am glad he trusted me!


Here are some pics...I forgot to take a before of Fischer. Why do Fischer and Franklin both look traumatized? Hey, it will be saving us about $30 a month! YAY!

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