I gave away 4 quilts yesterday

When Judy Laquidara went to Joplin to give away a dozen quilts i thought it was a great thing to do.....i even thought of doing it myself. but she lives much closer to Joplin than i do.

But yesterday i took quilts to our own tornado victims. friends of ours got their home demolished last week by a tornado. the only home in the area that was destroyed.

All their friends and neighbors and relatives showed up to rebuild their house. it reminded me of the Amish when they all get together and build a barn in a day. there were about 30 people working on the house. as of yesterday it had walls, a metal roof, 1 window and they were working on the porch. i am just amazed at how quickly they can build a house. it was awesome.

So i had hubby take me out last night with a tub full of quilts so they could choose their favorites.

The little girl chose the puppies. i didn't know if it was too babyish when i packed it.....but she pounced on it first thing. her mom says all the kids like dogs....they have 3 of them....dogs, that is.  well, kids, too. LOL  isn't she just the cutest thing?

The middle boy chose the 1600 inch quilt in batiks. i was surprised but he said it was 'him'. LOL

Although the oldest teen wasn't home....his brother picked the red, white and blue for him. he and his mom both said that it fit him. hope he likes it.

And mom and dad got a scrap quilt with applique flowers and vines. they were all very appreciative and it made my heart feel good to know that i contributed a bit of comfort to them.

When i was speaking with her she said they hadn't found all their clothes yet. there were some things that she saw hanging in the trees way across the pastures but hadn't the energy to go after them. she said perhaps some animal could use them for a bed.

It is so sad to drive onto their property. there is a couch sitting in the yard....a chair sitting over on the side of the driveway...the dogs just wandering around - looking lost. but everyone is smiling and seems to be as well as expected. the two youngest kids slept through the whole thing until their parents woke them up to go to the basement.

I think her greatest regret was her wood floors. the water just warped them all up and they had to be torn out. she said they saved their money so they could pay for them in cash and hadn't had them very long. her basement was ankle deep in water but she has it all cleaned out now and dry. she had clothes hanging on the lines. the washing machine has been working.

Although Joplin was horrid....it just seems so much worse when it happens to someone you know. hubby went over to help build the last 2 days...i figured i wasn't a carpentar...i'm better at demolition....but i could quilt ....so that was my contribution. i hope this family never has to live through this again.

We had a tornado

Not WE specifically.....we just got a storm and lost electricity for 18 hours. thank goodness for generators. but then once i figured out that we spent $32 for gas for the generator for those hours....it wasn't that great.

But friends of ours lost their home. around 2am....it took SECONDS....and the house that they just finished building less than a year ago was gone. every stick of it....roof, walls, furnishings...everything. Randy got a few stitches in his back and is bruised and sore and a nail in his heel. the kids and Myra are ok.

They have ceramic tiles on the floors. all the tiles were fine except 2 of them cracked. how do you explain that a house explodes and all blows away but the tile on the floor is fine. the tornado sucked up the sewage from the cistern and spew it through the toilet all around the basement bathroom. the computer was found and it still works. amazing.

The cows survived fine....no casualties. the dogs survived fine. the chicken shed was demolished....1 chicken was killed and 2 disappeared....the rest are fine. we can thank God that the only real casualty was a chicken.

Someone brought over a 5th wheel for them to live in for now. A cousin, who is the manager of a lumber yard, put in an emergency order for trusses and 2x4s and walls. he says by the weekend they will have rebuilt the walls and have a roof on. and they have full replacement coverage in insurance.....so it will all work out in the end.

As adults, we can cope and be glad no one was seriously hurt and know that we can rebuild. but children don't have a full grasp of this. their 'stuff' is gone....their clothes are gone....their room is gone. i know the devastation in Joplin was great....but when it happens to someone that you know.....it seems so much worse. nothing else in the neighborhood was hit. was it because his house was in a clearing and on a hill. would trees have saved it?  i guess we'll never know. 

I pray i never have to experience a tornado personally and pray that our friends will be back in their new home again real soon.