Tornadoes Hit Central Arkansas

In the past two months, Arkansas has endured tornadoes, a foot of snow, a foot of rain, and near-record flooding. On Thursday night the sirens went off in Little Rock just as we were settling into bed. Derek put our tornado preparedness plan into action; Kaleb was pulled from his crib and placed in his carrier, which was placed in the pantry with a mattress placed at the entrance. I love storms but when it became seriously threatening I was praying for the state and for our close friends who were in it's path. A tornado touched down in Cammack Village, Little Rock, just 10 miles from our home. The most serious weather systems passed south of us but our close friends were in it's midst. We called our Bryant/Benton friends, Ashley & Brian, who had taken cover in the closet while listening to the scanner; they assured us that Amy & Kyle, who live just down the road, had also taken cover. Emily had taken cover in the tub, while Brian attempted to drive home over the river bridge. When lightning was flashing every second and striking dangerously close to the vehicle making it difficult to even navigate the road, he turned off at the first exit with Emily's pleading and waited it out at a friend's home. Jason, Lauren, & Riley in Cabot, we found out later, were nestled tightly together in the bathtub while listening to the powerful storm pass all too closely to home. Their power was taken out so Lauren & Riley spent the night in LR with family and met us for dinner. Kaleb & Riley spent some much needed time together. Thankfully, everyone is safe and sound!

Kaleb and I had a big weekend! Kaleb had "mommy & me" time all weekend as Derek got to go to the NASCAR race in Texas with a couple of guys from church. Kaleb and I, and all his little cousins, celebrated Jesse's first birthday at Mamaw's and got to meet yet another newborn, Kaylee, who was just 5 days old! Kaleb is now 4 months and I can hardly remember him being as tiny as Kaylee! He is a mover and hates sitting down on my lap for more than a few minutes; he's always trying to wiggle and kick those legs and gets so proud of himself sitting on his own in his bumbo seat! He is now rolling almost completely over and wiggles and squirms around so much so that when I place him down in his crib, I've come to expect to see his whole body turned 90 degrees when I go to pick him up again. I've posted pics of Kaleb at 4 months and of Jesse's Birthday below.