April 30

Hey papa.. 

It's been a few weeks since we've talked. I mean, here. I know we still talk all the time. I maybe can't see you daddy but I can feel you here. I know you are still walking with us every day. This month has been interesting. I went and got Brian on the 10th so he could come down and work on getting that red pickup you got running. He was here for the whole week. I know in a perfect world that he wouldn't have it right now but life threw us quite the curve ball with you having to leave us. He bought it from mom. She had a heckuva time getting him to pay for it. Mom took a vacation to Illinois the 16th-24th. Brian was supposed to leave too but didn't. I was so mad at him dad. Sticking around here just being a pain in the woo-hoo!! Ugh. I finally said enough to make him mad and he went home. Like I said, mom went on vacation to Illinois for the week. Spent some time with auntie and Deb's family. Mom is thinking she wants to move to Illinois after she retires. She found some houses she liked and made an offer on one. Thought it was all going to go through then she found out after she got home that they had to turn her down cuz she doesn't make enough money for that one. She said you really would have liked it too. But there are other houses daddy. The one God wants her to have will come open when the time is right. She still has time before she retires to get the rest of her life planned out. And you thought she'd never leave Kansas. Me neither pops. I had mixed emotions about her moving but I've come to terms with it. I know she has to move on and I know that she's not going to leave you behind. You were way too special to be forgotten or left behind. 

I was thinking and meant to ask you. How was Easter?! I bet the celebration in Heaven was amazing and beautiful. Rejoicing the Father all day long. Did they prepare a big meal for you all to share? I like to think that Heaven is a place like a big community. Where you know all your neighbors and everyone likes everyone. Where meals are prepared and there is always plenty for everyone and the weather is always just right. Where your overalls and long sleeve shirts are perfect for all year round. Has your beard gotten longer? When you get to Heaven, do you stay the age you were when you got there or go back to an earlier time in your life? Do you live by yourself or in a big place with all of your family members? I'd like to think that you have a place to yourself with room for mom when she gets there and our family members are your neighbors.  And your place is just beyond the moon, overlooking a big pond for you to fish out of whenever you want. I wish you could answer my questions. I wish I could call you. I wish I could see you. 

  Back home in Ringgold we had a tornado on Wednesday, the 27th. Oh daddy, the devastation is horrible and shocking. Our whole town is gone. The same as. You know, I grew up here and we never ever experienced anything like that. Moving south and that far south you never even think that we could get tornadoes. Boy, were we wrong. Someone had said if a tornado ever got in the mountains it would do a lot of damage and that it did. It came up from Texas then to Arkansas and then through Alabama. It wiped out Vilonia, AR, Tuscaloosa, AL, part of Birmingham and several smaller communities thru there before getting to Ringgold. From there it moved through Tennessee. In Ringgold, right there at the 348, all of the restaurants are gone. The BP is gone, several homes are gone. Trees are everywhere. Too many businesses to mention are destroyed. The middle and high schools there in town got a lot of damage. The middle school will probably just have to be rebuilt. They have all of the kids out of school all of next week and when we go back the school Rob goes to will share their building with the Ringgold kids. They will go 1/2 day and Rob will be done before 12 each day. They will have 3 weeks left when they go back. They are still planning on the kids getting out for the summer on May 27 but they say it will take 6 months at least before the kids from Ringgold will be able to go back to their schools. Rob's senior year is going to be interesting. I know if you had been here, I'd have been in GA and I know you'd have called me several times worried about us. I know you'd probably be here at home gathering as much as you could to bring it down to GA to help us. I don't know dad. You just were always like that. I just think you'd be asking what you could do. I wish I was there so I could help in some way. I guess the restaurants in East Ridge are crazy busy which I can imagine so with so much ruin in Ringgold people have to eat some where. 

We got a new place. Its down 151. I know, you're saying.. where's that? Mom knows. She could drive you. :) But I haven't even seen it in person. I found it in the paper last Sunday and called about it on Monday and Shaun went and saw it and then got it Tuesday. Like just in time--cuz I think God knew what was coming Wednesday. I'm pretty sure it was a God thing cuz God and you knew we needed a better place then where the guys were in that junky trailer in the hood and we needed to get Rob back in his school district. Rob and Shaun have been getting everything moved over there and the trailer cleaned up. Mom helped us get the house and I'm gonna pay her back on our payday. I've only seen a few pictures of it. It's nice. I'm excited to get back so I can see our new place and get back to work at Krystal. I'm hoping I still have a job to go back to since Ringgold is flattened I worry that if there is a position open it's been given to someone who is there now. I just have to put my faith in God that I still am getting it. So whisper to the big guy that I'm a little worried about it and help me find the peace that everything is gonna be OK even if I don't have that job to go back to. I get to go back in 3 weeks. I'm gonna miss mom and Snick but I'm ready to get back to the guys, get back to something that resembles my life. I've missed Boo so much and hate being apart from Shaun. I counted the other day and he had called me over 20 times in that one day!! Yes, much too much.. but he misses me too I guess. I've been blabbing on to ya for about 2 hours now. I remember how you used to think us kids didn't like talking to you. Boy, were you wrong?! I miss you daddy. Every single day. I see things and wanna tell you about them. Experience things I wanna tell you about. And just miss your company. I cherished every time we hung out. Even after all these months, I still don't understand why you had to go. I don't know so much if it was your time. But apparently God was ready for you. I wasn't ready for you to go though. Not that I ever would have been. Better go dad. I love you papa. Talk to you in a little bit. <3