For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

~Psalm 27:5

Today we are mourning the great loss of life in the Southeastern US... most notably in Eastern Mississippi and Western Alabama. I am happy to say that our relatives there escaped, but not unscathed. Our cousin, Chris, received a severe blow to the head as he covered his family with his body in their Pleasant Grove, AL basement. Chris, Mandy, Logan and Lindsey are going to be fine, but their house is gone. Please pray for this family. Logan and Lindsey are only six years old. I can't imagine what these babies are feeling right now. They may not even be able to give a name to what they're feeling, but I'm sure they're terrified. Thank God they have a father willing to sacrifice his own life for them. I'm sure Chris didn't have time to think about what he was doing for his children in that moment, but he certainly illustrated to them an earthly picture of the kind of love our Heavenly Father has for us.

The devastation throughout Northern Alabama is overwhelming and we feel powerless to know what to do at this time. I found myself praying almost constantly today. Perhaps Jonathan's waking last night was God's gentle nudge to pray them through last night. Thankfully, Chris and Mandy live in the same community with their parents, our Aunt Lourie and Uncle Thomas. Their home was virtually unscathed. The twins are often at their grandparent's home, so I'm sure it feels almost as much like home as their own. Lourie and Thomas have some of the warmest and biggest hearts around. I'm sure they are all so thankful to be alive and together. We are VERY thankful they survived and we're praying about ways to help. The photo above is courtesy of Stephanie Johnson (my sis-in-law). One of her friends took this picture of a tornado in NE Mississippi. This is the tornado that ultimately hit Smithfield, MS. Mom and Dad Allen are heading from Tupelo, MS to Pleasant Grove, AL first thing tomorrow morning to ferry supplies and administer hugs and kisses. Often, I wish we lived nearer our families... but especially at times like this. I wouldn't feel so useless.

Here's a little Mississippian having a some Easter ice cream. This is my adorable niece, Kirbie Pearl! I am anxious for Jonathan to get big enough to play with his cousins. She calls Jonathan "Baby Joshthanan." Too cute! We're sure thankful that she and her Mamma and Daddy are safe and sound!

In more joyful news, we just found out that my friends, Christi and Josh, will be having a baby boy in September! Christi and Josh lost their precious baby, Addison Laine, due to birth complications on November 2nd last year. God has blessed them again... and quickly. We are so thankful for this precious baby boy. I'll see Christi tomorrow and hope to get her started getting ready for her baby boy with some boy things I'd bought up... just in case (smile). Another baby boy will be gracing the Sanders household right around the same time that baby Williams and baby Womack arrive. Uncle Josh and Aunt Cyndi are having a girl... baby Nora. That's going to be one busy stork! Here's little Nora Lynn - another sweet niece!!!

More reason for excitement... I received part of Jonathan's diaper order this afternoon. I've been using two diaper covers and cheap trifolds from Wal Mart. This should make things easier and make it possible for me to put him in cloth all day long. Up 'til now, he's been in disposables overnight. I also received a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Organic Unscented Baby Mild Pure Castile Soap. I had a little bottle of Burt's Bees Apricot Baby Oil (courtesy of Aunt Stephanie) to mix with it... added some water and voila... cloth wipes solution! It smells fantastic! I soaked some baby wash cloths with it, wrung them out and placed them in my wipes warmer. I also put a little of the solution into a small spray bottle for the diaper bag.

Jonathan had been having some tummy trouble. It seems he has a slow system... inherited from his Mommy. Naturally, now that he's in cloth diapers, the flood gates have opened. The cloth diapers are containing everything thank goodness, and the cloth wipes seem to be working well! I did a little more research and found some biodegradable inserts that can be flushed with a septic system. I may have to order those and use the others when we make it to San Antonio. Up 'til the last few days, I haven't had to do any diaper dunking. I got to make up for that yesterday and today. Eeewwwww!

I am still trying to find the gumption to make some home made bread with my freshly milled wheat flour. Maybe tomorrow? Apparently humidity is good for bread baking, and we've got that in abundance right now. I've never been much of a cook, and although my skills have greatly improved since I married into the Allen family and received some pointers from Mamma Allen, I'm still woefully inept. We'll see what happens! If nothing else, we'll be trying blueberry pancakes with the flour sometime this weekend. I made salmon croquettes with it a few nights ago and they were my best yet! Thanks Melissa!

So Jonathan is pulling up on anything and everything, eating like a horse (and doing other things like a horse), making the sweetest little sounds... like Mamma... THE sweetest sound ever to my ears... and just generally being the cutest, sweetest, most precious baby boy alive... except when he gets his Mamma up every other hour. This is only about every night for the past three weeks folks. I look like death, but I keep telling myself that one day, I'm going to wish for the days when I could just hold him and rock him... so I hold him and rock him and hold him and rock him some more... and try to forget about the fact that I'm going to be dead on my feet in the morning... and try to remember that I will never get these precious moments back. Heaven on earth! Here he is waving, "Bye, Bye!"