Joplin June 3th and 4th

I’ve been through hundreds of storms. I’ve seen wall clouds, hail the size of softballs and I’ve even seen a tornado from a distance. Being from Kansas you are use to these things. You go through years and years of watches and warnings and it is no big deal to hear sirens. That just means there’s something worth going outside to look at. It’s just another day in Kansas. Don’t like the weather, just wait 5 minutes. It took less than that for the tornado to become visible in Joplin. It didn't take long to change Joplin forever. Seeing pictures and videos does not do it justice. According to the National Weather Service, a large portion of Joplin Missouri was devastated by an EF-5 (greater than 200 mph) tornado. Latest reports from Thursday 6/2 indicate an estimated 138 fatalities and over 1150 injured in the Joplin MO area. The Joplin tornado is the deadliest since modern record keeping began in 1950 and is ranked 8th among the deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history.

Imagine the chaos that must have occurred in and around Joplin on May 22, 2011. It was late on Sunday afternoon as people went about their regular routines; running errands, fixing dinner, walking the dog, when the sirens off. Did they take cover or were they like me, outside looking up? On the other end of the spectrum are the people who take heed. A watch means stay close to a radio or TV and a warning means take cover. It must have been terrifying. You never know when 5 minutes could change your life.

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine your life, your family, your belongings and your memories being sucked into a tornado and strewn or miles. Everything you own. Everything you cherish. What you knew as your live has been taken away. What next? Your home is gone, you have nothing but the clothes on your back and whatever is left around you. Everything was fine then suddenly, you’re homeless.

2 weeks after the tornado, I had the opportunity to go with other church members to pass out supplies to survivors. I was excited to go and help even if it was for just 2 days. At first we went to Galena, a small town not too far from Joplin. We reported in at the Galena Assembly of God and was overwhelmed by what I saw.

We were taken to a large open room and it was full of donations. Clothes, bedding, shoes, belts, ties, coats, jackets, anything you can think of. It wasn’t until day 2 that I realized there was another room full of food, drinks, diapers, stuffed animals, games, toiletries and it was overflowing too. We spent 2 days helping to sort and organize items from the first room so that when people came in, it would be easy for them to find things. It was a big job with hundreds of volunteers participating. It was an awesome sight.

On top of that, the church housed people from the Red Cross, Search & Rescue, members of the medical community and volunteers. There was a table full of food at all times as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is a big church and every square inch was being used.

We visited part of the damaged area and it was incomprehensible. There were blocks and blocks of destruction. You couldn’t tell where one property ended and another one began. Trees were completely uprooted and thrown around like toothpicks. Personal items were mixed with dirt, drywall, wood and just about anything you can think of.

I’m going back next week to help clean up. It will be hard work but it will be gratifying to help people get to the point where they can rebuild. I want to give them hope because I know what it’s like not to have it. There is still life in Joplin and we will help them find it.

These trips are being organized by Evangel Assembly of God, 11444 W 21st St. N Wichita, KS, 67205. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30-4:30. Their phone number is 316.749.1111. There will be at least 2 more trips so there is still time to help out.

5K Family Style

Yesterday we participated in the Link 4 Life run at the Sedgwick County Zoo. It was a 5K (3 mile) race (well, more of a walk/pull). Jarrett started out on Chris's shoulders but that didn't last long. Jackson wasn't excited about being up so early on a Saturday. The race started at 7:45. It was about 45 degrees and he was cold so Chris gave him his gloves.

Matt pulled the wagon the whole way. Jarrett was in and out of the wagon but ended up riding most of the way.

Here we are after the race. We finished in about 50 minutes. Chris finished ahead of us but we don't know what his time was.

I plan to do the River Run this year. It is a 10K (6 miles). I'm trying to get Chris to do it with me.

Wii Fit Plus

Should I be offended that the Wii called me a dog for sticking to the same routine?

Happy Mother's Day

The day began at church where there was a "baby" dedication. Since we were new to the church, we decided to have Jarrett and Jackson dedicated.The pastor introduced us to the church and then prayed over Jarrett and Jackson. Both boys got a "Baby's First Bible" and a certificate that says:

Certificate of Dedication

This is to certify that

Jarrett & Jackson Blattner

were presented to the Lord in Dedication

by Matt & Teresa Blattner

at Evangel Assembly of God, Wichita, Kansas

on the 10th of May, 2009

Rev. Vance A Cauthon, Pastor

We also each got a flower.

Thanks to Kayla for taking pictures for us.

After church we went to my parents house and had lunch with them and my brother and his family. We had a good time. Happy Mother's Day!

Take That, Roger!

It took me a while but I beat Roger on the Wii Fit Hula Hoop. I came close several times but I finally did it. He only gets to use the Wii every once in a while but he is pretty good at it. I have to take those small victories as they come.
Just in case you were wondering, I do not plan on posting any videos of me doing this. I'm pretty sure I look goofy while doing it.

Wii've been busy

Chris got a Wii for his birthday/Christmas. It is really cool. Here is our Mii family: Chris, Jackson, Jarrett, Matt and me.Here are Chris's friends (real and imaginary): Alex, Arthur(i), Bruno, Austin and Sara.I got a Wii Fit for Christmas. We have had a good time with it. Here are the Mii's that are on our Fit game: Alex, me, Chris, Austin and Matt. Matt did the setup but won't do anything with it. Chris and I use it the most.There are lots of different things you can do with it. Yoga, balance games, aerobics and strength training. I must admit that at first I was offended because it told me my Mii age was 55, I was unbalanced and it asked me if I trip a lot when I walk. It said other things too but I won't go into detail. I'm really having fun with it because my parents have one and so does my friend Pam. It is fun to talk about how we are doing and laugh at how uncoordinated we are. I usually have an audience and sometimes help from my Wii kids. Here is my audience from today: Jarrett, Matt and Jackson (who had just finished reading the Sunday paper).Jarrett likes to tell me what games to play. Here is the beginners step aerobics. Here are all the people on the stage. Jarrett and Jackson are in the middle and I am on the far right.

It gives you step by step instructions and I have yet to get them all right. Here I am doing a soccer game where all the Mii's line up and with Chris as the coach (on the right side of the screen) they kick mostly soccer balls at me and I am supposed to hit them with my head to gain points. Sometimes they kick shoes and panda heads at me and if they hit me then I lose points.

Here I am getting ready to ski. I am better at the slalom than the jumping.

Here I am as a penguin. It's pretty funny. I have to slide back and forth on a big piece of ice and eat fish without falling off the side. For most of these games you just shift your weight back and forth.

Jarrett and Jackson are too young to do it but we created their Mii's because they show up as people in the games we do. It doesn't seem like exercise when you are doing in until you start to sweat and your legs hurt. I have done Yoga but don't do well when it involves balancing on one leg. Jackson likes to crawl through my legs sometimes which throws me off but that's OK. Jarrett does a fake cry if I do bad and I have to tell him it's OK. I can't do the tight rope walking with him in the room because I fall off a lot and he gets really sad. He did try to help me by holding me up so I wouldn't fall but it didn't help. Yesterday we went to my parents house so we could put our Mii's on their system so they will see us in their games. We know several people with systems and we can play them on line too. We are having a good time.