I spoke with my lifelong friend on Friday — thankfully. You see, she lives in Greeley and two of her grown daughters and their families and her own mother all live in Windsor, where the tornado was on Thursday, the 22nd. I’d been trying to get a hold of her since Thursday and was getting very worried when it took so long to reach her. When I finally spoke to her, I listened to a very harrowing story, indeed.

She sounded exhausted and in shock, beginning her story with the words “You just wouldn’t believe it”. The tornado tracked toward Windsor by way of Greeley, Gilcrest and Platteville. It first skirted the western edge of Greeley, which is precisely where she lives. She said she was watching the weather channel when they announced “an enormous and deadly tornado heading towards Windsor, Colorado”. Of course she freaked and immediately went to the phone to call her daughters and mother, but oh no, she couldn’t get through to them! The storm had already taken down electrical and phone lines, rendering her helpless in her quest to warn her family. She said that I had no idea how horrific it is to know something potentially deadly to your family is heading straight for them and you can do nothing to warn them. I agreed. I have no idea how horrible that would be. I can only imagine, and even that scares me to death.

Well anyway, knowing my friend as I do, it did not surprise me in the least when she told me what she did next: she got in her car and drove to Windsor, only to be stopped by police and told she could not enter. Yeah, right dude. You obviously don’t know my friend! She took her car and found a place where she could leave it, locked it up and began walking. She walked for miles, crossing fields, a stream and even a river to get to her kids! She snuck in behind police lines without being detected. Yep, that’s Kathy! Now, she’s not in the best physical condition (severe back and neck problems), but like any mother, nothing was about to stop her. She finally got there and found her daughters together at the younger’s house, because the older’s house was destroyed. She told her mother her own harrowing story of only having mere seconds to grab her 2 1/2 year old and her dog and run downstairs to a closet before “a freight train went through my house”. She was crying very hard, as you can imagine. She and her son are both very traumatized, as is her 12 year old daughter who was in school at the time and thought her family had been killed. Her husband, when racing home from his workplace, was immediately put to work by the police and National Guard (because he’s a Guardsman himself), and wasn’t allowed to even go home for a few minutes to check on his family. It was a while before he could get to Katie’s house (the younger sister) to check on everyone. As you can imagine, it was very difficult for him to concentrate on his work without knowing exactly how his own family was!

No one had power and were living with candles and, if they were lucky enough, generators. They were all just very thankful they were alive. I have not spoken with her since Friday. I asked her to please keep me updated when possible. I can only imagine how busy they have all been trying to clean up and find even a few of their belongings strewn about, if they can. They have to board up the house as best they can. One wall is completely gone, and her kitchen cupboards and refrigerator completely disappeared. It’s just so unbelievably amazing.

I’ve put together a few of what I consider to be the best videos of the tornado and its aftermath for you, if you haven’t seen any already. I think you’ll agree that it is utterly amazing. Mother Nature definitely has a temper.

Tornadoes, Windsor Tornado, Colorado Tornado

So how was your weekend? Mine was really great! My daughter and I had a fabulous time on our one day road trip. We did some shopping, went to a beautiful sculpture gallery, ran into an old friend at the mall, and had dinner with my oldest friend, along with her husband and son. It was totally wonderful! After dinner they got out their Wii and we all had a lot of fun bowling and golfing. That was the first time I’d ever used a Wii, and decided right then and there that I must have one. LOL We didn’t get home until almost midnight, and as much as I detest driving at night, it was more than worth it!

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!

I wish all of you a very happy, blessed and joyous Christmas, full of love and laughter — and lots of yummy food. ;) May you and yours make the happiest of memories during this holiday season.

It continues to be nothing less than crazy around here, and I know I owe many people emails and practically every blogger friend of mine a comment or two, for which I apologize profusely. I really will get back to “normal” (whatever that is), I promise.

Thanksgiving turned out to be …. small. My oldest sister couldn’t come at the last minute, so of course neither did her boyfriend, then my other sister called about 15 minutes before she was due to arrive to tell me she had just gotten sick to her stomach and felt like crap, so she couldn’t come, either. My oldest son, his wife and my perfectly perfect grandson went to my DIL’s family, so it turned out to just be me, Hubs, my other son, my daughter and my nephew. We had fun, though, and LOTS of yummy food. Yeah, I admit it, I’m a damn fine cook.

A couple days after Thanksgiving, my perfectly perfect grandson picked up yet another virus, causing a fever and terrible diarrhea, and my DIL wasn’t feeling too swift, either. If you remember, my son and his family just got over a horrible bout of stomach flu, with my DIL ending up in the hospital overnight. It’s been very, very rough for them. I spoke to my son last night and he said everyone seemed to be on the mend. *knock on wood*

Then I spoke to my other son a bit later, and he told me he had had TWO migraines yesterday! The first one started at about 1:00AM, with the second coming at around 3:00PM. He’s had an upper respiratory thing going on the last week or so, so I’m thinking that played into it. I told him to get his butt to the doctor ASAP. He probably has a sinus infection and needs medicine! Two migraines in one 24 hour period is pretty bad. It worries me. I swear. If that boy doesn’t make a doctor’s appt., I’m going to do it myself and drag his 6′2″ body down there by his ear! Men!

My oldest friend (as in we’ve been friends since we were literally 2 years old) called Sunday evening and told me her family was selling one of their ranches at auction on Monday, and invited me to be there since I was with her and her grandpa the day he bought it about 38 or 39 years ago. I’ll never forget that day. There we were, two little girls, afraid to move a muscle for fear the auctioneer would think we were bidding on it. LOL As if! But what did we know? Anyway, I couldn’t make it to the auction yesterday, but she called when it was all over and told me everything. It went very well, which I was happy about. It’s so bittersweet as you watch your family elders get older and older and it becomes necessary to do things like that. I know exactly what it feels like. It’s tough to let go of those things sometimes, but memories are forever, which is such a gift.

The ranch they sold is a gorgeous 9,000+ acres of prime pasture land. Their family would have a cattle drive every year, which she would tell me all about when it was all over. I thought it sounded like such an adventure! Such good memories for her and her entire family. I wish I could have been there for the sale. In a way, I sort of feel like I was. I was thinking about them all afternoon, and remembering the day we sat there with her grandpa when he bought it all those years ago. It made me smile. Even giggle.

Memories. They’re such a treasure. What is one of your favorite memories?

Friends, Family, Memories

In my post immediately previous to this, I told you all about Megan Bomgaars, who has Down Syndrome and is a cheerleader at Evergreen High School. Well, the cheerleading team competed in the Jefferson County League Tournament Wednesday at Columbine High School, Megan included.

JEFFERSON COUNTY – The Evergreen High School cheerleaders asked that their teammate with Down Syndrome be allowed to compete at the tournament level rather than sit things out. She ended up getting the biggest cheer of the night.

Megan Bomgaars is a freshman on the Evergreen cheer squad. Her coach, Tammy Dufford, says the Colorado High School Sports Association told her Bomgaars is the first cheerleader with Down Syndrome to compete in a local mainstream competition.

At the Jeffco Spirit Invitational at Columbine High School on Wednesday, Megan was front and center.

Midway through the Evergreen routine, when other cheerleaders lifted Megan to the top of their formation, the crowd exploded with loud applause.

“It was amazing,” Dufford said afterward. “Just amazing.”

“I love this place,” she said.

Bomgaars is a smiling and enthusiastic face on the football sidelines, but sometimes struggles to keep pace with her teammates quick moves and rapid cheers.

Her mother offered to have Megan sit out the competitive portion of the season in case judges penalized the team for Megan’s technical miscues.

The team wouldn’t have it.

“We could get graded off if she’s a little bit off on her dance,” said cheerleader Stephanie Dufford. “But we’d rather have her on the squad and get a lesser score than not have her at all.” Immediately following the team’s performance, Dufford scrambled over to the judges table.

A huge smile broke out on her face.

“No technical deductions,” she said. “Not one.”

At the end of the night, the judges awarded first place to Columbine. Bear Creek was runner-up.

Anyone in the stands watching, anyone who heard that one particular cheer rise up, knew they had seen other winners as well.

(from 9News.com)

Oh man ….. this story gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes. It’s just an amazing feel-good story, but even more so because it’s true, and because those girls exemplify the very qualities we, as parents, always try to instill in our children, hoping they will hold them close and put them into practice in their daily lives. Their families must be so proud of them! I know I am, and I don’t even know them!

WAY TO GO, EVERGREEN HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADERS!!!!!

Evergreen High School Cheerleaders