Texas Trip Part 1: OKC & Whitney, TX

A month or so before Christmas, Travis mentioned that if he got a long enough break from school, he'd like to visit his brothers in Texas for Christmas. At first, I thought he was crazy. "A 20 hour drive, 6 weeks after having a baby?" I thought. "Travelling with a one month old" (which we knew also meant stopping every few hours for feedings)? But, as the time got closer to when we would find out what his schedule was, I got more and more excited about it. And when the first week of December rolled around, and we learned that--miraculously--he had 2 1/2 weeks off of school and clinic, we were sold.

We left on December 16th, and decided to break up the drive down a little by stopping at Travis' best friends house in Oklahoma City. Bart, and his wife Shantyl, had had twins since we'd last seen them, and they hadn't met Grace or Bethany either, so we were especially excited to see them. We had a wonderful (though short) visit with them, filled with waffles (for old times sake), and a tour of the downtown, including the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.

It was very touching to see the memorial and learn more about what happened on that tragic day (which was actually my 10th birthday).

The outside of the memorial reads: "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity."

The bomb detonated at 9:02 am, and so two pillars stand on either side of this shallow pool of water, one with "9:01" - the last minute of peace - and one with "9:03" - the first minute of recovery - in remembrance.

There is a field of empty chairs, one for each person who died (smaller ones for the children, larger for adults), which have their names on them and are illuminated at night. Each one had a wreath on it during the Holidays.

Graffiti left by (I believe) some rescue volunteers, next to the survivor tree. It says, "We search for the truth. We seek justice. The courts require it. The victims cry for it. And God demands it."

Next to the survivor tree, so named because it somehow survived the blast:

Thanks again Bart and Shantyl! It was wonderful to see you!

On the 18th, we headed to Jason and Mindi's (our brother and sister-in-law's) house in Whitney for one night. It was great to see them, and finally see the cute house they redecorated and meet their sweet daughter (our neice) Coralee.

We played at the park near their house during the day...

Our neice Jessica (with a "cake" she'd made):

Grace and her cousin David:

Bethany getting some snuggles from her aunt Mindi:

And that night, the kids watched Rudolph and ate popcorn, and when they went to bed, the adults watched the latest Harry Potter movie and ate goodies. :)

Our neice Cailyn holding Bethany before bed. Her cousins were SO sweet to her!

Next up, Temple, TX!