Me: “Thing One and Thing Two are coming to Joplin!!”
Keith: “Okay. Is it a library thing?”
Me: “No! Canadian!”
Thing One and Thing Two, of Ironic Mom fame, are on their world tour. They’re visiting bloggers around the world. So far they’ve gone zip-lining in West Virginia, sight-seeing with the Buttram family in Tennessee, and toured the National Zoo. Thing One and Thing Two we’re so glad you’re here. I thought about avoiding the path of the tornado during your visit but, if I’d done that, you would have missed out on our real story.
Welcome to Joplin, Missouri Thing One and Thing Two! 
The girls are beyond excited that you’re here. 
David finds you a bit odd. (Or perhaps it’s the posing with you in public? Sorry David …) 
You’ve come to our town right in the middle of an amazing story. Our summer started with heartbreak.
But the amazing part of the story isn’t the destruction throughout our town, it’s the way the people of Joplin responded.
With humor. 
With gratitude. 
With hope.
And with the type of faith that finds beauty in the rubble. 
We’re still working hard at our happily ever after. Soon, we’ll be back in our homes, the rubble will be cleared, and the trees will grow again. You should come back then — it’s going to be amazing.
Amy Stevens ~ Life From The Trenches 
Glad that they made it there safely! I love the pics of your girls posing with Thing 1 and Thing 2 in front of the walls!
My girls loved your zoo pics! Both of them suggested we take them to the zoo too. 🙂
I hope your weekend is calmer than anticipated (weather-wise).
The picture of David is terrific. That is a classic “Seriously?” look. Going to be tough for the Things to top that stop on their tour.
Thanks Chase! Poor David has so much to put up with.
Love it Amy. Thanks for the tour and the updates and taking in those wandering Canadian children. Only Leanne could let her twins bounce all over North America. I love the pic you got of St. Paul’s with the sun coming through like that.
Thanks, Clay! The kids (the girl ones) had so much fun taking the pictures.
I also have a St. Paul’s pic without the Things on Facebook. St. Paul’s is right up the road from our home and that’s where my youngest goes to preschool. The sky was just beautiful one morning when I dropped her off. (Granted, the pic was taken on my phone and with my poor photography skills but even I couldn’t mess up that shot!) It was a huge sanctuary that is now completely gone but the steeple stands, the preschool’s still open, the congregation meets for services at a different location, and rebuilding is going on there every day.
Sweet! I love these photos — what a great way to show the rest of the story of Joplin.
Thank you!! My girls loved it. They were still having me snap pictures of them with the Things on the way to school today. It’s going to be hard to send them to their next stop!
A fantastic photo essay, Amy. What a story. Thanks so much for being a great host!
(And I love David’s picture and Keith’s comment!)
Leanne, thanks for sending the twins to us! We had a great time!! I’m looking foward to following the rest of their stops …
Wonderful pictures of hope and rebirth…and truth as David (reluctantly) poses with the Things! Best wishes on Joplin’s recovery!
Thank you! It was really a fun time. Well, for most of us.
Love this post! The last picture is amazing.
Annie, I lucked into that shot. It was just a beautiful sky. There’d been a rainbow that morning too.
Excellent. The Things have shown us some fun AND beautiful perspective of Joplin!
Thanks! I need to put photography on my list of skills to improve (or gain) but it was a great time. Loved your Thing visit too!
Amy! I hardly know what to say except I love everything about this. Especially how your faith continues to pull you along. Even when you are tired, you find energy to bring joy for.., well, for the girls anyway! Lol!
Thanks, Renee! Poor David — he’s surround by glittery, overly excited sisters all the time. Then his mom comes at him with dolls. It’s hard to be a 9-year-old boy around here.
Great pictures of the sadness, hope and rebuilding of Joplin! Looks like Thing One and Thing Two had a great tour of town.
Christy, thank you for the tip about the wall at 20th and Main!! It was perfect.
Amy, this makes me think about beauty from ashes. You have such an amazing, positive perspective. Thank you for teaching your children to have fun and for capturing the beauty!
So interesting that you said that … that song Rise (from Shawn McDonald) pops into my head all the time when we drive through the tornado areas. (My kids yell, “Mama Mia!” when we hit the “broken parts.”)
What a fabulous post- I’m very encouraged to see the hope in your town.
It’s nice to see humor in the face of so much devastation. I had to laugh at the “split level.” Your last picture IS beyond awesome. Thanks for sharing the fun with us.
So glad we got to see Thing 1 and Thing 2 in Joplin. We haven’t forgotten about the inspiring story of your town. Sending hope, happiness, and prayers your way. (And lots of sunshine. Please. I’m from Texas. Take some of this susnhine, PLEASE!)
This is such a positive, dynamic post. Thank you for the update on your hometown. Including the children will be something they certainly remember. I love the wall murals, the humor in split level, and just the idea that Thing 1 and 2 had such a great visit.
I have an ole high school friend in Joplin who is retired and drives a school bus now. Apparently she drove the bus during the weeks following the storms.
Wonderful post!