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We woke to more thunderstorms. I just love thunderstorms (NOT!). Kevin decided that we would wait it out before leaving. We did not leave Eureka until almost 10:00.

We stopped for lunch in Joplin, MO. We had never been here before, and decided to see Ozark Bible College. We drove around and the kids were kind enough to pose for a picture at one of the entrance signs. There were a LOT of dorms on campus. I didn't realize how big it was. I tried to picture Scott and Sharon going to college here. It made me smile.

The weather cleared up and it was a great day for traveling. We arrived in Oklahoma City around 6:00. We stopped to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial, where the attack on the Murray Federal Building occurred in 1995. It is a beautiful memorial. There are chairs made from bronze and glass for each person that died in the bombing -- even little chairs for the children. Part of the wall was still there, and there was an excellent brochure that explained all the parts of the memorial. I'm glad we went.

We are now in our hotel. We took a swim earlier. It is VERY hot here. The kids have just been angels on the trip -- so far. They are true blessings to Kevin and I. They have made this trip quite enjoyable. I am hopeful that the rest of the trip will go as well.

We'll check in again soon! Thanks for visiting us -- as we visit America! Tomorrow we are on our way to Gallup, NM, then we will be in Phoenix for the NACC!!!

~Cindy

You know me, I am journaling as we are going along. Don't worry, I won't make your eyes fuzzy with all the details. If you are really that curious, I'll give you the journal to read when we get home. This is just going to hit some of the highlights.

We finally left G-town after the Pizza with the Preachers. The whole family was happy to be traveling. Kelley loves to listen to her music. Korey is tickled to be watching DVD's. Kevin is up for a lot of driving. I don't get to help him since I am on the "happy pills," but he seems to be doing just great. The car is nice. MUCH thanks to Dave Daniel for letting me borrow the seat heat/messager. It has been a blessing.

Around 5:30 we ran into some terrible weather in Dubois County, Indiana. It was a heavy downpour with winds. We could see the car in front of us because of their flashing hazard lights. KEVIN turned the radio to hear the weather report. There was a tornado warning just north of us, but we were okay. The clouds looked weird. I was glad when it cleared up.

Today we went through St. Louis. NEVER, and I mean NEVER try to go through St. Louis on the Fourth of July an hour before the fireworks are to go off! We were actually stopped on the freeway for about an hour. I tried to call both my parents and my brother to see if there was a way around the mess. There were cars moving in the far right lane. We finally just rolled down the window and asked the people in the mini-van next to us. He was quite kind telling us how to get to Eureka, MO. We went out of our way, but didn t have to deal with all the mess and nuts going on in St. Louis. People were making U-turns on the bridge on the freeway! Some people just decided the middle of the bridge was a good place to stop to see the fireworks, and so that's what they did. We finally made it through.

We got to the hotel at 11:00 p.m., and went to sleep to the sounds of fireworks. The kids didn't miss out, they got to see a LOT of fireworks on the way to the hotel. We are all exhausted. We will be going to Oklahoma tomorrow.

TTFN!

~Cindy