July 4, 2007 Happy Fourth of July!!
Time: 8:01pm CST
We have been busy in Oklahoma City! My first observation about Oklahoma is that the sky goes on forever. I know it is the same sky as Webster, but it appears unending out here. They have had 20 days straight of rain and since we have been here, we haven’t had any. It is funny, all the lawns need mowing, but many haven’t had a chance to get to get done because of the rain.

Yesterday we went to the OK City Memorial and Museum downtown. Boy, the museum is very poignant and intense. It is very inspiring and tastefully done. With utmost respect for the victims and survivors, they allow people to experience April 19, 1995 as it was. The children who were victims were the ones who really got to me. I also appreciated that they didn’t devote a lot of space to Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. The Memorial is very neat also. The fence that they keep still holds remembrances and notes from visitors. The church across the street has a statue of “Weeping Jesus” that is on the corner. The museum is housed in the adjacent building of the former federal building. The wall that faced the bombing has been preserved as it was. The blown out windows have been replaced with black glass. It allows you to see the affect of the bomb on the surrounding area. Another interesting thing happened when the UMC was hit with the bombing also. It was directly across from the federal building. The sanctuary and corner were damaged. They had a Rose Shaped stained glass window that has its remains in the museum. They have rebuilt the former sanctuary into a fellowship hall and have a new sanctuary. The local Jewish center and Islamic center rallied together to start praying and raising money to rebuild. They have an open air chapel on the corner of the UMC campus now that was funded by the other groups. What a great example of coming together and working towards a common goal, even with the differences in faith. It is called Heartland Chapel and faces the memorial.

Today we slept in. Hallelujah! We hit Wal-Mart for some supplies and spent the afternoon at the National Cowboy Museum. The art displays and museum were really cool. I wasn’t sure how excited the kids would be about it, but they really enjoyed it. The museum was great with Rodeo, Native American, Cowboys, and Western Living areas.

Now we are at the Liberty Fest in Edmond, OK. They had an inflatable park for the kids and now I am sitting on the lawn typing, while Lee and the kids are playing Australian Horseshoes while we wait for the fireworks. It’s been a great day!

As for the family, we are having a great time. Ben and Sam are keeping us in stitches. We are enjoying each other and making sure to thank God for each day and our activities. Thank you for continuing to pray for our time away. Mom says the animals are doing fine. Hope all is well in Webster.

Take care and God bless,
Michele